Harold Biswell's decades of research and field experience were a major factor in developing policies of controlled or prescribed burning, which mimics or reintroduces the natural fire cycle. This comprehensive study introduces the principles and practices of prescribed burning, which apply far beyond California, within a historical and ecological perspective. Available for the first time in paperback, with a new foreword by James Agee, this book places Biswell's study—and his legacy—in the context of recent developments in the field.

Harold Biswell, who died in 1992, was Professor Emeritus of Forestry and Resource Management at the University of California, Berkeley. He received many honors for his distinguished leadership in his field and authored nearly 170 scientific and popular articles. James Agee is Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of Washington.

"Biswell's combination of solid basic research, attention to management and policy issues, and ability and willingness to communicate with his peers and the lay public have been largely responsible for the evolution of understanding of the pro-per role of fire in wildlands.. . . This book . . . chronicles the rationale and history behind this understanding."—Norman L. Christensen, Bioscience

"Discussions of the natural role of fire, the history of fire management, fire behavior and planning, and the effects of fire on natural resources combine a professional ecological perspective with a casual, folksy style derived from years of practical experience. . . . Biswell shows considerable foresight in recognizing the need for greatly expanded research to better understand the influence of fire and fire suppression on natural ecosystems. Overall, the story that Biswell tells is both important and convincing. It provides a valuable historical account of the development of prescribed fire as a management technique and its associated science."—David J. Parsons, Journal of Forestry

"A very readable book about the controlled application of fire."—Choice