Rating: 
Summary: Ever wonder who those people really are....
Review: The voice of the jumper base comes alive when a crackle is heard and the jumpers, male and female come alive as they are just beginning to hear the news a fire has broken out somewhere on in the forest. The only way of transportation is the unique style of smokejumping, male and female brave enough to enter an atmosphere that feels as you are on the way down a toasted marshmallow. In all smokejumpers and hotshots are the elite fire crews of the west, including ground pounders but nothing matches them more than anything. From the sky to the ground they are greeted to new heights and ways of survival and compatability.
Rating: 
Summary: Continuing Camaraderie of the Smokejumpers
Review: As a Smokejumper of almost a 1/2 century ago, I throughly enjoyed Murray's book. While the methods of firefighting appear to have somewhat changed, it is reassuring to still see the spirit and camaraderie of the jumpers remain the same. Wonderful book! Laurier B. McDonald, Missoula, '55.
Rating:
Summary: The dream will live on
Review: I jumped with Murray, and most of the other Charcters in this wonderful story. My time with these heroes was the best of my life, and I think that Murray's descriptions of them allows the reader to see why. More than the "jumping"..It is the small parts that amused and amazed me. The twists and turns that a simple conversation would take around a camp fire. How familiar it was to read. I am proud to have known these legends, such as Dunn Dunn and Papa Salinski, and I am proud to know Murray. For the rest of my life, I will be able to open the cover, flip through the pages, and relive the dream and hear the voices of my friends. I believe this to be true for the Non-jumper, as well. Feeling down? Non motivated? Crack this book open and live through Murray.It also provided some good ribbing for the bro's. Thanks, Murray
Rating: 
Summary: A TEXTBOOK ON FIREFIGHTING
Review: The majority of readers of Jumping Fire rate it as a "5" read...a very good book indeed. When I got to page 71 I decided I just didn't want to keep going as there are other books I would like better. Murry Taylor does a good job in telling about his work, however, for me, it was more like a textbook as the vocabulary was firefighter-eze and the detail about exact locations and the descent from the airplane to the ground was so intense that you could draw a map of what was going on. I am not a topographer and that topic does not hold me. The writing effort is heartfelt, but I couldn't keep going after page 71.
Rating:
Summary: Reviewer homesick for the West...
Review: Taylor's Jumping Fire is a beautifully written adventure memoir set in interior Alaska and the Idaho backcountry during the wildfire season of 1991. An easy and fascinating read, the book is filled with hair-raising and hilarious anecdotes, dynamic real-life characters, and some of the most poignant descriptions of interior Alaska and the rugged Idaho backcountry I've ever read. As a 48 year-old armchair adventurer and Maryland resident who was raised in Washington State, I began to miss the Pacific Northwest terribly as Taylor recounts Idaho's high country. Also, at 50 years of age, Taylor proves that adventure isn't just for kids. If leaping out of a perfectly good airplane into raging fires isn't interesting enough, Taylor hooks the reader with a second story line, a budding summer romance with a fetching young lady whom he increasingly desires. He passionately pursues her, hoping to continue their affair into the off-season, thinking their relationship will continue to blossom. Fire calls take first priority and constantly interrupt his pursuit, creating a wonderful romantic tension that's drawn into the book's conclusion. The summer of 1991 was one of the driest on record, when the Alaska Smokejumpers struggled round-the-clock to contain lightning-sparked wildfires all over the 49th state and the West. It's inspiring to accompany Taylor and his comrades on an exhausting and harrowing series of jumps to remote wildfires and mishaps. So, why do Taylor and his good friends return to smokejumping year after year to endure the grinding workload for modest pay? Perhaps it's a combination to adventure and the satisfaction of being one the few allowed to jump fire, and the joy of being in like company. Jumping Fire is as honest and exciting as a book can get. You won't be able to put this one down. >
Rating: 
Summary: Confessions of an Adrenalin Junkie
Review: "Jumping Fire" is Murry Taylor's memoir of his life in the smokejumpers, the elite air cavalry in the war against wildfire. Taylor spent thirty-plus summers (longer than anyone else) parachuting into remote parts of Alaska and other western states to put out fires. Using the framework of a single fire season, he describes the routine of training and preparation, limns the strengths and foibles of his co-workers, and gives vivid, suspenseful accounts of his participation on half a dozen fires. Woven into this journal form is a short course on the equipment, techniques, logistics, and organization used in fighting wildfires. For most readers, the activity and culture Taylor is writing about is as alien... It is no less fascinating for that. The smokejumpers have their own rituals, myths, and legends. To themselves and their friends they are proficient warriors in a struggle against a powerful unpredictable enemy -- fire. ... Wounds are frequent. Victory is temporary. Fellowship is all-important. They become addicted to adrenalin and overtime. Taylor follows moments of high drama with self-pitying reflections on his failure to maintain long-term relationships with women. During the summer the book recounts, he manages to sandwich two sexual relationships in between jumping fires all over Alaska and in central Idaho. The pages he devotes to those matters might have been better spent giving more details on the conflicts among the various governmental agencies charged with protecting our public lands from wild fires.
