Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage

by Matthew Wolfe

The explosive true story of a secret group of radicals who launched a clandestine battle to save the planet—and what their legacy illuminates about the past, present, and future of the environmental movement

In the early hours of October 28, 1996, a driver in rural Oregon spotted flames rising from a federal ranger station. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, but not before discovering a cryptic phrase spray-painted on a nearby “EARTH LIBERATION FRONT.” Over the next decade, the Earth Liberation Front would carry out the most audacious series of politically motivated arsons in American history. Their targets—car dealerships, slaughterhouses, lumber companies, a $20 million Vail ski resort—were chosen to send a if the government wouldn’t halt the destruction of the natural world, they would. Despite causing no deaths, the ELF would soon be branded the foremost domestic terrorism threat in America and become the target of one of the FBI’s largest investigations.

Fires in the Night is the definitive story of the ELF’s rise and unraveling, stretching from the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest to the Seattle streets of 1999’s legendary WTO protests to the paranoid aftermath of September 11. For years, members of ELF, many of them close friends, led double lives, meticulously planning and staging their attacks, using secret book clubs, dead drops, and anonymouse communiques, while trying to manage interpersonal friction and stay one step ahead of a relentless task force of police and federal agents. Drawing on years of original reporting and interviews, including with reclusive activists breaking their silence for the first time, as well as thousands of pages of unreleased investigative files, journalist Matthew Wolfe offers a thrilling, intimate account of a moment in American life when the actions of radical environmentalists challenged mainstream complacency. As the climate crisis continues to accelerate, Wolfe asks the most pressing question of our facing the end of the world as we know it, exactly what kind of resistance is justified?

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Nature, Politics, Biography, Audiobook

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2026

Reviews

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

The events discussed in this book took place mainly, but not entirely, in the Pacific Northwest by a group of young people called ELF, Earth Liberation Front during the 1990s. The first part of the book is more focused on several of the people involved in setting fires or actions to liberate animals. Law enforcement is peppered throughout the book but is discussed more thoroughly in the later part. The author Wolfe is neutral in this book, doesn’t provide opinions only facts of what happened or balanced, counterposing views. The writing was done well in making this a coherent narrative.

There was a good discussion on how these types of acts have become labeled as (incorrectly) terrorism, also known as eco-terrorism. There was a major shift after Sept.11, 2001 with Bush declaring a war on terror and including these types of groups with increased surveillance and infiltration.

The book was intriguing. These young people were working towards laudable goals, wanted to improve the world, but went about it entirely the wrong way. At least they were always mindful to harm only property, or seemingly help animals, and never purposefully harm people. Yet in the end, they had to ask themselves how much did their actions help in promoting their cause?

Thanks to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good non-fiction book about eco-terrorism perpetrated by American members of the UK based Earth Liberation Front (ELF) during the 1990s and their apprehension in the 2000s. For the greater part of the book, Wolfe is fair-minded and treats both the FBI agents and the terrorists factually. in the end however, the author deviates from this vantage point and appears to empathize a bit more closely with the terrorists.

Having been involved in civil disobedience for a lost cause I can appreciate the feelings of the ELF members known as elves. Elves cost businesses and their insurance companies millions of dollars and did not manage to change a thing. Their violent property damage escapades only cemented the opposition and stymied the activity of law-abiding environmental groups.

I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in either the good or bad side of environmental protests and environmental activism. If you are looking for a good thriller that is true-to-life you will find this book interesting.

[Corvus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit: keep thinking about it so bumping up to 4 stars for the amount of labor and research alone.

Since someone asked, I should have mentioned that I highly recommend Will Potter's work for more info about the green scare and some of the organizing taking place. A lot of other knowledge is hard to obtain due to government surveillance, so much of it is scattered across zines, prisoner support websites, online articles, etc. That is why I'm willing to give Wolfe some grace given the sources available.
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It is difficult to assess Matthew Wolfe's Fires in the Night in part because I went into it expecting something a little bit different. If one looks at this book as a true crime, narrative nonfiction text about a specific legal case of an affinity group, it's mostly fine. I have some disagreements here and there, but overall it is well researched and executed in a way that draws the reader in.

FITN has the sort of appeal that a lot of similar media has where it takes real life events and presents them to the reader in the form of a thriller, for better or worse ethically. However, for someone who lived through the time these events took place, who was also active in organizing, and who felt the harrowing and chilling effects of the green scare, this book falls a bit short. This book also comes out at a time when history is repeating itself as we watch leftist groups fighting fascism again being broadly labeled as terrorists, so the feelings are even more raw. Recent sentences handed down in the Prairieland case are some of the most devastating and politically motivated in movement history. Minneapolis defendants are also facing frightening prospects.

