Burning Bush: A Fire History of Australia (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books)

From the time of the continent's formation tens of millions of years ago as the Godwana twin of Antarctica, Australia has been dominated by fire much as its sister has been by ice. Now Stephen Pyne, one of our foremost environmental historians, proposes a major reinterpretation of the Australian experience by using fire and Australia to explain one another. He narrates the story of how fire came to Australia and interacted with the Australian biota and its human inhabitants, while at the same time he relates the planetary saga of fire as it has been played out on this special island continent. Much as the Aborigines exploited fire to remake their environment into something more usable, so Stephen Pyne exploits fire to transform the landscape of history into something more accessible, to use its transmuting power to extract new meaning out of familiar events. Pyne traces the impact of fire, from its initial influence on the evolving vegetation of the new continent, through its use by the Aborigines and the subsequent European settlers, to the holocaust of February 1983 known as Ash Wednesday, and he shows us that the dynamic nature of fire has made it a most powerful environmental determinant in Australia, shaping both its social and natural histories. Cover Contents Foreword Preface to the 1998 Paperback Edition Preface to the Original Edition: Firestick History Map of Australia Map of Australia's Vegetation Prologue: Dust to Dust BOOK I: THE EUCALYPT 1. The Universal Australian 2. Unimaginable Freaks of Fire: Profile of a Pyrophyte 3. Red Centre: Fire Regimes of Old Australia 4. Land of Contrarities BOOK II: THE ABORIGINE 5. Flaming Front 6. Firestick Farmer: Profile of a Pyrophile 7. Fires of the Dreaming 8. Smokes by Day, Fires by Night: Fire Regimes of Aboriginal Australia 9. This Wonderful Depository of Fire BOOK III: THE EUROPEAN 10. Entwining Fire 11. Reconnaissance by Fire: Education of a Pyrophile 12. Red Steers and Green Pick 13. Beyond the Black Stump 14. Fire Conservancy 15. Burning Off: Fire Provinces of European Australia 16. When the Billy Boiled BOOK IV: THE NEW AUSTRALIAN 17. The Two Fires 18. Antipodean Fire: The Australian Strategy 19. Wild Bush, Urban Bush: Fire Regimes of New Australia 20. Dieback Epilogue: Ashes to Ashes Notes Bibliographic Essay Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Pyne traces the impact of fire in Australia, from its influence on vegetation to its use by Aborigines and European settlers.�Mr. Pyne, showing what a historian deeply schooled in environmental science can contribute to our awareness of nature and culture, has produced a provocative work that is a major contribution to the literature of environmental studies.��New York Times Book Review

Author Stephen Pyne traces the impact of fire in Australia, from its influence on vegetation to its use by Aborigines and European settlers. "Stephen Pyne is a great storyteller, and here he weaves as fine a tale as one could imagine about a phenomenon as seemingly ordinary as fire".--NATURAL HISTORY. A Weyerhaeuser Environmental Book. 14 photos. Traces the impact of fire in Australia, showing that it has been a powerful environmental determinant, shaping both social and natural histories. Discusses fire rituals and legends of old Australia, Aboriginal farming methods using fire, fire use by Europeans, and modern developments. First publishe Stephen J. Pyne ; With A Foreword By William Cronon And A New Preface By The Author. First Published: New York : Henry Holt, 1991. Foreword And Preface To This Ed. Copyright 1998 By The University Of Washington Press. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 493-497) And Index. Pyne traces the impact of fire in Australia, showing that it has been a powerful environmental determinant, shaping both social and natural histories. In the beginning-even 250 million years ago-all lands were one.