Book notes | The Big Burn
In The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & the Fire that Saved America, author Timothy Egan relates the events of the historic 1910 wildfire in the western United States while engaging the reader in an adventure story of the pioneer West. He first brings the characters to life and explains the mission of President Theodore Roosevelt to preserve the wild lands of America.
Roosevelt's foes are powerful and many. They also have the resources to defeat plans to create a national service to protect what remains of American forests after the New England states were pillaged by the railroad barons of the day. The residents living in the northern Idaho wilderness towns and villages have no interest in preservation. Like the robber barons of lumber, mining, and rail, they are after the wealth to be had from the land. Roosevelt begins his conservation efforts in this atmosphere, with a meager crew in the driest summer in decades.
Egan goes on to describe the land, the towns, and the mostly uneducated people who reside there. His telling of the gestation, birth, and life of a wildfire is breathtaking. The fire has a life of its own and creates a weather system strong enough to overcome all efforts to stifle it. The story of the men whose heroic and epic actions worked to save people and land is told with heart and a reality that proves the extensiveness of Egan's research.
Similarities to today
The story is brought to a satisfying conclusion and the final pages read like an epilogue. Egan relates what became of the main characters after the fire as well as what became of Roosevelt's idea, plans, and mission to create what became the National Forest Service.
UMRA Book Club members found this book to be an educational and extremely satisfying read. They all agreed that the book provided information about this wildfire and about America's forests at the turn of the century that they didn’t have before. They enjoyed how the author told the story by documenting individual stories of the heroes who fought the fire. Many commented on the similarities to today’s political atmosphere around the environment and climate change: Haven’t we learned anything?
—Paula M. Knutzen, UMRA Book Club I member
Book Club I to meet June 18
Fri, Jun 18 2021, 2pm
Paula Knutzen will lead the discussion of The Big Burn by Timothy Egan when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 18.
This book club currently has 16 members, a number that works well for our discussions. Contact Pat Tollefson at [email protected] for more information, including suggestions for starting a new book club.
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.
August 31 is the due date for annual reports and updates. Annual Reports, Toolkits, web page updates, operating document updates and archives collections are all due each year on this date.
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm
After a summer break the UMRA Photo Club will next meet September 10, 2024 in the meeting room of the Hennepin County St. Anthony Branch Library. For those interested in lunch, meet at the Great Dragon at 11:30 am. For September the THEME will be Curves
We will continue to discuss the pros and cons of Medicare Advantage. You will also hear about notable non-health plan and non-broker resources.