Fire on the Mountain

This was a stubborn tear-jerker. When the old man says he's going to stay on his ranch until he dies, you just know he's going to die. The question is, will he buckle under to the sheriff & the military who want to take over his ranch to run atomic tests? Will his grandson or his long-time friend stand by him? You can feel the respect they have for him, but how far can one person go? Who really has the right to 'own' and change (destroy) land?
Great descriptive writing that reminds me of some desert valleys and high mountain forests I have known.

The story of an old man and his ranch in New Mexico. The old man loves the wild desert country, and the book is full of beautiful descriptions of fiery sunsets, heat-shimmering vistas, close encounters with rattlesnakes and glimpses of the mountain lion. The ranch isn't too prosperous, but he is content to live there in the solitude and open spaces until he dies. Until the government shoulders in, moving ranchers off the land to add it to the White Sands Missile Range, where rockets and bombs are tested. One by one neighboring ranchers cave in or are bought out, but the old man digs in his heels and refuses to leave, against all persuasion by the law and threats from jeeps of soldiers. What makes things more interesting is that it's all show more told from the viewpoint of the visiting grandson, a feisty kid who's soaked up all his grandpa's opinions and eager to be part of a siege in the old man's cabin. It's based on true incidents. I liked this quickly-moving story with some suspense, fractious characters and vivid nature writing.

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"Is Heaven better than this place?" I asked.
"The climate's a little better here," Grandfather answered.
"Less humility," Lee said.

I lived in New Mexico for several years though not from the sparsely populated setting of Edward Abbey's novel, Fire on the Mountain. Still, it hardly matters where you are. There's something about the piercing blue sky and the forever landscape which, if given a chance, will become a part of you. Edward Abbey does a superior job describing this feeling; the first half of the novel being devoted almost entirely to this longing for the land.

Billy is the visiting grandson of the rancher John Vogelin, who is being forced off his land to make way for the expansion of the White Sands Missile Range. The story, told show more from Billy's point of view, shows the struggle of a stubbornly proud old man who won't go quietly. How do the values and convictions of one man and his grandson stand up against the might, and legal right, of the United States government? As is turns out, the answer is anything but simple. show less

8. [Fire on the Mountain] by [[EdwardAbbey]]

I am on vacation (from retirement!) in the Arizona desert currently, where I always manage to read Abbey. He is one of my favorite authors, but I didn't personally find this to be one of his best books. This is some of his earliest writing, so needs to be understood with that in mind, as well as the times, when perhaps this was unusual thinking. For example he addresses issues of private property using ranchers versus developers, or rather government right of eminent domain. It is easy to sympathize with the rancher, whose father and grandfather built this place, until we are reminded that his forefathers stole the land from Indians. Abbey also projects this land ownership into the future, show more when who knows who will be living on it. The book IS full of Abbey's wonderful descriptions of wilderness and desert, well worth reading. show less

The copy I read was purchased in Moab and is the first edition, ex-Moab Public Library copy, of the book. Was fun to read a book that had been read previously by hundreds. Simple read, but it seems to me that the movie Cat Ballou may have been based on this book, at least in part.

A young boy goes to visit his grandfather in his mountain ranch. The grandfather refuses to leave the land although the U S Army is taking it over. Then the fun begins.

Fiction