The Pyrocene

How We Created an Age of Fire, and What Happens Next

By: Stephen J. Pyne

Narrated by: Adam Barr

A provocative rethinking of how humans and fire have evolved together over time — and our responsibility to reorient this relationship before it’s too late.​

The Pyrocene tells the story of what happened when a fire-wielding species, humanity, met an especially fire-receptive time in Earth's history. Since terrestrial life first appeared, flames have flourished. Over the past two million years, however, one genus gained the ability to manipulate fire, swiftly remaking both itself and eventually the world. We developed small guts and big heads by cooking food; we climbed the food chain by cooking landscapes; and now we have become a geologic force by cooking the planet.

Some fire uses have been direct: fire applied to convert living landscapes into hunting grounds, forage fields, farms, and pastures. Others have been indirect, through pyrotechnologies that expanded humanity's reach beyond flame's grasp. Still, preindustrial and Indigenous societies largely operated within broad ecological constraints that determined how, and when, living landscapes could be burned. These ancient relationships between humans and fire broke down when people began to burn fossil biomass — lithic landscapes — and humanity’s firepower became unbounded. Fire-catalyzed climate change globalized the impacts into a new geologic epoch. The Pleistocene yielded to the Pyrocene.

Around fires, across millennia, we have told stories that explained the world and negotiated our place within it. The Pyrocene continues that tradition, describing how we have remade the Earth and how we might recover our responsibilities as keepers of the planetary flame.

©2021 Stephen J. Pyne (P)2021 Podium Audio

Excellent book!

This thought-provoking book, though short, is excellent. The narrator is also very, very good. I have no doubt I’ll revisit this book many times.

well written, reasoned, and read

This story captures the beautiful narrative of history, prehistory, and our human role as fire stewards. Dr. Stephen Pyne makes an excellent case for understanding our current era as the pyrocene, but goes beyond a scientific explanation to elaborate on how humans are interacting and changing are natural world. While covering topics as challenging as our human role in modern climate change, he is still able to leave the reader/ listener with a sense of hope. It is also very well read and recorded.

Knowledge of Fire today

Best, most informative book I have listen to on the impact of fire in our modern world to date. As a refugee of the Santa Rosa Tubbs Fire, I have been conscious of the lack of understanding, lack of preparation and total disregard of the power of fire in and around urban/green space settings. As a Canadian now living in California, I watch the Boreal Forest in Northern Quebec burn (I was born In Montréal ), and the smoke become what in my childhood created rather hazy summer days to unbreathable, “stay inside” days. The orange skies of California are now experienced on the East Coast.

We heed the author advice at our peril. Loved this book.

Enlightening

Every “sapient”, i.e. human being, should listen to this clearly, precisely narrated book. While the obviously erudite and articulate author densely packed many a passage with information, he revisited the main themes and conveyed the importance of humankind’s understanding of the three types of fire, of what it means to exist in a living versus lithic landscape and of what the future may hold as a result of our relationship with all fire.

a beginning understanding

I enjoyed this book very much. it establishes a good frame for understanding the age of fire's impact on the planet and us hominids.

Repetitive natural fire is good

Author treats fire like a living organism. Very repetitive that fire is good when it occurs naturally and man has caused problems due to the mismanagement of fire and combustibles. I don’t think the material warrants a book, perhaps a podcast or essay.

A house on fire

I found the book to be a word salad. I got tired of hearing the word FIRE. It seemed like the same idea was repeated and repeated and then again repeated.