--- product_id: 640305114 title: "Harper Perennial Fire on the Mountain" price: "€ 33.05" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 5 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/640305114-harper-perennial-fire-on-the-mountain store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # 4.6/5 star rating from 111 reviews Published 2012-10-09 Paperback binding Harper Perennial Fire on the Mountain **Price:** € 33.05 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🔥 Own the story that ignited a generation’s fight for freedom and wilderness preservation! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Harper Perennial Fire on the Mountain - **How much does it cost?** € 33.05 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/640305114-harper-perennial-fire-on-the-mountain) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Perfect Paperback Companion:** Easy to carry and share, this Harper Perennial edition fits seamlessly into your professional and personal reading collection. - • **Timeless American West Classic:** Experience Edward Abbey’s raw, unfiltered wilderness narrative that shaped environmental literature. - • **Philosophical Fight for Liberty:** Follow a gripping story of individual resistance against government overreach and loss of personal freedom. - • **Authentic Desert Wilderness Vibes:** Immerse yourself in vivid, peerless descriptions of New Mexico’s rugged high desert landscape. - • **Cult Status with Critical Acclaim:** Join a community of 111+ readers who rated this modern classic 4.6 stars—don’t miss out on the conversation. ## Overview Harper Perennial’s 2012 paperback edition of Edward Abbey’s 1962 novel 'Fire on the Mountain' delivers a compelling tale of rugged individualism and environmental passion set in New Mexico’s high desert. Praised for its vivid landscape descriptions and philosophical depth, this modern classic holds a 4.6-star rating from over 100 readers, making it a must-have for those who value literary heritage and the spirit of resistance. ## Description “The Thoreau of the American West.” ― Larry McMurty, author of Lonesome Dove A half-century after its original publication, Edward Abbey’s classic 1962 novel, Fi Review: but somewhat sad towards the end - Well-written with an engaging storyline, but somewhat sad towards the end. However, highly recommended reading. Just a shame Edward Abbey is no longer with us, since he had a knack for spinning a good story, much of which was based on his own experiences. As a consolation, I am about to read Black Sun, followed by James M. Cahalan's biography, Edward Abbey: A Life. Review: The genesis of the "Monkeywrench Gang" - In the fictional "Fire on the Mountain," published in 1962, it's pretty clear that Edward Abbey's ideas about individual liberty and wilderness preservation are pretty well developed, but not yet completely evolved. That philosophical evolution comes to it's glorious apex in "The Monkeywrench Gang," a dozen or so years down the road, but nevertheless, "Fire on the Mountain," is vintage Abbey of his "Desert Solitaire" period and well worth reading. The way I read Abbey, it's clear he inserts himself into his fictional characters. Fire on the Mountain is no exception and you can see Abbey in all three of the heroes of the book. The book itself is about an aging, but very spirited and independent small rancher, John Vogelin, who's ranch property in New Mexico unfortunately butts up against the White Sands Missile Range, which for purposes of "national security," is being expanded in area. Vogelin's ranch will become part of the WSMR and Vogelin won't have a choice in the matter. Vogelin then fights back. The other heroes are Vogelin's junior-high age grandson, Billy Starr (Billy's from the East and he's on summer vacation -- he visits his grandpa every summer) and his onetime ranch hand-turned-real estate entrepeneur (and idol of young Billy), Lee Mackie. The story is about Vogelin's bitter struggle with the US government and the bureaucrats working for the "G" in charge of getting Vogelin to accept the government's terms (generous for those days) and get Vogelin "resettled." Vogelin won't leave his ranch and indicates he'll shoot and kill "the first man that touches my ranch house" and that he'll have to be killed by the US Marshals in order to leave. Billy loves the land as much as his grandpa and would stay to the death with him if he could. Mackie is torn between sticking with the old man and persuading him to accept the reality -- and inevitability -- of the situation and leave peacefully with his life and a fattened bank account. Vogelin won't take the government's money and he refuses to leave. Abbey's utter contempt for a governmental institution that would take away our personal liberty while destroying wilderness is expressed in the resolute John Vogelin as he struggles against all odds to keep his ranch and his land. The impersonal, yet slick bureaucrats in charge of trying to get him off his land and their less-than-bright operatives providing the muscle are both treated with equal disdain by Abbey in the book. Vogelin's ranch land is part of a wild, rugged, spectacular high desert landscape and with Abbey describing Vogelin's, Billy's and Lee's various sojourns into the surrounding land and mountains, it's clear he's traveled those roads and trails on horseback as did his heroes. In my opinion, Abbey is almost peerless in his ability to describe the often overlooked subtleties in a wilderness landscape -- especially of a desert wilderness. Sometimes, it's those little points of observation by Abbey that helps us to see even more in what is already stunning beyond imagination. I digress, but the fun part is to walk those same trails, ride those same rivers and trails and put one's own powers of observation to work.... There are a number of twists and turns in the plot, but in general, it's a pretty straightforward and credible story. I'm not going to give away the ending, but it's a good one and one I think an Abbey reader would like. I think Ed saw himself in all three of his main characters at that point (and