This may not entirely be the fault of the author. I know much of the time they don’t have much choice in the title or the marketing of a book. This book is not about “The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a secret history of eco-sabotage.” FITN is specifically about a single affinity group plus a couple of acquaintances and the legal consequences that befell them.

The problem with characterizing this book as being about the ELF at large, something that is not limited to the title, reduces what was a worldwide movement into a fraction of a story about a few individuals. The author regularly refers to the group as if they are the entirety of the ELF. However, much like the misunderstood entity of antifa today, the ALF and ELF we’re never centralized groups, but more a label placed on a type of action that met a certain group of criteria- mainly direct action against animal/earth exploitation enterprises without causing injury or death to humans and other animals. This is something the author does know and mention, but then goes on to basically characterize the movement as a small USA Pacific Northwest affinity group. People took actions across the world, using a massive variety of tactics, some more effective than others, with all sorts of different outcomes in regards to legal aspects. People are still doing so today.

Furthermore, due to the absolute mess that was this particular case, focusing solely on it makes it seem like the movement was mostly an ineffective and misguided set of mistakes. (ETA: this review exemplifies exactly the dangerously problematic and ignorant outcome of a story told incompletely like this.) If someone knew nothing about this history, they might think that the only reason the government got involved was due to arson combined with post 9/11 patriot act emboldened FBI. However, anyone with an understanding of this history and that of any other movement knows that the crackdown came because the movement was effective. Not just those taking on the label of the ELF, but organizers all over the country were taking action and having real effects against corporations that were destroying the planet and torturing animals. Another thing that is remarked upon on the book, but not focused on nearly enough, is that the vast majority of these actions not only didn’t injure anyone, but weren’t even dangerous like arsons described in the book. Yet, the crackdown by the feds meant having the FBI showing up at vegan potlucks and surveilling/disrupting your entirely legal above ground actions. It had them infiltrating animal rescue groups, seducing and entrapping activists, coercing some of them into taking actions they never would have taken otherwise, having long-term relationships with them (and even children,) and bullying their friends and family into turning on them. Rape kits sat untested due to “lack of resources” for years while money was used to test DNA on the bandanas of activists that legally protested on sidewalks. Entire laws- like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act- were created that criminalized any sort of vague disruption in the profits of corporations who exploited animals and the environment as terrorism, creating broad and sweeping devastation in the lives of people daring to take even legal 1st amendment actions like filming animal abuse at a slaughterhouse from the side of the road. These laws are still in place.

I’m not saying that the author never touches on any of this. He talks about how property destruction prior to 9/11 had never been labeled terrorism and how animal and eco activists were placed above white supremacists on the FBI’s terror watch list despite the latter being who was actually mass murdering people. My issue is that he doesn’t touch on it enough. It is a side note rather than the main story.

These effects on these movements occurred on a dying planet, the latter of which is captured well at times by the book in terms of the ways that the organizers were thinking about things. I felt that the author did well to truly understand why these particular activists in this particular affinity group took the actions they took. I am limited somewhat in the fact that I was reading an ARC, but the sources and process I do have access to in the review copy show that the author was often using specific sources for every sentence. Narrative nonfiction is a risk. In order to create something that reads almost like a novel, there’s a certain creative flourish. I do think this pays off in how it engages the reader. There were a couple times that I felt he relied on some industry propaganda, particularly when discussing animal liberation. But overall, I think the reader can get a good grasp of the desperation and passion that the characters of this book were feeling.

That said, in his notes, Wolfe discusses his construction of stories as the “most logical” sequence of events based on the sources he used. The book as a result tells stories that may or may not be true, but bills itself as a factual account. There were times that I was left wondering about certain very specific details. There is one section in the end where he speculates about Josephine Overaker that I found irresponsible. I am still unsure about the things that I had not heard about before reading this and the level of accuracy of each one. This is not really something that is unique to this book though. I would say pretty much any deep dive like this is not going to be perfect and I do think an admirable amount of research went into this book.

I had followed this case quite closely at the time. I read frequently about the green scare, I wrote to political prisoners, and I was admittedly generally paranoid both in personality and because I was paying attention to how the left was being treated in a post 9/11 world. This book still taught me some things that I didn’t know. I never realized how massively diverse the backgrounds were of these activists. Despite how this book ends, it can serve as inspiration in a way about how people from all kinds of backgrounds can come together and make something big happen. I also didn’t know about Avalon being a predatory manarchist/macktivist. An important lesson can be learned there about movement idols with the most social capital.

