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A review by sarahweyand
Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by John Vaillant
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Sometimes I pick up a book to read for a reading challenge where I otherwise might not have. I always love when those books end up being a real hit. Right off the bat I would like to say that I really loved the narrator's job on this book, and when I went to see what else he's narrated, it's this singular hard-hitting environmental nonfiction and a TON of smut. Go off king.
The first part of FIRE WEATHER was my favorite and the most compelling to me, as it details the Fort McMurray fire in Alberta in 2016. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of the area, the specific conditions that made that fire so destructive, and how the town responded and was affected. It reminded me a lot of FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL, but I liked it even more than that. I loved the science mixed with first-person accounts and thought the storytelling was very impactful.
I also found the second half of the book, which is more concerned with the history of the politization of climate change to be incredibly interesting. However, this half of the book was also the hardest to listen to. Living in an area that is so directly impacted by climate change (with the evaporation of the Great Salt Lake and wildfire smoke that stays in the Salt Lake valley from nearby fires all summer), climate change is on my mind all the time, and I mostly feel entirely helpless about it. I know the author needs to present facts boldly as they are to raise awareness about the severity of the issue, but it was pretty depressing to me, especially with no "but here are groups doing good / progress being made" bit at the end - which I understand would be dishonest to do because things aren't good and this is reality and you can't make up a false positive ending for your nonfiction science book to make people feel better about themselves.
I think this book is outstanding, I really do. It may be hard for people to listen to, especially those already painfully aware of the dire situation we're in. But I do think FIRE WEATHER is important to read and share, and it deserves all the awards, nominations, and praise it's received so far.
The first part of FIRE WEATHER was my favorite and the most compelling to me, as it details the Fort McMurray fire in Alberta in 2016. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of the area, the specific conditions that made that fire so destructive, and how the town responded and was affected. It reminded me a lot of FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL, but I liked it even more than that. I loved the science mixed with first-person accounts and thought the storytelling was very impactful.
I also found the second half of the book, which is more concerned with the history of the politization of climate change to be incredibly interesting. However, this half of the book was also the hardest to listen to. Living in an area that is so directly impacted by climate change (with the evaporation of the Great Salt Lake and wildfire smoke that stays in the Salt Lake valley from nearby fires all summer), climate change is on my mind all the time, and I mostly feel entirely helpless about it. I know the author needs to present facts boldly as they are to raise awareness about the severity of the issue, but it was pretty depressing to me, especially with no "but here are groups doing good / progress being made" bit at the end - which I understand would be dishonest to do because things aren't good and this is reality and you can't make up a false positive ending for your nonfiction science book to make people feel better about themselves.
I think this book is outstanding, I really do. It may be hard for people to listen to, especially those already painfully aware of the dire situation we're in. But I do think FIRE WEATHER is important to read and share, and it deserves all the awards, nominations, and praise it's received so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Grief