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On the Fireline book cover
On the Fireline
Living and Dying with Wildland Firefighters
2007
First Published
3.82
Average Rating
382
Number of Pages
In this rugged account of a rugged profession, Matthew Desmond explores the heart and soul of the wildland firefighter. Having joined a firecrew in Northern Arizona as a young man, Desmond relates his experiences with intimate knowledge and native ease, adroitly balancing emotion with analysis and action with insight. On the Fireline shows that these firefighters aren’t the adrenaline junkies or romantic heroes as they’re so often portrayed. An immersion into a dangerous world, On the Fireline is also a sophisticated analysis of a high-risk profession—and a captivating read. “Gripping . . . a masterful account of how young men are able to face down wildfire, and why they volunteer for such an enterprise in the first place.”—David Grazian, Sociological Forum “Along with the risks and sorrow, Desmond also presents the humor and comaraderie of ordinary men performing extraordinary tasks... A good complement to Norman Maclean's Young Men and Fire . Recommended.”— Library Journal
Avg Rating
3.82
Number of Ratings
156
5 STARS
26%
4 STARS
43%
3 STARS
22%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
3%
goodreads

Author

Matthew Desmond
Matthew Desmond
Author · 6 books

Matthew Desmond is social scientist and urban ethnographer. He is the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology and the Director of the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. He is also a Contributing Writer for The New York Times Magazine. Desmond is the author of over fifty academic studies and several books, including "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City," which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, National Book Critics Circle Award, Carnegie Medal, and PEN / John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction. "Evicted" was listed as one of the Best Books of 2016 by The New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, National Public Radio, and several other outlets. It has been named one of the Best 50 Nonfiction Books of the Last 100 Years and was included in the 100 Best Social Policy Books of All Time. Desmond's research and reporting focuses on American poverty and public policy. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, and is an elected member of the American Philosophical Society. He has been listed among the Politico 50, as one of “fifty people across the country who are most influencing the national political debate.”

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