Fire in the Outback


Book Description

The stories from Australia's Aborigines of real personal and community transformation that began at Elcho Island and spread across the north, centre and west of Australia. This fire of spiritual revival transformed health, hygiene, attitudes to work and education, and brought true reconciliation and love between families, clans, and tribes that had been fighting for many generations.




Wombat Underground


Book Description

During the fire season in Australia, a wombat allows its underground shelter to become a place of refuge for other vulnerable animals in need. Discusses Australia's devastating 2019-2020 fire season, in which many animals lost their lives or their habitats.




Burning Bush


Book Description

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




Fire


Book Description

Over vast expanses of time, fire and humanity have interacted to expand the domain of each, transforming the earth and what it means to be human. In this concise yet wide-ranging book, Stephen J. Pyne—named by Science magazine as “the world’s leading authority on the history of fire”—explores the surprising dynamics of fire before humans, fire and human origins, aboriginal economies of hunting and foraging, agricultural and pastoral uses of fire, fire ceremonies, fire as an idea and a technology, and industrial fire. In this revised and expanded edition, Pyne looks to the future of fire as a constant, defining presence on Earth. A new chapter explores the importance of fire in the twenty-first century, with special attention to its role in the Anthropocene, or what he posits might equally be called the Pyrocene.




Outback Blaze (A Bunyip Bay Novel, #2)


Book Description

Ruby wasn't looking for love, Drew wasn't looking to stay... until they found each other. Can their fling survive the darkness of Ruby's past and Drew's desire to move on? Ruby Jones was always an optimist, but the trauma of her past had made her wary. So when she flees to the small rural community of Bunyip Bay to start afresh, she has her sights firmly set on establishing her horse–riding business and rebuilding her life. The last thing Ruby wants is a romance. In fact, after all she has been through, she can't imagine she will ever believe in love again. Police officer Drew Noble has no intention of staying in Bunyip Bay – he is just an outsider seeking temporary refuge. But as the charm of the town sways him, Drew finds himself increasingly drawn to the community and its inhabitants, as well as another newcomer, the lovely Ruby Jones. When Drew investigates a suspicious fire at Ruby's parents' business, he finds himself feeling strangely protective of the girl with the flowers in her hair. As the details of Ruby's past emerge and she comes once more under threat, Drew realises he will do all in his power to save her. Soon these outsiders discover they have both lost their hearts – not only to the town but to each other.




The Fire in the Stone


Book Description

A gripping story of heat, dust and desperation from a master storyteller. Fourteen-year-old Ernie went out to South Australia's opal fields with his dad. That was five years ago. They still live in the same dugout, a burrow, not a house, not like the one he used to live in, and his dad's pretty much given up. So Ernie's working, tunnelling through sandstone. Some people use bulldozers and gelignite, but Ernie does it the old way, using a pick. And he goes down other people's old shafts. That's how he found them: those blue-green stones. The opals. It's the reason they're all there - and the reason his were stolen. Ernie is determined to get them back. He won't be able to do it alone, but who can he trust? And just how far will the thief go to protect his stash? First published in 1973, The Fire in the Stone was released as a film in 1984.




World Fire


Book Description

Back in PrintWorld Fire is the story of how fire and humans have coevolved. The two are inseparable, and together they have repeatedly remade the planet.“Pyne considers the evolution of fire in such diverse regions as Australia, Africa, Brazil, Sweden, Greece, Iberia, Russia, and India and then ponders Antarctica, the land without fire. As he examines changing techniques for and attitudes toward fire control, Pyne challenges our concepts of nature and wilderness and explains why the study and management of fire have tremendous environmental, cultural, and political implications.”—Booklist“A sweeping historical treatise that examines our world’s love/hate relationship with conflagration. His engrossing ideas leave bright embers in the memory.”—Outside




Flammable Australia


Book Description

In Flammable Australia: Fire Regimes, Biodiversity and Ecosystems in a Changing World, leading researchers in fire ecology and management discuss how fire regimes have shaped and will continue to shape the distribution and abundance of Australia’s highly diverse plants and animals. Central to this is the exploration of the concept of the fire regime – the cumulative pattern of fires and their individual characteristics (fire type, frequency, intensity, season) and how variation in regime components affects landscapes and their constituent biota. Contributions by 44 authors explore a wide range of topics including classical themes such as pre-history and evolution, fire behaviour, fire regimes in key biomes, plant and animal life cycles, remote sensing and modelling of fire regimes, and emerging issues such as climate change and fire regimes, carbon dynamics and opportunities for managing fire regimes for multiple benefits. In the face of significant global change, the conservation of our native species and ecosystems requires an understanding of the processes at play when fires and landscapes interact. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of this complex science, in the context of one of the world’s most flammable continents.




Fire on Earth


Book Description

Earth is the only planet known to have fire. The reason is both simple and profound: fire exists because Earth is the only planet to possess life as we know it. Fire is an expression of life on Earth and an index of life’s history. Few processes are as integral, unique, or ancient. Fire on Earth puts fire in its rightful place as an integral part of the study of geology, biology, human history, physics, and global chemistry. Fire is ubiquitous in various forms throughout Earth, and belongs as part of formal inquiries about our world. In recent years fire literature has multiplied exponentially; dedicated journals exist and half a dozen international conferences are held annually. A host of formal sciences, or programs announcing interdisciplinary intentions, are willing to consider fire. Wildfire also appears routinely in media reporting. This full-colour text, containing over 250 illustrations of fire in all contexts, is designed to provide a synthesis of contemporary thinking; bringing together the most powerful concepts and disciplinary voices to examine, in an international setting, why planetary fire exists, how it works, and why it looks the way it does today. Students, lecturers, researchers and professionals interested in the physical, ecological and historical characteristics of fire will find this book, and accompanying web-based material, essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in all related disciplines, for general interest and for providing an interdisciplinary foundation for further study. A comprehensive approach to the history, behaviour and ecological effects of fire on earth Timely introduction to this important subject, with relevance for global climate change, biodiversity loss and the evolution of human culture. Provides a foundation for the interdisciplinary field of Fire Research Authored by an international team of leading experts in the field Associated website provides additional resources




Outback Survival


Book Description

Outback Survival is a timeless, practical run down on everything you need to know to survive in the outback. Bob Cooper's incredible bushcraft skills have been developed through more than 25 years of experience in Australia's harsh outback. He has picked up tools of survival from the experiences of living with traditional Aboriginal communities, instructing with Special Forces Units, lecturing with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Service on desert survival in the Mexican Desert, delivering wilderness lessons in the UK and learning the skills of the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. Bob has put his own lessons to the test, dropping himself off in the 42C heat of the Australian desert with only a map and soap box sized survival kit, no food, water or sleeping gear, and a 10 day walk across 160km of rough terrain back to safety. He did this alone and showed that with the right knowledge of the land, you can survive in even the harshest of conditions. The outback of Australia is one of the most unforgiving regions of the world, but Bob is committed to protecting and enhancing the experience people have when venturing out into the bush.