Complete Book of Fire: Building Campfires for Warmth, Light, Cooking, and Survival

TO BUILD A FIRE, feel heat, smell smoke, hear snaps and groans, watch flames dance, and gaze into glowing coals is the ultimate outdoor comfort. A campfire gives warmth, sheds light, dries clothes, calms fears, and draws a day in the outdoors to a pleasant close.

But when a campfire becomes a matter of life or death, there is no room for error. The Complete Book of Fire: Building Campfires for Warmth, Light, Cooking and Survival provides the knowledge and confidence you need to stay alive.

With a focus on safety and the Integrity of the outdoors, The Complete Book of Fire initiates the novice and informs the experienced. Integrating the history, ecology, and science of fire with practical aspects of campfires such as cooking and comfort, author and outdoor expert Buck Tilton has created the ultimate guide to properly building, enjoying, and extinguishing campfires.

From cooking a hot meal to providing life-giving warmth, The Complete Book of Fire: Building Campfires for Warmth, Light, Cooking, and Survival covers it all.

”Anyone can make fire on a dry, balmy day. But add wind and rain, and where there’s smoke there may not be fire! Everything you could want to know about making fires for fun, warmth, comfort, cooking, and survival is here.”
―Cliff Jacobson, internationally known wilderness canoe guide and author of more than 12 outdoor guides

”Buck Tilton, who has traveled the world rafting, hiking, and climbing, captures the essence of fire building. Buck’s first-hand experience makes this book a must read for anyone using the great outdoors.”
―Darryl R. Miller, South District Ranger, Denali National Park and Preserve

“The Complete Book of Fire is filled with significant insights into safely and enjoyably trekking in the wild outdoors. It is a must-read for anyone who ventures into the backcountry.”
―David Bates, Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics board member, elected member of the Explorers Club

Outdoor expert Buck Tilton’s respect and knowledge of our mountains, plains, and coastline are embodied in a lifetime of outdoor achievements, including winning the Paul Petzoldt Award for Excellence in Wilderness Education, co-founding the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS, and authoring Leave No Trace’s Master Educator Handbook. Buck also knows about fire first-hand. He’s battled wild fires on the ground as a hotshot with the Unites States Forest Service and from the air as part of helicopter fire-attack crews. Buck lived in a cabin for 15 years, heated entirely by a wood-burning stove fed by wood that Buck himself cut, split, and stacked. In his lifetime outdoors, Buck has cooked with every conceivable type of stove, but hot coals and flame remain a favorite way to roast or bake a tasty open-air feast. An experienced author, more than 15 of Buck’s books are currently in print, and he is a regular contributor to “Backpacker Magazine.” Buck lives in Lander, Wyoming.