There are also details that, strangely enough, serve as instruction on what to do right if you want to carry out an effective action of their choosing without getting caught. If they had stuck to a more careful methodology and if it weren’t for the FBI’s infiltration and adept ability to get so many people to turn on one another, they might have gotten away with all of it. Though given the time period and government in place, the outcomes may have been the same. Organizers were convicted in other cases on much less.

As the story progresses, it gets more and more devastating. If there ever was a fable that could be told to teach a lesson about how the state is not your friend and how cooperation will not save you, it’s this one. One thing to note is how the feds were scrambling to go after everyone before the statute of limitations was up. Everyone in the case had long since moved on for years and was no longer a “threat” in terms of the state’s fake-ass claims of protecting the nation from “domestic terrorism.” The resolution was about punishment, quota, and furthering a precedent that would cause anybody to think twice before they got involved in any sort of movement. It’s strange, I don’t recall if I knew just how many people snitched in this case. It was well known far and wide that Jacob Ferguson became the most nightmarish betrayer of everyone he knew and everything he claimed to believe in. His story, along with that of “Anna” and other agents who entrapped people left many organizers having nightmares that their partner or friend might not be who they say they are. I knew that Daniel McGowan, Joyanna Zacher, Nathan Block, and Jonathan Paul held out and refused to cooperate no matter what. But, I forgot or didn’t realize just how many others decided to inform on each other. I think that Wolfe did a decent job capturing why each of the defendants folded. He definitely captured how their betrayals did nothing but make everyone’s lives worse including their own.

If a tepid political yard sign and a live laugh love mug gave birth to a human being who was then given the power of a federal judge, it would be the painfully neoliberal Clinton appointed Judge Aiken. The sentences she reigned down on the defendants were matched only by her stupidly patronizing advice that they should read memoirs or perform random acts of kindness to stop apocalyptic ecological devastation, all while claiming that she, too, (just like Al Gore!) totally cares. Even though she showed that maybe she has learned a thing or two when she decided in later years to let one defendant off with community service, she exemplifies just how right wing the Democrat party was at the burgeoning time of tough on crime politics. It is difficult to describe the sickening feeling of seeing someone who chose to betray everyone they knew and everything they believed in be sentenced to more years in prison than those they informed on. The vindictive part of me feels like they deserve it. Another part of me thinks of what it must be like facing massive prison time, being called a terrorist, with a shoddy public defender and federal agents telling you that all of your former comrades already informed on you. I wouldn’t have made the same decision, but I see how they ended up doing so. I hope it serves as a lesson to others who may find the feds holding their hand telling them they just want to help them… if only they’ll rat on their friends. Even Jacob Ferguson, who got off on probation despite arguably being the most chaotic and dangerous in his methods, still lost all of his social support, was immortalized in media as a snitch of the worst calibre, then fell back into addiction and ended up in prison again anyway. As all who cooperated learned, being a informant in prison adds another layer of punishment and risk.

The way that Wolfe chose to wrap up the book in the epilogue was crafty. I wish he would have taken it much further though. He chose to briefly focus on what has happened since then. How we’ve lost 70% of the animals on Earth in a 50-year time period. How ecological destruction has only accelerated, but along with it has come an ever increasing bravery among organizers to take a variety of actions, including property destruction and sabotage, to fight back. The most poetic part of the epilogue is his focus on wildfires. I wish he would have written more about this. When you juxtapose the absolute devastation of massive areas of the planet blanketed by uncontrollable fires caused by climate change and other ecological destruction, it puts into perspective how absolutely ridiculous it is to characterize controlled arsons against buildings as the top threat. Regardless of how you feel about varying tactics that organizers use, one cannot deny that when you push someone to desperation and render an legal avenues ineffective (or worse, punish them as terrorism) that more extreme actions are inevitable. As we watch things continue to collapse around us, we will have to ask time and again what we are supposed to do, what we should have done, and what hope there is left to preserve the little that remains. There will never be perfectly correct answers to these questions.

My advice to the reader is to go into this book as a legal/political thriller style narrative that will tell you a tiny part of a massive story. It may scratch that itch of entertainment one can get from this sort of thing while also teaching you something about the time period and movements therein. However, if this history is new to you, you need to look much further than this book if you want to understand the history of these movements, the FBI’s role, and the secret history of eco-sabotage.

