The State of Fire

How, Where, and Why California Burns

Obi Kaufmann

$44.99

Hardback

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English

Heyday Books
31 October 2024

Forests, rainforests; Conservation of the environment; Natural disasters; Fire protection & safety; The Earth: natural history general

How do we live with fire? From the creator of The California Field Atlas, a book of stewardship, resilience, and hope.

Fire is an essential part of California's ecology. Humans have been using it to shape the California landscape for thousands of years. But today many Californians' relationship to fire is one of fear. Obi Kaufmann, author of the best-selling California Field Atlas, now asks: How do we live with fire? What makes fire essential to a healthy and biodiverse Golden State, and how do we benefit from its teachings? With the same solution-minded ethic as his much-admired The State of Water: Understanding California's Most Precious Resource, Kaufmann presents fire as a force of regeneration rather than apocalypse. He considers the long history of ecological burns, the varied ways fire behaves across the state, and the lessons we can learn from California's largest fires of recent decades.

Packed with Kaufmann's signature watercolor maps and paintings, The State of Fire confronts one of California's most pressing social and ecological challenges. From this maelstrom Kaufmann emerges to share a deepened love for the natural world-and a refreshingly hopeful vision of California's future.

By: Obi Kaufmann
Imprint: Heyday Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 177mm, Width: 127mm,
ISBN: 9781597146517
ISBN 10: 159714651X
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 31 October 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Obi Kaufmann is the author of The California Field Atlas (2017, #1 San Francisco Chronicle Best Seller), The State of Water (2019), The Forests of California (2020), The Coasts of California (2022), and The Deserts of California (2023), all published by Heyday. When he is not backpacking, you can find the painter-poet at home in the East Bay, posting trail paintings at his handle @coyotethunder on Instagram. His speaking tour dates are available at californiafieldatlas.com, and his essays are posted at coyoteandthunder.com. He lives in Oakland, CA.

Reviews for The State of Fire: How, Where, and Why California Burns

""Like a lot of Californians, fire has become a fairly obsessive interest. Add Kaufmann's inimitable watercolor illustrations and I can't wait to get my hands on this manual of the natural world and California history. Pair with writer Manjula Martin’s 2024 memoir, The Last Fire Season, for a visceral-plus-visual understanding of what it is to love the natural world and to live alongside fire, itself an essential part of that world."" —Bridget Quinn, Hyperallergic ""Obi Kaufmann's illustrated atlases on the natural history of California have all been bestsellers but none have felt as urgent as his new book, The State of Fire: Why California Burns. Fires in the state are growing larger and deadlier and Kaufmann delves into the history, science, and future of fire ecology to explain why. His analysis is accompanied, as usual, by his gorgeous, evocative illustrations."" —Frances Dinkelspiel, Piedmont Exedra ""The State of Fire: Why California Burns looks at the wildfire problem and how fire is a regenerative force. It is Kaufmann's latest entry in a collection of impressive works about the state's environment."" —Diablo Magazine ""The State of Fire: Why California Burns offers the reader a glimpse into one of California's most pressing social and ecological challenges. Kaufmann is brilliant, articulate and engaging, providing hope for the state's future."" —Tahoe Literary Guide ""Kaufmann traces the history of fire back billions of years and points to indigenous tribes and plant life as exemplars of how to live in better harmony with nature. He posits that rapid response teams alone can’t solve this—and may unwittingly be part of the problem."" —Nob Hill Gazette