Rating:
Summary: Confessions of an Adrenalin Junkie
Review: "Jumping Fire" is Murry Taylor's memoir of his life in the smokejumper, the elite air cavalry in the war against wildfire. Taylor spent thirty-plus summers (longer than anyone else) parachuting into remote parts of Alaska and other western states to put out fires. Using the framework of a single fire season, he describes the routine of training and preparation, limns the strengths and foibles of his co-workers, and gives vivid, suspenseful accounts of his participation on half a dozen fires. Woven into this journal form is a short course on the equipment, techniques, logistics, and organization used in fighting wildfires. For most readers, the activity and culture Taylor is writing about is as alien as the one Margaret Meade described. It is no less fascinating for that. The smokejumpers have their own rituals, myths, and legends. To themselves and their friends they are proficient warriors in a struggle against a powerful unpredictable enemy -- fire. Chuck Yaeger crossed with Frodo Baggins. Wounds are frequent. Victory is temporary. Fellowship is all-important. They become addicted to adrenalin and overtime. Taylor follows moments of high drama with self-pitying reflections on his failure to maintain long-term relationships with women. During the summer the book recounts, he manages to sandwich two sexual relationships in between jumping fires all over Alaska and in central Idaho. The pages he devotes to those matters might have been better spent giving more details on the conflicts among the various governmental agencies charged with protecting our public lands from wild fires.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Thanks Murry
Review: I had the privelege of working for the Alaska Smokejumpers as a pilot for three seasons. I want to thank Murry for writing a book that provided me a deeper glimpse into the careers of the men I hauled around the skies of Alaska. All of the people are real, and it was an honor to be able to work with them. I couldn't put the book down, from the prologue, to the last paragraph. I found myself shaking with adreneline, sweating, feeling the fire, seeing the jump pattern, watching the jumpers descending to the fire. I am thankful for the candid look into the world that I left when we turned back for the base. I felt the pain of loneliness, the frustration of a true love, the helplessness of near defeat, the triumph of a job well done. This is the real thing, nothing deleted, nothing embellished. Murry has become quite an author, and if you have any interest in the careers of the elite wildland firefighters known as the Alaska Smokejumpers, or just want a good non-fiction adventure: this book is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Jumping Fire
Review: This is one of the best true life adventure stories I have ever read .Thanks Murry. CUHS 1960.
Rating:
Summary: An insiders look at Jumping Fire
Review: Murry Taylors' book "Jumping Fire" is an excellent story. It accurately captures the life of an Alaska Smokejumper. As a former Alaska Smokejumper who worked with Murry and many of the characters of his book, I can honestly say he managed to capture the spirit as well as reality of the smokejumper world. This book delivers all the good and bad of firefighting in Alaska. I have not seen a more accurate description of what Smokejumpers endure to follow their passion. When you are done with this book you will have a much better understanding of what these brave public servants do.
|
