Author Works: Robert Roller: Trail Dogs and Firefighters: A Memoir from the Burning West

Trail Dogs and Firefighters: A Memoir from the Burning West is an enthralling story about Robert J. (Bob) Roller's unexpected plunge into the intense world of trail "dogging" and wildland firefighting. The story brings to life the beauty of the American West, the community of interesting people who seek the danger of this lifestyle, and the bonds forged in this environment, that only someone who lived these experiences can describe.

Trail Dogs and Firefighters captures the dangerous early season efforts to clear isolated routes high in the Wyoming mountains, and it climaxes with a series of intense wildfires fought across the intermountain west. 

This is the perfect book for anyone interested in the real lives of wildland firefighters or anyone who simply enjoys reading about people who rise to meet impossibly challenging situations by relying on their training, luck, and faith in each other. 

Robert J. (Bob) Roller is one of the most versatile and experienced emergency response professionals in the United States. He has deployed to wildfires, mass migrations, hurricanes, and pandemics. He is a Certified Emergency Manager, a Nationally Registered Paramedic, and a civilian graduate of the US Army’s Command and General Staff College. Bob was the vice president of Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department, where he has served as a firefighter, paramedic, and special operations swiftwater rescue technician, and he has also served on three mid-Atlantic mountain-rescue teams, including one he co-founded. He frequently authors academic articles describing his work as a disaster response emergency manager and has taught emergency management and homeland security courses domestically and abroad. Bob and his wife, Merabeth, live with their young children and adopted Labrador mix in the suburbs of Washington, DC. He writes in his personal capacity, and these stories have not been endorsed by his employer.

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This class is part of our Summer Reading Adventures series! Visit hclibrary.org/summer to learn more!