Flame And Fortune In The American West

Flame and Fortune in the American West creatively and meticulously investigates the ongoing politics, folly, and avarice shaping the production of increasingly widespread yet dangerous suburban and exurban landscapes. The 1991 Oakland Hills Tunnel Fire is used as a starting point to better understand these complex social-environmental processes. The Tunnel Fire is the most destructive fire—in terms of structures lost—in California history. More than 3,000 residential structures burned and 25 lives were lost. Although this fire occurred in Oakland and Berkeley, others like it sear through landscapes in California and the American West that have experienced urban growth and development within areas historically prone to fire. Simon skillfully blends techniques from environmental history, political ecology, and science studies to closely examine the Tunnel Fire within a broader historical and spatial context of regional economic development and natural-resource management, such as the widespread planting of eucalyptus trees as an exotic lure for homeowners and the creation of hillside neighborhoods for tax revenue—decisions that produced communities with increased vulnerability to fire. Simon demonstrates how in Oakland a drive for affluence led to a state of vulnerability for rich and poor alike that has only been exacerbated by the rebuilding of neighborhoods after the fire. Despite these troubling trends, Flame and Fortune in the American West illustrates how many popular and scientific debates on fire limit the scope and efficacy of policy responses. These risky yet profitable developments (what the author refers to as the Incendiary), as well as proposed strategies for challenging them, are discussed in the context of urbanizing areas around the American West and hold global applicability within hazard-prone areas.

This handbook is recognition of the need to better integrate physical and human geography. It combines a collection of work and research within the new field of Critical Physical Geography, which gives critical attention to relations of social power with deep knowledge of a particular field of biophysical science. Critical Physical Geography research accords careful attention to biophysical landscapes and the power relations that have increasingly come to shape them, and to the politics of environmental science and the role of biophysical inquiry in promoting social and environmental justice. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Physical Geography lays out the scope and guiding principles of Critical Physical Geography research. It presents a carefully selected set of empirical work, demonstrating the range and intellectual strength of existing integrative work in geography research. This handbook is the first of its kind to cover this emerging discipline and will be of significant interest to students and academics across the fields of geography, the environment and sustainability.

He killed her family. Now she's determined to destroy him. A western revenge story you won't be able to put down. It's 1865 and the railroad is quickly uniting the once-divided United States. The railroad's arrival in any town promises untold economic booms. For Clara Dorsey and the town her grandfather founded, it might just be the lifeblood the ailing town has been looking for. But there's a problem. After 5 years on the run, the man who killed her father and sister returns, threatening to once again destroy everything Clara holds dear. Set against the backdrop of the railroad wars, Fortune's Flame will have you questioning who to root for in this no-holds-barred tale of the wild west. A note from Nikki Kincaid: This book was a joy to write. Throughout, I found myself asking who the true villain was because very few of the characters are good people--but we've all got our dark sides, don't we? Fortune's Flame, for me, showcased how the struggle of the old west brought out the worst in those trying to survive. Want a FREE book? Go to Nikkikincaid.com/starter-pack to get a free ebook of short stories by Nikki Kincaid!

A touching "riches to rags" story set during the second-worst disaster in the history of Atlantic Canada. Eleven-year-old Triffie is the middle daughter of a well-to-do merchant. Triffie knows nothing about what it means to be poor — until the disastrous fire of 1892 burns down most of St. John's, Newfoundland, leaving Triffie's family and 15,000 others homeless. The fire claimed everything but their underwear, Mother's best china . . . and Triffie's journal. With no other options, Triffie's family moves into a filthy warehouse while they attempt to rebuild their lives from the ground up. The aftermath of the fire teaches Triffie a lot about what it means to survive. More importantly, she comes face to face with her own prejudices, and begins to develop a much greater appreciation for how the less fortunate live.

Reconciling explosive growth with often majestic landscape defines New Geographies of the American West. Geographer William Travis examines contemporary land use changes and development patterns from the Mississippi to the Pacific, and assesses the ecological and social outcomes of Western development. Unlike previous "boom" periods dependent on oil or gold, the modern population explosion in the West reflects a sustained passion for living in this specific landscape. But the encroaching exurbs, ranchettes, and ski resorts are slicing away at the very environment that Westerners cherish. Efforts to manage growth in the West are usually stymied at the state and local levels. Is it possible to improve development patterns within the West's traditional anti-planning, pro-growth milieu, or is a new model needed? Can the region develop sustainably, protecting and managing its defining wildness, while benefiting from it, too? Travis takes up the challenge , suggesting that functional and attractive settlement can be embedded in preserved lands, working landscapes, and healthy ecologies.

The Yellowstone fires of 1988 consumed nearly 800,000 acres—36 percent of the park. In the years following, spectacular wildflowers rose from the ashes and trees rapidly reclaimed the landscape. In this twenty-five-year look back at the fires, author and photographer Jeff Henry recalls not only the summer of 1988, when he witnessed and photographed nearly every aspect of the fires, but also the years since as nature healed the charred landscape. A beautiful book that depicts nature as simultaneously malevolent and beneficent, The Year Yellowstone Burned demonstrates the resilience of one of our continent’s most dynamic ecosystems.

"The Fire Flower" is a Western novel written by Jackson Gregory. Gregory was one of the America's successful and prolific authors in the first half of the 20th century. His writing style was usually a combination of an abundance of action, adventure and suspense coupled with a dependable story line about areas and the life he was familiar with in the American Southwest. Excerpt: "Sheldon had plunged on into this new country rather recklessly, being in reckless mood. Now, five days northward of Belle Fortune, he knew that he had somewhere taken the wrong trail.The knowledge came upon him gradually. There was the suspicion before ten o'clock that morning, when the stream he followed seemed to him to be running a little too much to the northwest. But he had pushed on, watchful of every step, seeking a blazed tree or the monument of a stone set upon a rock.When he made camp at noon he was still undecided, inclined to believe that the wise thing would be to turn back. But he did not turn back. He was his own man now; all time was before him; the gigantic wilderness about him was grateful. At night, when he had yanked his small pack down from his horse's saddle, suspicion had grown into certainty. He smoked his good-night pipe in deep content."

Surveys the genre of western fiction that has been adapted for the American screen, excluding novelizations of films and foreign adaptations. The main sections are entitled "Red man, white man," "Six-gun heroes," and "The new west." A full chapter is devoted to treatments of Zane Grey. For film buffs rather than scholars. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR