Wildfire: Memoires of a Wildland Firefighter

Wildfire is an exhilarating tale of the lengths one man goes in pursuit of a dream. Told he'll never make the cut to become an elite California Smokejumper, Ralph Ryan empolys laser-like focus, a 'never give up' attitude, and the calming mental training of Eastern mysticism to earn the right to leap out of planes and fight forest fires. There's beauty and danger in these pages, filled with bird's eye views of the world from beneath a parachute, and raging blazes just steps away. When an accident results in a broken back, Ryan offers all of us a moving lesson in belief in oneself and overcoming our own bleakest days. This is a funny, fast-paced insiders look at one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and the passion that accompanies smokejumpers every time they bail above the flames.

Ralph Ryan fought wild land fires from California to Florida, Oregon to Alaska for fourteen years serving on fire engines, initial attack helishot crew and Smoke Jumping with the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.