Summary

A rare inside look at the thrilling world of smokejumpers, the airborne firefighters who parachute into the most remote and rugged areas of the United States, confronting the growing threat of nature's blazes.
Forest and wildland fires are growing larger, more numerous, and deadlier every year - record drought conditions, decades of forestry mismanagement, and the increasing encroachment of residential housing into the wilderness have combined to create a powder keg that threatens millions of acres and thousands of lives every year. One select group of men and women are part of America's front-line defense: smokejumpers. The smokejumper program operates through both the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Though they are tremendously skilled, and only highly experienced and able wildland firefighters are accepted into the training program, being a smokejumper remains an art that can only be learned on the job. Forest fires often behave in unpredictable ways: spreading almost instantaneously, shooting downhill behind a stiff tailwind, or even flowing like a liquid.
In this extraordinarily rare memoir by an active-duty jumper, Jason Ramos takes listeners into his exhilarating and dangerous world, explores smokejumping's remarkable history, and explains why their services are more essential than ever before.
©2015 Jason A. Ramos (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
Show More Show Less

Regular price: £20.99

Free with 30-day trial
Membership details Membership details
  • A 30-day trial plus your first audiobook, free
  • 1 credit/month after trial – choose any book, any price
  • Easy exchanges – swap any book you don’t love
  • Keep your audiobooks, even if you cancel
  • Free, unlimited access to Audio Shows
  • After your trial, Audible is just £7.99/month
Buy Now for £20.99
Select or Add a new payment method

Buy Now with 1 Credit

By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Privacy Notice.

Buy Now for £20.99

Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Privacy Notice.

Some more like this

People who bought this also bought...

Audible.co.uk reviews
Audible.com reviews
No Reviews are Available

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
5 out of 5 stars
By Jefferer R. Beren on 16-07-15

About damn time a book on wildland firefighting was written!!!

As an individual who spent eight years of his life working for the same agency (USFS) as Ramos, out of Southern California though, I can attest to the accuracy of this book. Doesn't get much more real than this. Excellent book.

Read more Hide me

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

3 out of 5 stars
By Andy on 29-08-15

tougher than it looks

Mr. Ramos takes us through pieces of his personal journey in firefighting. The book weighs toward relationships more than the art and science of firefighting. Nonetheless, a nicely paced and informative listen.

Read more Hide me

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

See all reviews
Enter a promotional code
Contact us
Help
Conditions of use Privacy policy Cookies & Internet Advertising Full site
© Copyright 1997 - 2018 Audible Ltd.