In Burning Fence, acclaimed novelist Craig Lesley turns his keen eye toward two difficult fathers and an alcohol-damaged Indian foster child, Craig's own "son," Wade. Abandoned by his shell-shocked father, Rudell, Craig grew up with his stepfather, Vern, a tough, controlling railroader. When events turned nasty, Craig, his mother, and his baby sister fled on the night train and arrived at an Indian reservation where his mother found work. Decades later, convinced he would be a better father than Rudell or Vern, Craig takes in the troubled Wade. But desperation over Wade's violent acts motivates Craig to seek out Rudell in remote Monument, Oregon. Craig hopes his father, a reclusive coyote trapper and poacher, will help raise his disturbed grandson. There Craig meets his colorful half-brother, Ormand, a would-be East Coast hit man, now "born again." Skillfully capturing the rural humor, rugged characters, and hardscrabble life of Eastern Oregon, Burning Fence presents a searing reflection on fatherhood and offers remarkable insight into the landscape of the Western heart.

This memoir is the story of the men in Craig Lesley's family: absent father, Rudell; tough stepfather, Vern; adopted son, Wade; and Craig Lesley himself. Their story is one of hardship, violence, and cautious, heartbreaking attempts toward compassion.

No other training program has had as great an impact on the fire service as the First Edition of Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills. In addition to the innovative features found within the text, fire fighter students and instructors were introduced to a wealth of superior teaching and learning tools along with cutting edge technological resources. Now, with the release of the Second Edition, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the National Fire Protection Association have joined forces to raise the bar for the fire service once again. Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills, Second Edition features a laser-like focus on fire fighter safety with a dedicated chapter on safety built on the 16 Fire Fighter Life Safety Initiatives and coverage of the Near-Miss Reporting System throughout the text; updated coverage of the 2008 Edition of NFPA 1001, Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications; expanded skills coverage, including over 70 new skills drills and the inclusion of a free Skills and Drills CD-ROM packaged with each text; and free access to an online course management system, JB Course Manager, for adopters of the Second Edition. Listen to a Podcast with Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills, Second Edition editor Dave Schottke to learn more about this training program! Dave discusses fire fighter safety, the dangers of lightweight building construction materials, fire scene rehab, and other areas of emphasis within the Second Edition. To listen now, visit: http://d2jw81rkebrcvk.cloudfront.net/assets.multimedia/audio/Shottkey_Fundamentals.mp3.

The "vivid" and "electrifying" true story of how five monks saved the oldest Zen Buddhist monastery in the United States from wildfire (San Francisco Chronicle). When a massive wildfire surrounded Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, five monks risked their lives to save it. A gripping narrative as well as a portrait of the Zen path and the ways of wildfire, Fire Monks reveals what it means to meet a crisis with full presence of mind. Zen master and author of the classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi established a monastery at Tassajara Hot Springs in 1967, drawn to the location's beauty, peace, and seclusion. Deep in the wilderness east of Big Sur, the center is connected to the outside world by a single unpaved road. The remoteness that makes it an oasis also makes it particularly vulnerable when disaster strikes. If fire entered the canyon, there would be no escape. More than two thousand wildfires, all started by a single lightning storm, blazed across the state of California in June 2008. With resources stretched thin, firefighters advised residents at Tassajara to evacuate early. Most did. A small crew stayed behind, preparing to protect the monastery when the fire arrived. But nothing could have prepared them for what came next. A treacherous shift in weather conditions prompted a final order to evacuate everyone, including all firefighters. As they caravanned up the road, five senior monks made the risky decision to turn back. Relying on their Zen training, they were able to remain in the moment and do the seemingly impossible-to greet the fire not as an enemy to defeat, but as a friend to guide. Fire Monks pivots on the kind of moment some seek and some run from, when life and death hang in simultaneous view. Novices in fire but experts in readiness, the Tassajara monks summoned both intuition and wisdom to face crisis with startling clarity. The result is a profound lesson in the art of living.