When It All Burns - by Jordan Thomas (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
CALIFORNIA BOOK AWARD GOLD MEDAL WINNER
FINALIST FOR THE LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND KIRKUS

"Exceptional. . . . When It All Burns is one of those books that immerses the reader in the nuances of a world most of us know only through the lens of tragedy and destruction. Thomas' visceral, crystalline prose only adds fuel to the fire." --Los Angeles Times

A gripping firsthand account of a record-setting fire season, from a cultural anthropologist who spent a year working as a hotshot firefighter, exploring the history and future of fire in America

Eighteen of California's largest wildfires on record have burned in the past two decades. Scientists recently invented the term "megafire" to describe wildfires that behave in ways that would have been nearly impossible just a generation ago, burning through winter, exploding in the night, and devastating landscapes historically impervious to incendiary destruction.

In When It All Burns, wildland firefighter and anthropologist Jordan Thomas recounts a single, brutal six-month fire season with the Los Padres Hotshots--the special forces of America's firefighters. Being a hotshot is among the most difficult jobs on earth. Thomas viscerally renders his crew's attempts to battle flames that are often too destructive to contain. He uncovers the hidden cultural history of megafires, revealing how humanity's symbiotic relationship with wildfire became a war--and what can be done to change it back.

Thomas weaves ecology and the history of Indigenous peoples' oppression, federal forestry, and the growth of the fire industrial complex into a riveting narrative about a new phase in the climate crisis. It's an immersive story of community in the most perilous of circumstances, told with humor, humility, and affection.

Review Quotes

"Passionately told, impeccably researched and important. . . . while Thomas's detailed descriptions of grueling brush-hacking sessions and near-constant life-threatening scenarios are riveting, the book's power comes from its methodical, clear-eyed and convincing explanation of how we wound up here in the first place--in a world where megafires inevitably rage out of control, annihilating every town and ecosystem in their path." --Washington Post

"A riveting story of the costs of climate change and the realities of this terrifying work, as well as an examination of the history that got us here and the very real lives now at risk." --New York Times

"Wedding anthropological research and elegant descriptions of the natural world, Thomas builds an argument for a clear solution." --The New Yorker

"When It All Burns is a gripping and somewhat frightening journey to the front line of the climate crisis, where hotshots fight an ever more powerful foe." --Men's Health

"Thomas brings us to the front lines, deftly pulling the reader to the edge of the fire in evocative writing that reads like a thriller... Thinking about fire has never been more essential--Thomas charts a map toward the future." --Kirkus (starred review)

"Writing with exceptional verve, Thomas captures the furious intensity of working on the fire line. . . . Narrative nonfiction doesn't get better than this." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Profoundly relevant. . . . Thomas, in this spellbinding account, shows how thoughtful forestry management can begin to address the megafires now touching all of our lives." --Booklist (starred review)

"A tremendous book that deepened my understanding and appreciation not just of the men and women who serve as wildland firefighters but also of the long, tragic history of land mismanagement in the American West. . . . powerful, instructive and well written." --Minnesota Star Tribune

"In this engrossing work on wildfires and the environment, Thomas skillfully weaves together how historical events, genocide, politics, and the logging industry have all contributed to climate change, creating megafires throughout the American West." --Library Journal

"It is rare and wonderful when an author emerges perfectly matched to a subject and a book that also captures the spirit of the times. This gripping, deeply perceptive first-hand encounter with the devastating ferocity of 21st Century Fire reads like the Kitchen Confidential of elite wildfire fighting." --John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather

"A fascinating account of life as a hotshot--but also an insightful and nuanced take on how we might learn to coexist a little more sensibly with the flames we've unleashed on this earth. Reading this is a little akin to having an escape plan from your house: useful preparation." --Bill McKibben, author The End of Nature

"Jordan Thomas draws on his experience as a hotshot to tell a story that's as scary and exciting as a wildfire. When It All Burns manages to be at once deeply personal and far-reaching in scope." --Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction

"With fluid, cliché-free prose, Jordan Thomas transforms his immersive experience with the Los Padres hotshots into a fiercely personal prism for interpreting how fires like those the crew faced could happen and what they mean. A welcome companion for understanding the fires yet to come." --Stephen Pyne, author of The Pyrocene

About the Author

Jordan Thomas is an anthropologist and former Los Padres hotshot wildland firefighter. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Seattle Times, and The Drift. Thomas is a Marshall Scholar with graduate degrees from the University of Cambridge and Durham University. He is currently a Chancellor's Fellow at the University of California. He lives in Santa Barbara, California.