This was also posted to my storygraph and blog.

[Mai H.]

Non-fiction November TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Viking

[Jim Holscher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reporting about eco terrorists in the late 80s and early 2000s. This one covers all the bases.

The only drawback for me was the nature of the story. Let me explain. To tell the history completely, as Mr. Wolfe does here, there are numerous characters with similar story lines. This can lead to seeming that the overall story is repeating itself.

That said this was a true triumph of historical story telling about an under valued time. Perfect for both history and true crime fans! 3 1/2 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital ARC of this work in exchange for an honest review.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading about the Earth Liberation Front (E.L.F.) and their arson campaign in the news back in the 1990s. At the time I thought that arson seemed like a strange tactic for someone trying to push an environmental agenda, but after reading this book, I have a better appreciation for fire as an inexpensive weapon for expressing frustration with the progress in addressing environmental issues. And I agree with the basic message the E.L.F. was promoting - we need to do more to address the adverse impact humanity is having on the environment, even more urgently now than when the E.L.F. was active. Having said that, I simply cannot condone the actions chosen by the E.L.F. to express themselves. Arson is a terribly violent act, and it is somewhat miraculous that none of their fires killed or even seriously injured anyone.

This book covers the entire history of the E.L.F. campaign, from the origins of the movement and its relationship to the larger environmental and political movements, to detailed descriptions of many of the fires they set. It also provides a detailed examination of the response to these fires and the investigation that (eventually) led to the arrest and conviction of most of the active participants. All of this is presented in a clear narrative that is engaging and compelling to read. And while it is clear that the author is sympathetic to the environmentalist cause, it is equally clear that he does not approve of the actions of this group. In fact, the book strongly suggests that the backlash against this campaign of eco-sabotage can be viewed as the origins of the absolutely abysmal environmental policies of the current administration.

The cover photo of this book shows the Vail ski area lodge that the group burned shortly before it opened. This photo caught my attention because we skied at Vail last winter, and took a tour of the mountain. Our guide made a point of mentioning the fire when we reached the lodge, which was completely rebuilt, which raises questions about how much impact this act of arson really had. And that is a central theme of this book, which is an excellent history of an extreme element of the environmentalist movement.

[Linda Sander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fires in the Night is beyond doubt, one of the most exciting narrative nonfiction books I have ever read. It is the story, from beginning to end, of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), an environmental activist organization that operated in the Pacific Northwest for less than a decade beginning in 1996. The book reads like a novel that you don't want to put down and it is difficult if not impossible to avoid rooting for the ELF members despite the realization that they are engaging in repeated acts of arson and the destruction of millions of dollars worth of government and corporate property.

The ELF members justify their actions on the basis that multiple protests against government and corporate actions were having no impact on the environmental damage routinely wrought by these entities in a world shared by all.

Ironically at just the time that the organizers began to wind down out of frustration over the lack of impact of arson, the 9/11 horror occurred leading to the passage of the US Patriot Act. Using the authority of this Act the government classified environmental activists as "domestic terrorists" and began to use their new law enforcement powers to track the activists.

The latter part of the book tells the story of the dismantling of ELF and the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of almost all of the members identified. The final chapters and Epilogue address both the decline and near death of environmental activism between 2006 and 2020 and its slowly building resurgence given the recent dramatic fires attributable to climate change and the reelection of President Trump a celebrated climate denier.

In an interesting aside, the author discusses briefly why it was (is) that environmental and animal liberation activists were labeled as "domestic terrorists" deserving of special law enforcement and imprisonment actions when they caused, at most, property damage but no fatalities when members of the KKK, neo-Nazis and anti-abortion activists, collectively responsible for multiple deaths of innocent people have not been so classified. The author suggests the overlapping conservative political ideology of law enforcement members and the financial lobbying of corporate entities as likely reasons.

On the downside, it should be pointed out that the group of activists described in this book do not represent the entirety of the ELF which included other "cells" and represented a world-wide environmental movement.

[Candace Ladd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a thoughtful and beautifully written reported narrative of a group of ELF members who engaged in covert acts of arson and eco-sabotage over nearly a decade. The author captures both the love and the fury that motivated ELF to set fires, and helps the reader understand the impossible choices members made when their backs were against the wall. It’s also interesting to learn how much 9/11 impacted fringe environmental movements. With the perspective of 25 years, it’s really a flashpoint that led us to where we are now.

