The State of Fire: Why California Burns
The State of Fire: Why California Burns
The State of Fire: Why California Burns
Description
Description
From San Francisco Chronicle best-selling author-illustrator Obi Kaufmann, a gorgeously illustrated exploration of fire in California.
Fire is an essential part of California's ecology. Humans have been using it to shape the California landscape for thousands of years. But today many Californians' relationship to fire is one of fear. Obi Kaufmann, author of the best-selling California Field Atlas, now asks: How do we get right with fire? What makes fire essential to a healthy and biodiverse Golden State, and how do we benefit from its teachings? With the same solution-minded ethic as his much-admired The State of Water: Understanding California's Most Precious Resource, Kaufmann presents fire as a force of regeneration rather than apocalypse. He considers the long history of ecological burns, the varied ways fire behaves across the state, and the lessons we can learn from California's largest fires of recent decades. Packed with Kaufmann's signature watercolor maps and paintings, The State of Fire confronts one of California most pressing social and ecological challenges. From this maelstrom Kaufmann emerges to share a deepened love for the natural world--and a refreshingly hopeful vision of California's future.
About the Author
About the Author
Obi Kaufmann is the author of The California Field Atlas (2017, #1 San Francisco Chronicle Best Seller), The State of Water (2019), The Forests of California (2020), The Coasts of California (2022), and The Deserts of California (2023), all published by Heyday. When he is not backpacking, you can find the painter-poet at home in the East Bay, posting trail paintings at his handle @coyotethunder on Instagram. His speaking tour dates are available at californiafieldatlas.com, and his essays are posted at coyoteandthunder.com. He lives in Oakland, CA.
Critical Reviews
Critical Reviews
"The State of Fire: Why California Burns looks at the wildfire problem and how fire is a regenerative force. It is Kaufmann's latest entry in a collection of impressive works about the state's environment." --Diablo Magazine
"The State of Fire: Why California Burns offers the reader a glimpse into one of California's most pressing social and ecological challenges. Kaufmann is brilliant, articulate and engaging, providing hope for the state's future." --Tahoe Literary Guide
"Kaufmann traces the history of fire back billions of years and points to indigenous tribes and plant life as exemplars of how to live in better harmony with nature. He posits that rapid response teams alone can't solve this--and may unwittingly be part of the problem." --Nob Hill Gazette
Publishing Information
Publishing Information
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