“Wild Fire,” “The Last Cowboys” and more

NONFICTION

By Heather Hansen (Mountaineer Books)

In 2015, more than 68,000 fires burned 10 million acres in the United States. The number and severity of wildfires are growing due to climate change, increased use of mountains and wilderness areas and human carelessness, writes Heather Hansen in “Wild Fire.”

People are responsible for nearly 85 percent of the wildfires and close to half of the area burned. Moreover, humans often create wildfires where nature doesn’t, increasing the wildfire season by three months each year. Due to climate change, there is less snow, and temperatures are higher. That not only results in a longer season but also more fuel. Prolonged freezing temperatures fail to kill pine beetles, which means more dead trees.

So who puts out those fires? Hansen spent a year working with Boulderbased Station 8, whose crew, known as the “hot irons,” fights fires in Colorado — and all over the U.S. when needed. A large section of the book is devoted to a blow-by-blow account of Section 8’s handling of the Cold Springs fire outside Boulder in 2016.

“Wild Fire” is a primer on both wildfires and firefighting. Hansen mixes history with interviews and descriptions, and the book has a nice you-arethere feeling. The author interjects herself a bit too much in her reporting — too many “I ask” and “I saw” references — but that’s a minor criticism of a book that defines the challenge of fighting the devastation that wildfires bring.

FICTION

so sharply defined by its geography and history was bound to produce a literary culture absorbed in telling its stories,” Pratt writes.

The literature produced in this great swath of America runs the gamut of immigrant settlement to social issues to nostalgia. Pratt starts the book with the writings of Black Elk, then moves on to the classics, such as Ole Rolvaag’s “Giants in the Earth,” and Willa Cather’s “My Antonia.”

This is not a comprehensive book on Midwestern writing but rather a concise account of what Pratt deems the best literature produced in the region. She writes in depth about representative authors but gives only a passing nod to Colorado’s Kent Haruf, who is probably the best writer of the Great Plains produced in the last halfcentury.

“Great Plains Literature” is one of several short books the University of Nebraska has issued on the Great Plains. The others deal with bison, Indians and geology. While concise, the books are interesting and well-written and a nice addition to works about what was once called the Great American Desert.

FICTION

The most romantic chapter of the Old West may well be that of the Pony Express. The story of intrepid young riders dashing across the prairie, pitting themselves against Indians, accidents and bad weather never fails to thrill readers. “West Like Lightning” is a glib account that begins with a fearless young rider leaving Missouri with news of the election of Abraham Lincoln. His counterpart arrives eight days later in Sacramento. By today’s standards, that may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but compare it to a wagon train that took as much as five months for the same journey.

Jim Defelice’s story of the Pony, as it was called, is less scholarly history than folklore, with a hodge-podge of Western history thrown in. Written in chatty style — he mentions Google, Neil Armstrong and Dunkin’ Donuts, among other things — pretty much takes on the whole Western frontier. He includes outlaws and Indians, gold miners and rascals.

He also debunks some myths. There’s no record of Buffalo Bill as a Pony Express rider, and the Pony never advertised “orphans preferred.” The service was a promotional venture for its backers, a group of freighters, and was never expected to make money. If the telegraph hadn’t driven it out of business, the Pony would have gone under from financial losses.

NONFICTION

What symbolizes the West more than the cowboy, unless it’s a cowboy on a bucking bronco? Iconic as he is, however, the cowboy is under threat. Taxes, environmental and government regulations along with escalating land prices are driving more and more ranchers out of business. Southern Utah’s Wright family has ranched land for 150 years, but for fifthgeneration Bill Wright, the future does not look bright. He wonders how long he can hold on. His daughter-in-law’s sign sums it up: “Behind every successful rancher is a wife with a job in town.”

The Wrights have something going for them, however. The men are saddlebronc stars. Son Cody, a national champion, earns enough at rodeos to support his family, and Cody’s sons are right behind him, dominating saddle bronco riding. It’s not unusual to see four or five Wrights in the top 10.

John Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, spent three years living and traveling with the Wright family as they worked the land and participated in far-flung rodeos. “The Last Cowboys” is an intimate look into the lives of rodeo cowboys. They drive through the night from rodeo to rodeo, sometimes winning, often losing, sleeping in their trucks and eating at fastfood joints. They are a stoic bunch, rarely complaining about the broken bones and other injuries that sideline them for months. Like the broncos they ride, they have been bred to the sport and they support more than compete against each other.

Branch brings a sense of authenticity to his story with his description of the danger and excitement of the rodeo ring.

Sandra Dallas is a Denver author.