Though I admit the book is well written, it is just not to my taste. There are long passages of descriptive prose. I am not a fan of such passages, unless they are both poetic and symbolic, or at least amusing or touching as such passages are found in Dickens or Hugo. Part of the problem is that the descriptions in this novel is supposed to help us understand the love that the protagonist has for the desert country that his grandfather inhabits. I have lived in two deserts, and I have no love fo...

Hard when the rating system goes from "really liked it" to "amazing" - a much over used word here in Los Angeles- but I did really love this book. Seen through the eyes of an adolescent visiting his grandfather's desert ranch one summer- it has drama and tension, excitement and struggle- and the choice to view it all through the eyes of a child seems a perfect one. The US wants to expand it's nuclear test grounds to include the ranch and the grandfather will not stand for it. Rather than use a h...

I am a fan of Edward Abbey. I like the way that he puts a story together, and this little story came together beautifully. The plot is simple, the outcome predictable. But Abbey drew me in and I enjoyed reading this not-overly-drawn-out novel.Simply put, a young man from Philadelphia visits his Grandfather's New Mexico ranch on summer vacation. The ranch is about to be incorporated into the White Sands Missile Range, and the Grandfather refuses to sell under any condition. The old man is a stubb...

Wonderful book, I can certainly see why "Fire on the Mountain" is considered a classic Western too. Set in the early 1960's rancher John Vogelin now in his 70's is having a hard time adjusting to the modern changes affecting the ranch that has been in his family since the 1800's. And he certainly doesn't appreciate the young man from the Range Management Bureau who recently visited his ranch and tried to tell him what he's doing wrong all in the name of conservation.To make matters even worse hi...

Much has changed since Abbey wrote Fire on the Mountain. Would he have written the same novel in 2018 after having witnessed armed militias repeatedly face off with federal officers at places like Malheur and Bunkerville? I have my doubts. Fire on the Mountain is beautifully written, but it’s difficult to identify with a protagonist who reminds you so much of Cliven Bundy.

a truly ACAB bildungsroman and also a massively ranch-pilling read, fuck the feds let me live in a cabin on the outskirts of nowhere

one of the worst books I have ever read

The premise of this book is interesting: the rugged individual takes on the overpowering state, David vs. Goliath, the stuff of old western comics. However the execution failed, in my view.In a nutshell, an old rancher is being driven off his land in New Mexico to make way for a missile testing site. He resists and self-destructs. And the story reminds the reader that change is inevitable and those who resist it get run over. At a deeper level it also reminds us that America may be the home of t...

GAB Re-read of an old classic about the government takeover of local ranches in the Tularosa basin and beyond in the early 1940's to make way for the Manhattan Project. Still today in southwestern New Mexico there are occasional times when the roads in our area are shut down to accommodate rocket firings.

Is there a better, more descriptive nature/environmental writer than Edward Abbey? I've (unfortunately) only managed to read this and 'The Monkey Wrench Gang' up to this point in my life. The way he writes about the desert makes you think you're right there being beat down by the sun with the characters.This is the story of the small rancher vs. the big U.S. government. In the interest of national security, the government is hoping to build a missile range in the midst of John Vogelin's ranch. V...

I enjoyed this classic book very much. Set in the southewest, old man on his land for his entire life is being moved off to make room for more military space near White Sands, New Mexico. Classic story. Very much a budding envirinmental, anti establishment tale. The characters are very believable. Same story has played out in many forms as our country has grown and changed.

Edward Abbey never disappoints. Never.

The plot is overly simplistic--the political rantings of a junior high school student, on par with Ayn Rand's drivel. But damn can this man write about the desert. Small moments about horses, big cats, and not much water make this a great read.

As you might expect, this book features some of the author's amazing and brilliant descriptions of the natural world - in this case southeastern New Mexico. It also is the story of one old man's fight to keep the US Government from seizing his cattle ranch that had been in the family for years and making it part of the White Sands Missile Range during the Cold War. However, the thing that makes this story special is the relationship between the old man and his grandson Billy. Billy's parents who...

His grandson, Billy, tells the end of New Mexico rancher John Vogelin’s life. Billy’s annual summer visit to the Box V Ranch is disrupted by the United States. The government seizes the ranch to expand the White Sands Missile Range. Despite the arguments of his friend, Lee Mackie and the increasing show of force demonstrated by courts, law enforcement and military, John Vogelin refuses to leave his former property, a decision that leads to his death. The fire in the title is his funeral pyre. Th...

Once upon a time there was a desert. In this desert there were yucca plants. And jackrabbits. And timothy grass. John Vogelin didn't want the U.S. government to take away his farm. So he sat on the porch and had a told the guy that he wasn't going to give it up. Then the next day, a new man came by to persuade him. He sat on the porch and talked to him once more. And while he was doing this, his grandson Billy fetched them ice water. I wouldn't call this a young adult novel, even though Billy's

This is certainly not Abbey's best, but it was entertaining nonetheless. I know The Brave Cowboy was his first novel, but in many ways this feels like it as written first. It has a much more juvenile feel (of course, the narrator is 12, but the plot itself feels less complex as well).Abbey's other writing is significantly better, but if you just want a quick escape into the New Mexico desert, this is a fun, fast read.

Quick read and a great story. Abbey’s depiction of the desert is deeply immersive and his development of the characters excellent. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys a classic American western and has a liberal resistance to the forward motion of man against nature.

If you know Edward Abbey, then you know what you are getting here: nature loving outlaws vs greedy destructive government. This one isn't as fun as Abbey's Monkey Wrench Gang, though.

The fire on the mountain turned out to be a fire I did not anticipate. In my view, the grandson was not old enough in real years to do the things he did in this story. I understand the choices of the grandfather, even if I do not agree with the way he executed his decisions. What I would like to read is the sequel about how this story makes an impact on his grandson's choices in the future. I appreciated the prose and the symbolism.