Stephen Pyne has been described as having a consciousness "composed of
equal parts historian, ecologist, philosopher, critic, poet, and
sociologist." At this time in history when many people are trying to
understand their true relationship with the natural environment, this
book offers a remarkable contribution--breathtaking in the scope of its
research and exhilarating to read.
Pyne takes the reader on a journey through time, exploring the terrain
of Europe and the uses and abuses of its lands as well as, through
migration and conquest, many parts of the rest of the world. Whether he
is discussing the Mediterranean region, Russia, Scandinavia, the British
Isles, central Europe, or colonized islands; whether he is considering
the impact of agriculture, forestry, or Enlightenment thinking, the
author brings an unmatched insight to his subject.
Vestal Fire takes its title from Vesta, Roman goddess of the hearth
and keeper of the sacred fire on Mount Olympus. But the book's title
also suggests the strengths and limitations of Europe's peculiar
conception of fire, and through fire, of its relationship to nature.
Between the untamed fire of the wilderness and the tended fire of the
hearth lies a never-ending dialectic in which human beings struggle to
control natural forces and processes that in fact can sometimes be
directed but never wholly dominated or contained.