---
product_id: 46666258
title: "American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land Hardcover – July 11, 2017"
brand: "monica hesse"
price: "180 kr"
currency: DKK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 14
url: https://www.desertcart.dk/products/46666258-american-fire-love-arson-and-life-in-a-vanishing-land
store_origin: DK
region: Denmark
---

# American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land Hardcover – July 11, 2017

**Brand:** monica hesse
**Price:** 180 kr
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land Hardcover – July 11, 2017 by monica hesse
- **How much does it cost?** 180 kr with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.dk](https://www.desertcart.dk/products/46666258-american-fire-love-arson-and-life-in-a-vanishing-land)

## Best For

- monica hesse enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted monica hesse brand quality
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## Description

Full description not available

## Images

![American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land Hardcover – July 11, 2017 - Image 1](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51YeEQJcXhL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Great book.
  

*by E***H on Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2017*

Very nicely written.  The author left out a lot, but had she included everything the book would have been over 1000 pages.  I would have read it in one night, but ran out of time after the first 180 pages and had to finish in the morning.  We did not just make national news during this, but international news as well.  Pretty fierce for an area that our state government doesn't even realize is part of Virginia!  Most of us got little to no sleep for the entire 5 months, worrying where the next fire would be.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Easily the best book I have read thus far in 2017.
  

*by P***I on Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2017*

“The county would grow used to hearing the wail of sirens in the middle of the night, the sound of engines and tankers crunching over gravel.  The county would see landmarks go up in flames and neighbors eye one another with suspicion at the grocery store.  At night, the roads would transform into a sea of checkpoints and cop cars; citizens trying to get home while Accomack turned into a police state and the county lit up around them. The county went about its business.  The county burned down.”  --page 11It was a nightmare that lasted for nearly five months.  Between November 2012 and April 1, 2013, a total of 86 fires had been deliberately set in remote Accomack County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.  For the most part, the fires were being set in long abandoned buildings located in extremely desolate areas.  It has been estimated that were literally thousands of such buildings dotting the landscape in Accomack County, a sign of declining economic fortunes over the past several decades.  Despite the best efforts of state and local police and fire officials very little progress had been made in determining who was setting these fires.  It was an extremely frustrating, costly, and baffling situation.  Monica Hesse is a feature writer for the Washington Post.  She chronicles these disturbing events in her highly entertaining new book “American Fire, Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land”.  I simply could not put this book down and read it in just a few sittings.  This is easily the best book I have read this year.If you are like me you have probably never even heard of Accomack County.  According to Hesse, the heyday of this place was in the 1930’s when a resort complex called Whispering Pines was built.  It was the site of one of the fires in March of 2013.  In those days Accomack boasted a vigorous farming community as well.  But over the next several decades market conditions changed, people moved away,  and the place began to deteriorate.  In “American Fire” you will meet the two individuals deemed responsible for all of these fires.  Charlie Smith and Tonya Bundick had very checkered pasts and were involved in what turned out to be a very complicated relationship.  Meanwhile, you will also be introduced to the team of state and local officials charged with putting an end to this reign of terror.  You will discover many of the tactics they employed to finally trip up the arsonists and put them behind bars.The story told in “American Fire, Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land” becomes even more incredible when you realize that volunteers fought the fires in all of these tiny communities.  Night after night for nearly five months these heroic men and women would have to drag themselves out of a warm bed to battle the next blaze.  Simply amazing!  So if you are looking for a great book to take along with you on your summer vacation this year I would highly recommend “American Fire”.  It reads like a novel but this is a true story. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    One Sitting
  

*by A***D on Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017*

Exceptional perceptions of the decay of morality in rural America. Written with enough, just enough, empathy that the communal fear becomes the tension. We know who soon enough and there is a fair bit of courtroom drama witnessed and reported on. Nothing tedious, just burnishes the characters. Not so much a page-turning thriller, though there is an element of that, as a provocative peeling of layers of a relationship.  Much is left unknown, particularly with respect to the mind and motive of one of the criminals. As I wrote above, I devoured it in one sitting. That was two days ago and I am still thinking about it. It is a learning experience,  this book.  Non-fiction but enough facility with language and observation to be dressed up to read like a novel.  Get through the first few, rather dense, pages. Worth it.

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*Product available on Desertcart Denmark*
*Store origin: DK*
*Last updated: 2026-01-26*