throughout the book -- even in the conflicted Lee Mackie) and in some way, it was a bit prophetic too, as he faced his own mortality in the late 80s. I'll give it 5 stars, with the caveat that while it's probably not his best work -- it's still really good. ## Features - Binding: paperback - Language: english - Manufacturer: HARPER PERENNIAL MODERN CLASSICS - Brand: Harper Perennial - Publication date: 2012-10-09T00:00:01Z ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 111 Reviews | ## Images ![Harper Perennial Fire on the Mountain - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/715O8nl1XEL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ but somewhat sad towards the end *by B***A on 17 June 2017* Well-written with an engaging storyline, but somewhat sad towards the end. However, highly recommended reading. Just a shame Edward Abbey is no longer with us, since he had a knack for spinning a good story, much of which was based on his own experiences. As a consolation, I am about to read Black Sun, followed by James M. Cahalan's biography, Edward Abbey: A Life. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The genesis of the "Monkeywrench Gang" *by T***W on 2 June 2008* In the fictional "Fire on the Mountain," published in 1962, it's pretty clear that Edward Abbey's ideas about individual liberty and wilderness preservation are pretty well developed, but not yet completely evolved. That philosophical evolution comes to it's glorious apex in "The Monkeywrench Gang," a dozen or so years down the road, but nevertheless, "Fire on the Mountain," is vintage Abbey of his "Desert Solitaire" period and well worth reading. The way I read Abbey, it's clear he inserts himself into his fictional characters. Fire on the Mountain is no exception and you can see Abbey in all three of the heroes of the book. The book itself is about an aging, but very spirited and independent small rancher, John Vogelin, who's ranch property in New Mexico unfortunately butts up against the White Sands Missile Range, which for purposes of "national security," is being expanded in area. Vogelin's ranch will become part of the WSMR and Vogelin won't have a choice in the matter. Vogelin then fights back. The other heroes are Vogelin's junior-high age grandson, Billy Starr (Billy's from the East and he's on summer vacation -- he visits his grandpa every summer) and his onetime ranch hand-turned-real estate entrepeneur (and idol of young Billy), Lee Mackie. The story is about Vogelin's bitter struggle with the US government and the bureaucrats working for the "G" in charge of getting Vogelin to accept the government's terms (generous for those days) and get Vogelin "resettled." Vogelin won't leave his ranch and indicates he'll shoot and kill "the first man that touches my ranch house" and that he'll have to be killed by the US Marshals in order to leave. Billy loves the land as much as his grandpa and would stay to the death with him if he could. Mackie is torn between sticking with the old man and persuading him to accept the reality -- and inevitability -- of the situation and leave peacefully with his life and a fattened bank account. Vogelin won't take the government's money and he refuses to leave. Abbey's utter contempt for a governmental institution that would take away our personal liberty while destroying wilderness is expressed in the resolute John Vogelin as he struggles against all odds to keep his ranch and his land. The impersonal, yet slick bureaucrats in charge of trying to get him off his land and their less-than-bright operatives providing the muscle are both treated with equal disdain by Abbey in the book. Vogelin's ranch land is part of a wild, rugged, spectacular high desert landscape and with Abbey describing Vogelin's, Billy's and Lee's various sojourns into the surrounding land and mountains, it's clear he's traveled those roads and trails on horseback as did his heroes. In my opinion, Abbey is almost peerless in his ability to describe the often overlooked subtleties in a wilderness landscape -- especially of a desert wilderness. Sometimes, it's those little points of observation by Abbey that helps us to see even more in what is already stunning beyond imagination. I digress, but the fun part is to walk those same trails, ride those same rivers and trails and put one's own powers of observation to work.... There are a number of twists and turns in the plot, but in general, it's a pretty straightforward and credible story. I'm not going to give away the ending, but it's a good one and one I think an Abbey reader would like. I think Ed saw himself in all three of his main characters at that point (and throughout the book -- even in the conflicted Lee Mackie) and in some way, it was a bit prophetic too, as he faced his own mortality in the late 80s. I'll give it 5 stars, with the caveat that while it's probably not his best work -- it's still really good. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A lament to the loss of the Old West *by M***R on 29 May 2013* Edward Abbey is the best writer the American West ever saw. Compared to the anger in his books The Monkey Wrench Gang and Hayduke Lives!, or the stoic resistance of the hero in Brave Cowboy, this book is downbeat and its ending sombre. However the author's love for the barren rocks of New Mexico still shines through, and whilst, as in his other books, Abbey is careful not to paint the forces of modernity as pantomime villains, it is clear that Abbey mourns the loss of the Old West deeply. For many in America, from George W Bush downwards, the West is remembered as the beginning of the era of modern America, Capitalist, violent and ecologically destructive. But for Abbey the West was an ending, the last time that individuals mattered more than the state and Nature was respected rather than exploited. Not his best book, but well worth reading. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/640305114-harper-perennial-fire-on-the-mountain](https://www.desertcart.be/products/640305114-harper-perennial-fire-on-the-mountain) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-10-11*