Smokejumper, Jason A. Ramos
Smokejumper, Jason A. Ramos
21 Rating(s)
List: $21.99 | Sale: $15.39
Club: $10.99

Smokejumper
A Memoir by One of America's Most Select Airborne Firefighters

Author: Jason A. Ramos, Julian Smith

Narrator: Ned Vaughn

Unabridged: 5 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 07/14/2015


Synopsis

A PACIFIC NORTHWEST BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION BESTSELLER"A fascinating look" (Esquire) at the thrilling world of smokejumpers, the airborne firefighters who parachute into the most remote and rugged areas of the United States, confronting the growing threat of nature’s blazes.Forest and wildland fires are growing larger, more numerous, and deadlier every year — record drought conditions, decades of forestry mismanagement, and the increasing encroachment of residential housing into the wilderness have combined to create a powder keg that threatens millions of acres and thousands of lives every year. One select group of men and women are part of America's front-line defense: smokejumpers. The smokejumper program operates through both the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Though they are tremendously skilled and only highly experienced and able wildland firefighters are accepted into the training program, being a smokejumper remains an art that can only be learned on the job. Forest fires often behave in unpredictable ways: spreading almost instantaneously, shooting downhill behind a stiff tailwind, or even flowing like a liquid. In this extraordinarily rare memoir by an active-duty jumper, Jason Ramos takes readers into his exhilarating and dangerous world, explores smokejumping’s remarkable history, and explains why their services are more essential than ever before.

About Jason A. Ramos

Jason A. Ramos has devoted twenty-six years of his life to the fire service. His career began at the age of 17 as a volunteer with the Riverside County Fire Department, then progressed to wildland firefighting in Southern California. Now a smokejumper in his sixteenth season, he is based in Winthrop, WA, at the North Cascades Smokejumper Base, the "birthplace of smokejumping."

About Julian Smith

JULIAN SMITH received a Banff Mountain Book Award and a Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for Crossing the Heart of Africa: An Odyssey of Love and Adventure. The coauthor of Smokejumper: A Memoir by One of America's Most Select Airborne Firefighters, he has written for Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, Wired, Outside, and the Washington Post, among other publications. Julian lives in Portland, Oregon.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Gea on August 04, 2015

I absolutely loved this book. Smokejumper by Jason A. Ramos and Julian Smith is a whip fast, fun, and fascinating read. It is also, at times, deeply sad. As a firefighter myself, I've always been intrigued by smokejumpers--the fittest and most elite of wildland firefighters. Not only do they parachu......more

Goodreads review by Maria on December 11, 2015

Ramos is a smokejumper. A firefighter who parachutes into the forest to fight fires. Yes, it as a dangerous as it sounds. This profession has started in 1939 and every year 500 men and women train and prepare to fight nature at her worst. Why I started this book: I'm fascinated by dangerous, yet esse......more

Goodreads review by Carl on November 02, 2015

3.5 stars. Parachuting into a forest fire, controlling its furious and unpredictable flames, and packing out of rugged terrain carrying well in excess of 100 pounds pretty much fulfills the definition of "badass" in anyone's book. Jason Ramos recounts his 20+ year career as a smokejumper, combining......more

Goodreads review by Tiffany on July 23, 2015

I have such deep respect for these brave men and women. There's lots of history in this book and some scientific/technical info - none of which interests me. I just like the stories. The pictures were very interesting too. I loved reading that they rarely find animal carcasses because I always worry......more

Goodreads review by Anne on July 23, 2015

Heard of this book by a review in the Seattle Times, which I have found not always reliable... But in this case, with the local aspect -it was right on! Read it cover to cover in less than a day! Somewhat difficult to read after the Wenatchee fire, but incredible stories and brings to the forefront......more