Michael Kodas

"Around the world, writes award-winning journalist and photographer Kodas, 'megafires' are billowing each fire season, thanks to a perfect storm of related causes . . . Kodas brings new insight to the[se] events. Worthy of shelving alongside the best of modern firefighting books—and of the broadest audience, especially in territories where fires are likely to rage." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“As natural disasters balloon in size around the globe, it becomes increasingly harder to view climate change as an abstraction. Wild fires, in particular, are growing bigger, burning hotter, and racing faster than previous experts ever imagined possible. Michael Kodas documents exactly how a mix of human apathy, ignorance, and greed kindled this problem, then accelerated it with good, but misguided, intentions. Megafire is an impeccably researched journey through a terrifying phenomenon.”  —Bronwen Dickey, contributing editor at The Oxford American and author of Pit Bull: The Battle over an American Icon

“Megafire is not simply a book about the apocalypse of wild fires spreading across the globe. It is also an exhaustively researched treatise on the folly of man. Michael Kodas has adroitly addressed such issues as overbuilding in wild fire zones, mismanagement of forests and climate change which, if not reversed, will continue to bedevil the planet.” —Rinker Buck, NYT bestselling author of The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey

"High Crimes is both fascinating and terrifying. As someone who shies away from climbing stairs, let alone mountains, I was completely blown away by the high-stakes drama and intrigue of this Everest story. Kodas's vivid writing kept me up for two straight nights, and my heart is still racing! The story is tragic, yet somehow also uplifting--a true masterpiece!" -- Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of Bringing Down the House and Rigged

"Seeking to experience the high ambitions of an Everest climb himself, Michael Kodas found instead the little-known underworld of the world's tallest peak . . . compelling reading for anyone who thinks mountaineering is a noble pursuit." -- Greg Child, author of Over the Edge