Go Tell It on the Mountain: Fire Lookout Stories and Dispatches

As the Western wilderness has shrunk, so has the number of fire watchers: Maughan, who teaches English at Idaho State, reports that they numbered 6000 in the 1950s and are now down to 600. In this collection of 29 essays and stories by 19 authors, it becomes clear that fire watching is not a job for the gregarious, because it can impose weeks of isolation and demands constant vigilance. While bears and rattlesnakes are possible sources of trouble, the greatest threat comes from lightning, which causes 90% of all forest fires. There are several fascinating accounts here of watchers riding out storms in their metal cabins placed at high elevations--making them perfect targets for lightning bolts. No one would take such a post who did not love nature, but it may come as a surprise that women constitute a large percentage of the watchers. Thoreauvian types should love this. (Feb.)