Stephen J. Pyne

Who would imagine that a book about the history of fire in Europe could be so interesting? Stephen Pyne's Vestal Fire not only tells the story of fire in Europe, but he also talks about the evolution of agriculture and forestry as well. Through his explanations of how fire shaped Europe's landscapes, you will find yourself looking at the landscape with new eyes.

The book begins with a discussion of how prehistoric peoples used fire to shape their environment using practices that continued up through modern times. They burned to clear fields for planting, as a source of fertilizer, to clear passages through forest and steppe, to kill off insects, to herd animals into traps, and to make the forest more hospitable for berry gathering and grazing of their animals. Clues to these prehistoric practices come from sediment samples taken from lakes that show types of pollen and levels of soot. Also, the remains of great forests have been found under peat bogs and the remnants of trees show signs of primitive axes and of burning. The regular application of fire to the environment changed which flora became dominant in the area as well. In short, no area of Europe had been untouched by anthropic fire.

The book then continues with the environmental history of the various regions of Europe. There are discussions of how the introduction of goats and sheep affected the fire regime in each region. The discussion of Scandinavia discusses how the forestry industry evolved there. His explanation of the islands of the north Atlantic takes you from island to island explaining how they were settled and how their environment changed as a result. Most interesting was the discussion of Russia, particularly east of the Urals. Pyne explains that the Mongols used fire to make their passage through the steppe easier and to provide fresh grass for their animals. People also used fires to combat the annoying gnats in the air. He also asserts that Russians had frequently used a scorched earth policy to defend against invaders which means burning of the fields and of Moscow during the invasion of Napoleon was almost business as usual.

One key theme of the book is the conflict between the elite Enlightenment thinkers who found the use of fire to be wasteful and primitive versus peasants closer to the ground who utilized fires to make their lives better. Pyne points out that after the elites suppressed burning, natural fuel built up in the forests which resulted in bigger and more destructive wildfires afterwards. In more modern times there was a school of thought that felt that only "natural fire" from lightening should be permissible. This also resulted in bigger and more destructive fires. Pyne very clearly implies that controlled burning is needed everywhere in order to minimize the destruction of wildfires.

Once Pyne finishes with Europe itself, he discusses how Europe exported their fire practices to the countries that they colonized. He begins with the example of St. Helena which Europeans found as an untouched natural "garden" that became destroyed environmentally soon after Europeans tried to settle there. He explains that this negative example had a big impact on Enlightenment thinking. His discussion then expands to consider the Caribbean islands as well as the islands of Indonesia. When Europeans began to colonize continents, particularly those like India that were already well populated, they needed to adapt their approaches in a way that was not necessary for islands. As part of the discussion of colonization, Pyne discusses the establishment of forest management as well as fire-fighting.

This book should be appreciated by people interested in learning more about European history and in seeing the history from a very new perspective. It is in many ways similar to Guns, Germs and Steel for providing a global, long-term view of history. It should be especially interesting for those people interested in environmental history. William Cronon wrote the introduction and this book provides a good addition to what Cronon wrote about in Changes in the Land.

Readers should be warned, however, that this book is not an easy read and is sometimes a heavy slog. Reasons include:
- The extensive use of a specialized geological and environmental vocabulary. I needed to frequently check the dictionary.
- Pyne often jumps between countries and time periods within the same paragraph. It is necessary to pay careful attention while reading.
- The book is long and contains a lot of information, some of which is not that exciting.
- Pyne has a very "poetic" prose style that sometimes gets in the way of his message.

That said, it is worth reading to gain a new perspective on European and world history.… (mere)

In the beginning, there was no fire on the Earth. Fire had to wait for enough oxygen to enter the atmosphere and for enough biological material to be made available that could burn.

Stephen Pyne tells the history of fire. But, who would have thought that Fire has a history? Not only do you learn that fire has a very involved history, but you learn what evidence he uses to determine that history.

Seldom has a book changed my way of looking at things as much as this book. He begins with how fire came to the Earth and then how the earliest humans used fire to shape the landscape to their needs and continues with a description of mankind's relationship with fire up to the present day. Today, Pyne feels that mankind has cut itself off from fire having hidden it by use of technology. As a result, we are no longer actively using controlled burning in order to tame fire to our needs.

Pyne's writing style is a bit of a challenge since he uses a vocabulary that this reader was not familiar with. The book is nevertheless an engrossing and worthwhile read for anyone interested in the environment, natural history, and early history.… (mere)