The Fire Line tells the story of the only municipal crew of wild land firefighters in the United States, the Granite Mountain Hotshots, and nineteen men who loved one another, loved what they did and refused to give up on one another. The Hotshots’ is a story of collective heroism — strong, capable and ambitious men who aimed for team gold, not individual glory. The book offers a portrait of the lives they lived, the risks they faced and the struggles they endured to balance their dedication to their families, to a crew that gave them purpose and to the job that ultimately took their lives. The Fire Line takes the reader through triumph and immeasurable grief, narrating the firefighters’ personal and professional victories, scored in spite of errant pasts and addictions, and against fire that burned in lands far away and also in their backyard. It explains the culture of loyalty they built and fought so hard to protect, and the beauty in the tragedy of their last moments together, as they stood between a wall of flames and a mountain they could not climb. As the debate on wildfires is centered around big questions of policy, politics and development, The Fire Line offers a human perspective of the adventures, glories and sacrifices of nineteen men who chose to stay together until the end. This is my first book. My publisher is Flatiron Books, a division of Macmillan. My editor is Colin Dickerman. My agent is Eric Lupfer of Fletcher & Company.
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“Meticulously researched and as dramatic as any thriller, Santos's account of the 2013 Arizona wildfire that killed 19 firefighters will keep you on the edge of your seat and break your heart.” – People Magazine |