Pyrocene Park: A Journey Into the Fire History of Yosemite National Park (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780816549238)

Its monumental rocks, etched by glaciers during the last Ice Age, have made Yosemite National Park a crown jewel of the national park system and a world-celebrated destination. Yet, more and more, fire rather than ice is shaping this storied landscape.

In the last decade, fire has blasted into public attention. California's blazes have captured national and global media interest with their drama and urgency. Expand the realm of fire to include the burning of fossil fuels, and the fire story also subsumes climate change. Renowned fire historian Stephen J. Pyne argues that the relationship between fire and humans has become a defining feature of our epoch, and he reveals how Yosemite offers a cameo of how we have replaced an ice age with a fire age: the Pyrocene.

Organized around a backcountry trek to a 50-year experiment in restoring fire, Pyrocene Park describes the 150-year history of fire suppression and management that has led us, in part, to where the park is today. But there is more. Yosemite's fire story is America's, and the Earth's, as it shifts from an ice-informed world to a fire-informed one. Pyrocene Park distills that epic story into a sharp miniature.

Flush with people, ideas, fires, and controversy, Pyrocene Park is a compelling and accessible window into the American fire scene and the future it promises.


Author: Stephen J. Pyne
ISBN-10: 0816549230
ISBN-13: 9780816549238
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Language: English
Published: 05/16/2023
Pages: 192
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.55lbs
Size: 8.43h x 5.43w x 0.55d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 02/01/2024