Research Catalog

Title

Fire / Stephen J. Pyne.

Author

Pyne, Stephen J., 1949-

Publication

London : Reaktion Books, 2012.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

207 p. : ill. (chiefly col.), maps (some col.); 21 cm.

Summary

"Fire has been an integral feature of our planet for over 400 million years. It has defined human culture from the beginning; it is something without which we cannot survive. For while fire is among the most destructive forces on earth, it has equally tremendous powers of cleansing renewal and controlled energy. In this book the author delivers a masterclass history of fire and its use by humanity, explaining how fire has always been at the core of how people have made their world habitable, whether hunting, foraging, farming, herding or urbanizing, and of course in managing nature reserves. Fire was deployed in the bast by aboriginal communities, and early agricultural societies began to control and contain fire and fuel. But our mastery of the science and art of fire has not given us absolute power: fire disasters have altered the course of history, and unexpected fires that begin as the result of other disasters can have shocking efffects. In addition, wildfires are a crucial component of natural regeneration. The past 200 years has also seen the growth of a massive new role of combustibles in the form of fossil biomass: 'people burn fuels from the geological past and release their effluents into the geological future. The present they overload with noxious emissions and greenhouse gases.' New combustion practices have radically changed the world's ecological balance.

Series Statement

Earth series

Uniform Title

Earth series (Reaktion Books (Firm))

Alternative Title

Nature and culture

Subject

• Fire
• Combustion
• Fires in art
• Fires > History
• Fires > Mythology
• Fires > Social aspects
• Wildfires
• Forest fires

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-198) and index.

Contents

Creating combustion -- Burning bright, burning wide, burning deep -- Fire creature -- Fire works: anthropogenic fire practices -- Famous fires: an anthology -- Fire studied and fire made -- Fire painted -- Fire celebrated -- The great disruption -- Megafire.

Call Number

JFD 13-768

ISBN

• 9781780230467
• 178023046X

OCLC

788270203

Author

Pyne, Stephen J., 1949-

Title

Fire / Stephen J. Pyne.

Imprint

London : Reaktion Books, 2012.

Series

Earth series

Earth series (Reaktion Books (Firm))

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-198) and index.

Note

Subtitle on cover: Nature and culture

Research Call Number

JFD 13-768