Terra Flamma: Wildfires at Night by Stuart Palley is a book full of full color photographs and first hand account of wildfires. From the towering pines of Shasta Trinity National Forest, to the chaparral scrub of San Diego's Mexican border, to Yosemite and the Western Sierras, trained wildland firefighter and photojournalist Stuart Palley documents California's raging wildfires and the forces behind them during the state's worst fire season in modern history. The dramatic images, a half-decade in the making, capture the simultaneous beauty and destruction that wildfires bring as fire seasons get longer and more deadly, expensive, and destructive.In the wake of California's record-breaking series of wildfires in 2017, theimages encompass five fire seasons and forty-five fires. They are presented chronologically and culminate with the wine country fire siege that devastated Sonoma and Napa counties in October 2017 and the Thomas Fire in Southern California, the largest in recorded state history. This timely book defines the state's drought and urban sprawl challenges, drawing a broader picture of global warming and its acute effects worldwide.

Terra Flamma: Wildfires at Night is a book that I could not let go of, or stop thinking about after I finished my first read through. The images are stunning, not just because of the beauty inherent in the colors and landscape but because of the inherent nature of the fires. The danger and destruction these fires bring is devastating, even though friendships and awareness often come in their wake as well. Living on the other side of the country I have sympathize and felt horrified for those that have lost everything in the wake of these fires, and worried for the environment and animals that have suffered. However, I never could wrap my mind around the full experience being there, being involved, or seeing the fires in person could give people. I know I still do not have a full understanding, having never been there, but I feel like I have more knowledge and awareness of everything involved.

Terra Flamma: Wildfires at Night is both beautiful and terrifying. The photographs are stunning, and the text gives the horrible beauty the context or the danger and destruction involved in the fires.

Firefighter and photojournalist Stuart Palley documents California's wildfires in this book. he shows the awesome power of forest fires in his photography but also the beauty of it, and the rebirth after each fire. In the destruction of the fires there is also beauty. he also gives you a run down of the fire, if known how it started, how much land was effected and all the other known facts. I love how after some time he also shows you how Mother nature replenishes the scorched earth with the beauty of nature.

I personally live int he middle of the Ocala National Forest in Florida. The Forestry department lights what are called control burns several times a year. These control burns are believed to be the best way to

take care of the choking under growth and dead trees and branches so that when there is a forest fire they are better able to get it under control so that in the populated areas the danger is lessened extremely.

This is a beautiful book even with such a dangerous and scary subject.

The photographs in this book are raw yet stunning capturing the tragedies of wildfires that raged through the West. Each chapter begins with facts on top of the page then the well researched stories allowing the reader to truly learn about this power of each of wildfire that left so much devastation and the brave people who fought them. This is one book I would recommend to be enjoyed.

Terra Flamma is an amazing and emotional book, showing the beauty of forest fires, combined with the destruction they cause.
Aside from the amazing photography the text is well written and well researched. I really enjoyed reading the detailed facts surrounding each fire .
The cost, number of personal assigned , size of area destroyed and number of structures destroyed are just some of the figures provided .
A really lovely book that makes a great addition to any book shelf , or as a gift.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The wildfires out in the western part of the United States have long garnered huge amounts of media coverage. The tremendous devastation wrought by these natural disasters has seemed to increase even more within the last year.
This book examines many fairly recent fires, plus shows gorgeous pictures of them. How ironic that such terrible events can have such a deadly beauty as well.

Diana Marcum puts it best in the introduction, "Fire is beautiful in an awful way." Fire is destructive and can be devastating, but it is also beautiful. What we usually see portrayed in the media is the destructive nature of wildfire. Stuart Palley captures the beauty of wildfire at night and the images are absolutely stunning. I appreciate too that Palley uses a photojournalistic style with limited editing. So much of the photography we are exposed to these days is so highly edited that the editing process itself often overshadows the photography. These images feel real and raw and make the reader really think about the incredible force of fire. Along with the images, we get a written entry with details of the fire and the photographer's experiences. I was happy to read how seriously Palley takes the danger of fire. He is trained in wildfire behavior and has appropriate safety gear.

Thank you to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for the opportunity to review this breath-taking book. All comments are my own, unbiased opinion.