Book Review | One Foot in the Black by Kurt L. Kamm

Rating

5 stars – so realistic I thought it was a biography

One Foot in the Black is about…

A teenage boy who leaves home to escape an abusive father and trains to be a Californian wildland fighter.

I received a review copy of this book a couple of months back and thought I’d better get stuck in and read it. The book tells the story of a young man called Greg who moves to California from Michigan to be a wildland firefighter.

The book opens with the following line:

“A year ago, I saw a man go up in flames.”

The prologue goes onto explain that Greg and his crew are trapped on the side of the mountain, and that while most of the crew escaped the fire, one member perished.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

From that point Kamm takes the reader on two journeys, one covers the months up to that fateful fire as Greg trains to be a firefighter. The other goes back to Greg’s childhood and covers his relationship with his abusive father.

I was hooked from that very first line and thoroughly enjoyed this book. In a move away from most novels the whole story is pretty much told using dialogue between the characters rather than any descriptive narrative. This works perfectly and I felt like I was right alongside Greg, through the training, the beatings and the fires.

I was quite surprised when I finished the book to find this was a work of fiction; I was so sure it was a biography. Every year we hear on the news about the wildfires burning in California; next time I will definitely spare a moment to think about the brave men who risk their lives to save the locals, while understanding a bit more about how they go about it.

If you’re looking for a gripping read that’s a little different from the norm I can highly recommend One Foot in the Black by Kurt L. Kamm.

Have you reviewed this book?

If you have reviewed this book on your site please fill in the boxes below to link me up to your review – don’t forget to link to the specific post to make it easy to find:

Here at Blue Archipelago Reviews we work in association with Amazon.com to help you order the best books at great prices from the comfort of your armchair. Clicking on the "order now" buttons below will take you to Amazon.com where you can complete your order securely. Blue Archipelgo Reviews never has sight of your Amazon details or your payment details. If you are based in the UK please click the banner below to visit Amazon.co.uk instead. Thanks for visiting us today :)

Read more reviews Send this review to a friend
	Title: Publisher: Lulu.com Average review rating:   List Price: $14.94 Sale Price: $13.44 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Free Shipping Available
Order now from Amazon.com
More reader reviews
Accurate portrayal of wildland firefighting   Review Date: April 18, 2010 Reviewer: Ken Malgren, One Foot in the Black is entertaining and an accurate portrayal of wildland firefighting. The story is one that any wildland firefighter will enjoy without being overcome with inaccuracies. It's a good read. One Foot In The Black = EXCELLENT   Review Date: April 13, 2010 Reviewer: Brock Jewett, One Foot In The Black by Kurt Kamm is an excellent book. The storyline and how it is delivered is phenomenal. This book would have been read cover - to - cover in one sitting if it weren't for my firefighter training class, that being said, it was read in two sittings. This book will be read more than once. I am looking forward to more material from Kurt Kamm. Kurt Kamm is a born storyteller   Review Date: February 14, 2010 Reviewer: Jill K. Cline, Albion, MI I knew next to nothing about wildfire fire fighting and I learned a lot in reading Kamm's book. I was appalled at the dangerous conditions that wildfire fighters face and I think that the story of a burnover was one of the most exciting and disturbing things I have ever read. Overriding the facts of firefighting, however, was the ongoing trauma of a son who is striving to please a distant and nonresponsive father. Sometimes I wanted to cry for the protagonist, who, from hockey rink to wildfire blaze, tried only to please his abusive and oblivious dad. Kamm is a natural storyteller and I am looking forward to his next release RED FLAG WARNING, the story of a serial arsonist targeting L.A. county. Jill Cline Brings back the memories!   Review Date: February 11, 2010 Reviewer: Matthew C. Sterling, First of all, let me say "Whoa!!" That's the first word I spoke when I finished this exceptional novel by Mr. Kurt Kamm. And that word was repeated in awe for several minutes afterwards...in the same manner as when I myself stood in front of my first wall of fire. The imagery, the story line, it all seems to come straight from my experiences last year on a hotshot crew out of Massachusetts. We spent two weeks in the San Diego area of California, and the things I saw I will never forget. Being only 19 years old at the time, I went through much the same as the young character of this book, and sitting there, reading, I found myself unable to put the book down. I was captivated by the words, which dredged up the feelings and emotions I experienced, and suddenly, I was back there on those ridgetops myself. This novel has done something that many authors have struggled to do; to put into perspective a job that not many find themselves brave enough to do, and even less people respect. He brings the thoughts and emotions and sights to life, and it's almost as if the burning timber is again wafting through the air, the smoke clinging to my clothes. When the author takes us into the fires, I can feel the heat, hear those frightening sounds, and in my mind, I see the 200 foot tall walls of fire race towards us through the trees. Mr. Kamm also manages to portray the character as a human, not just a superhero like many other books do. He gives him the aspects of life that we all faced out there; each of us doing that work for our own reasons, some to escape a previous life, others just for the adventure. Kudos to you, Mr. Kamm, I recommend this novel to anyone and everyone, firefighter or not. It's definitely a must-read, and I anxiously await the next novel. Hopefully I can get it while I'm deployed overseas! Respectfully, M. Sterling, FF/EMTB "One Foot In The Black".......Outstanding!!!   Review Date: January 23, 2010 Reviewer: Dennis Oricchio, New Jersey Kurt Kamms' characters come alive in this novel of the transition from boyhood to manhood. Technically excellent story of a young man trying to make his uncaring, abusive, fireman father proud. Well written. Each chapter is a story in itself. "One Foot In The Black", will keep your both feet up on your reading chair. A great read.
Buy Now

Amazon.com Price: $13.44 (as of 2010-09-03 19:57:42 GMT) Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.