Fire on the Mountain

Fire on the Mountain is a 1962 novel by Edward Abbey. It was Abbey's third published novel and followed Jonathan Troy and The Brave Cowboy. The hero of the story is John Vogelin, a New Mexico rancher whose land is about to be condemned by the United States Air Force, who want to use his land to expand a bombing range. He is the last holdout among the several people whose land the Air Force wants, and he refuses to move. The story of his resistanc... more

Fire on the Mountain is a 1962 novel by Edward Abbey. It was Abbey's third published novel and followed Jonathan Troy and The Brave Cowboy. The hero of the story is John Vogelin, a New Mexico rancher whose land is about to be condemned by the United States Air Force, who want to use his land to expand a bombing range. He is the last holdout among the several people whose land the Air Force wants, and he refuses to move. The story of his resistance to being thrown off his land and his death is told through the eyes of his grandson, who is visiting the ranch for the summer. Abbey includes the following paragraph to introduce this book: The story which follows was inspired by an event which took place in our country not many years ago. However, it is a work of fiction and any resemblance to living persons or actual places is accidental. Billy Vogelin Starr returns to his beloved New Mexico after having spent the previous nine months at a school in the East. His grandfather, John Vogelin,... less