Ahead of the Flaming Front A Life on Fire eBook Jerry Mathes II
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Veteran wildland firefighter Jerry Mathes II takes readers into the heart of wildfires from the forests of Idaho to the deserts of the Mexican border and reveals the camaraderie of men and women bonded by the terror and beauty and hardship of life on the fireline. He makes us live through thunderstorms scattering lightning and hail, endure the high summer heat and shivering nights where bears prowl through wilderness spike camps, and the quiet days of reflection waiting for what may come next. With a poets lyricism he tells of the life and death of friends, negotiating the bureaucracy of the federal fire service, the rivalry of competing agencies, and carrying the weight of absence from his daughters as they grow and the desperate feeling he is failing even as he seems to be succeeding. Readers live alongside him as he grows from a stunned rookie trembling under flames arcing hundreds of feet into the air to a seasoned member of the training cadre, bringing full circle his life on fire by fusing hard won field experience with the classroom to give his students the tools to work and survive in the chaotic fire world so that they can slay the dragon and the dragon does not slay them.
Ahead of the Flaming Front A Life on Fire eBook Jerry Mathes II
this is a book about one mans wildland firefighting experiences. The author Jerry Mathes is also an English Major with a Masters from the University of Idaho . The story jumps around from the authors training as the oldest rookie on a Helicopter Rappelling Unit and the various fires, co-workers and fatal accidents that occur in this dangerous profession. The author would be away from his family for months at a time in order to fight fire, his love for both fighting fire and his daughters is evident in his prose throughout. I found that the best chapter of this book was the final chapter 16 which has the author instructing rookies in wildland firefighting training. His advice to them seems genuine and is borne from his 14 years of experience with decisions being made from offices that had adverse impacts on firefighters in the field. Overall I felt this was a good read though not a book for someone who wants an intro to wildland firefighting. The author has a way with words but a number of grammatical errors in this book is distracting. If you like stories of wildland firefighting you will enjoy these stories but editing problems disrupt the flow.Product details
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Ahead of the Flaming Front A Life on Fire eBook Jerry Mathes II Reviews
This book was more of an 'outside the box' read for me, but Jerry does a great job keeping the reader engaged about his experiences over the years fighting fires across the western United States. There was a good mix of analysis and lines from a poetry book, which enhanced the storytelling experience. It's an excellent read that ties in life lessons to the profession of firefighting and the reader should be able to learn something new and add another dimension to themselves.
The good news - Much information about fire fighting, particularly about helicopter rappelling. I learned a lot. The bad news - flashbacks inside of flashbacks, with no clear timelines, to the point of mass confusion.
So poorly written I couldn't finish it; was it run through a grammar check? There are 1 to 3 grammatical errors on every page. I couldn't deal with the author's style of jumping around, I lost track of the original story and the loop never seemed to get closed. By the way, it's Cumulus Overtimus. I've read a lot of wildfire memoirs and stories and this one was a big disappointment.
I cannot believe all the comments I read about how well written this book is. I thought it was horribly written and wonder if his editor, assuming there was one, was asleep when they read it. I started noticing the errors almost immediately and they continued throughout the book. Most are so obvious that I can't believe they weren't caught. Is this guy really an English major? I thought 3 stars was being generous. Dude, seriously, you need to hand this manuscript over to a competent editor to clean it up. And be sure to make them leave all the red marks on the paper, you might learn something.
This book strikes a good balance between almost poetic descriptions of a really gritty, dangerous, life and a straight forward account of how to control and survive wildfire in the wilderness.
The author gives the background that led him to fighting wildfires, leading firefighting teams into the wilderness, and then teaching others to survive fighting out of control fires in the wilderness. He also describes dealing with government bureaucrats, and leading men who are not all that happy to be led.
The author also gives us insight into his family life and waxes poetic about the people he leaves behind.
This is a Good Read for anyone who is or wants to be a Wildland Firefighter. Many lessons and sage points are woven into this book. I appreciate the honest comments about the bravado and complacency that leads to many injuries and fatalities.
My only complaints about this book are the number typos in the book. As an English Professor, the author should have none. At times some of the writing seems to use "big or poetic" words when simple would do as well.
Thank you for writing this book, I really enjoyed it.
If you are going to read memoirs about fire fighters, here are the two you must start with
Young Men and Fire by Norman McLean
and
Ahead of the Flaming Front A Life on Fire by Jerry D. Mathes
The first, is iconic and changed the entire trajectory of fire fighting, but often reads like a 1950's political manifesto regarding firefighting. Which, to be fair, it was written in the 1950's and was a draft found in the authors papers after his death. It was published with minimal editing.
The second, oh the second, was written by a wordsmith. A writer with a hard scrabble childhood, experience of a hard core laborer (firefighter, heavy equipment operator in cargo at the South Pole, deckhand in Alaska) and an MFA.
Jerry D. Mathes can tell a damn fine story.
This book reads like poetry. A hard edged, honests poem of family- the ones we are born into and the ones we create, the science of fire, the practicalities of the job of fire fighting and all the realities of being in the throes of fire, smoke, heat, and death.
I also tend to really dig people who live life out of order. Jerry D. Mathes started leaping (or rappelling) out of helicopters into fire when he was in his 40's (he had been a ground firefighter before). Reading this story is reading of a man who made very conscious decisions regarding his career at a time when most people are already halfway done with their adulting. I find that fascinating.
"The risks we took, we took with others. We never risked alone."
this is a book about one mans wildland firefighting experiences. The author Jerry Mathes is also an English Major with a Masters from the University of Idaho . The story jumps around from the authors training as the oldest rookie on a Helicopter Rappelling Unit and the various fires, co-workers and fatal accidents that occur in this dangerous profession. The author would be away from his family for months at a time in order to fight fire, his love for both fighting fire and his daughters is evident in his prose throughout. I found that the best chapter of this book was the final chapter 16 which has the author instructing rookies in wildland firefighting training. His advice to them seems genuine and is borne from his 14 years of experience with decisions being made from offices that had adverse impacts on firefighters in the field. Overall I felt this was a good read though not a book for someone who wants an intro to wildland firefighting. The author has a way with words but a number of grammatical errors in this book is distracting. If you like stories of wildland firefighting you will enjoy these stories but editing problems disrupt the flow.
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