And Life in a Vanishing Land - American Fire

Great read. Monica Hesse weaves an engrossing tale of a love story going bad around the hardscrabble life in a rural American community. She discovers a community of heroes in the police, fire and rescue that come together in a herculean effort to save their community.

A well researched, very readable true crime story about a series of arsons. I read a lot of true crime books but had never read one concerning an outbreak of arsons. Very interesting and very well written.

Fire is fascinating.

Fire is also scary. Whether it’s a forest fire or a house fire it has the capacity to really make a person fearful. I remember standing in my living room watching the fire burn the mountainside across the river. My husband spent the days outside, wearing a mask against the smoke, prepping our property in case the embers started flying and caused the fire to jump the river.

Imagine living in a small community that has perhaps seen its best times but continues to struggle along and suddenly houses start burning. Sometimes two and three a night. You don’t know where the next fire is going to be. Is the wind is going to whip up and cause the fire to blow an ember into your yard and start your house on fire? Will I go to sleep only to be awakened by sirens yet again?

Worse, you are one of the volunteer firemen. Do you realize that most of the country gets its fire response from volunteers? Many of those fire companies are struggling as the young people move out of rural areas and the population ages. So again imagine those volunteer fire companies, with men and women who also have to work having to go out night after night to put out one, two or three fires.

This went on for around 5 months. The area lived in a state of tension as neighbors wondered, police wondered and the FBI wondered who could be setting the fires. The area is very rural, the houses were mostly abandoned; they authorities tried to predict where the arsonist would strike but there were just too many possible targets. Until one night they got lucky.

Ms. Hesse writes in a very compelling manner. Her book started with a feature for The Washington Post where she is a feature writer. She instructs her reader in the economic conditions of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, about the various types of psychiatric conditions that could lead to someone becoming and arsonist and on areas of fire science and at no time do you feel overwhelmed or bored.

I am not spilling beans by telling you there are two arsonists – a couple – as it is disclosed in the synopsis. The information is given in the opening of the book so you know from the outset who is committing the arson fires. The male, Charlie is deeply profiled and you really get to know him as the pages turn. The woman, Tonya is more of an enigma. She did not make herself available to Ms. Hesse as broadly as Charlie did so this does leave you with some questions at the end. If you have a person that refuses to answer the questions it is just going to leave some things hanging. Such is the problem with real life.

I read this in one sitting. I did find it utterly fascinating. Now, I do live with a fireman and he’s been answering calls for the entirety of our marriage so I am sure that played a role. Not to mention all of those flames this summer.

As I wrote, fire is fascinating.

4.5

I live in Virginia in Hampton Roads. This situation both concerned and captivated our entire area. This book was helpful in understanding the key players and circumstances that led to these unfortunate events. An easy, interesting story.

Many glowing reviews enticed me to read this thing. What a disappointment! This book was written with all the enthusiasm of a main course lima bean dinner. To put it simply the book is about two losers who hook up and decide to torch over a hundred properties in Maryland's Accromack county. No one was killed. Most dwellings were unoccupied or abandoned.

I thought maybe the author would shed some insight into the mind and make-up of a serial arsonist. But no, none of that. Neither of the protagonists were likable, and the only ones I felt sorry for were the firemen.

Monica Hesse did her research. But if there was a worthwhile story to tell, she didn't tell it.

Hesse crafts a compelling portrait of how time and technology changed a thriving agricultural area into a decaying landscape. She also describes the still vital sense of community, dignity and strength of the people who live on the eastern shore. The story the community facing a local arsonist crime spree playing out across this canvass is interesting and compelling. You will not want to put this down. A most enjoyable read.

Monica Hess brings a reporter's attention to detail and an author's love of their characters together in one sensational book.She made history come alive with her thoughtful retelling of the events that occurred. I was fully involved in the story by the end of the first chapter.

Monica Hess brings a reporter's attention to detail and an author's love of their characters together in one sensational book.She made history come alive with her thoughtful retelling of the events that occurred. I was fully involved in the story by the end of the first chapter.

There is nothing special about either the people or the place, the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Rural and exurban counties with a long history and deeply rooted families that have now frayed at the edges, and perhaps at the core. This is more than a backdrop to the arson story, it provides the author, a journalist, an opportunity to depict life in contemporary America, and she does so very well. If anything, the book is too journalistic, meaning a bit too short in some of its character studies and background.

Very interesting book. This book is hard to put down once you start reading, I finished this book in two days. The author does a great job painting a picture of this town and all of the people involved in this bizarre crime.