A brilliant exploration of the rising phenomenon of megafires-forest fires of alarming scale, intensity, and devastation-that captures the danger and heroism of those who fight them In Megafire, a world-renowned journalist and forest fire expert travels to the most dangerous and remote wildernesses, as well as to the backyards of people faced with these environmental disasters, to look at the heart of this phenomenon and witness firsthand the heroic efforts of the firefighters and scientists racing against time to stop it-or at least to tame these deadly flames. From Colorado to California, China to Canada, the narrative hopscotches the globe and takes readers to the frontlines of the battle both on the ground and in the air, and in the laboratories, universities, and federal agencies where this issue rages on. Through this prism of perspectives, Kodas zeroes in on a handful of the most terrifying and tumultuous of these environmental disasters in recent years-the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona that took the lives of nineteen elite “hotshot” firefighters, the Waldo Canyon Fire that overwhelmed the city of Colorado Springs, the Black Saturday Fires that killed 173 Australians-and more in a page-turning narrative that puts a face on the brave people at the heart of this issue. Megafire will change the way we think about our environment and the essential precariousness of our world. AUTHOR: In addition to being an author, photographer, teacher, and public speaker, MICHAEL KODAS is currently the associate director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has won multiple awards for his photojournalism and reporting, and his writing includes the bestseller High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed, which was chosen for the Best Nonfiction category of USA Book News’s National Best Book Awards. He lives in Boulder, Colorado. 16-20 b/w photos