As someone who’s read a lot about social movements throughout history, I found myself yet again disappointed to see how interpersonal issues break movements apart. Is it inevitable? I don’t know exactly what the solution is, but I’m convinced that this is something any burgeoning movement needs to address from the start, not just as a reaction when the problem becomes too big to ignore.

I’ve already influenced three friends to read this (and counting), but I’m not seeing much press about this book, so I wanted to write this review in hopes it will encourage others to read it too. I think there’s a lot of lessons to glean from this story, particularly if you’re someone who’s interested in the environmental movement or radical activist history. It’s also simply *good* narrative nonfiction & worth reading for that alone.

[John Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quarter century after 9/11 and all the changes that brought to our laws and society, it is easy to forget there was a time when monkey-wrenchers and saboteurs roamed free. I found it especially interesting to learn about the group's structure, norms, and security methods. Wolfe's research to piece together the chain of events that created the ELF cell in Eugene is impressive, and he pairs that research with a clear and relaxed style of story telling.

This was an immensely entertaining read about a topic I knew very little of. I look forward to reading more of Wolfe's work.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to be thinking about this book for a long time. It's an excellent piece of narrative non-fiction and investigative work and I look forward to reading Wolfe's work for a long time to come. This book feels tragic (in the classical sense) and I think has a lot of warnings to offer those of us who are looking to see how we, and the communities we are a part of/trying to create, can make a change in the world. I highly recommend this book and expect it to be one of the books that lingers longest in mind this year.

(Also, obviously the beginning of the end would be when they burn down a library - Don't mess with librarians/libraries.)

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a blubbery sobbing mess as I type this. I can’t do this book justice in a review. Matthew Wolfe humanized the subjects in the book while holding valid tensions. His storytelling is compassionate, witty, and thoughtful. This is the most timely book of 2026. I will always remember Kevin Tubbs, his soft heart, Pujo, and the feral cats he helped. I’m devastated and grateful for the stories and history I learned.

[Addi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book strikes a great balance in my opinion of story and history its told as a narrative but doesn’t takes narrative liberties.

The author clearly cared about going in depth on the people the book follows and his research shows in the depth you’re about to get to know the various ELFs through the book.

This book also strikes a great balance of not moralizing much one way or another and instead engaging with the complex motivations and flaws of these people.

It’s an unusual topic and better done than most, a rare non fiction book I just absolutely tore through.

[Sophie Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

compared to the author i'm probably like 30% more sympathetic to the earth firsters (covid thwarted my attempt to invite leslie james pickering to give a talk on campus) but 100% recommend this book ! so well researched, thrilling and devastating and very worthwhile lessons to be learned

[Kathryn Glass · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - adventure, drama, and the ethics of trying to save the planet, set in the pacific northwest. Bravo!

[Andrew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting read, incredibly moving and wonderfully detailed.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent research and reporting. Proves once again power and greed outweigh common sense and critical thinking. Highly recommend this read.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well written, this history of the Elf Liberation Movement is both meticulously researched and paints a compelling picture of the motivations, choices, and ultimately conundrums of the activists, termed “elves”. This is principally a Pacific Northwest story, mostly set in Eugene with some references to Olympia.

[martyn benny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fires in the Night: The Earth Liberation Front, the FBI, and a Secret History of Eco-Sabotage is a meticulously researched, compelling, and remarkably balanced work of investigative nonfiction that examines one of the most controversial chapters in modern environmental activism. Matthew Wolfe delivers a gripping narrative that reads with the pace of a thriller while maintaining the rigor and nuance of exceptional journalism.

One of the book's greatest strengths is its refusal to reduce a deeply complex subject into simple heroes and villains. Wolfe carefully reconstructs the rise of the Earth Liberation Front, exploring the motivations, ideals, internal conflicts, and personal sacrifices of its members while also examining the immense law enforcement effort that sought to dismantle the organization. This balanced perspective allows readers to engage thoughtfully with difficult moral and political questions rather than being directed toward predetermined conclusions.

The historical context is equally impressive. By placing the ELF within the broader evolution of the environmental movement from the old-growth forest conflicts of the Pacific Northwest to the anti-globalization protests of Seattle and the profound political shifts following September 11—the book demonstrates how environmental activism evolved alongside changing social, political, and cultural realities.

What makes the narrative particularly compelling is Wolfe's extensive original reporting. Drawing upon interviews, investigative files, and firsthand accounts, he creates richly developed portraits of individuals on every side of the conflict. These personal stories transform what could have been a straightforward historical account into an absorbing human drama shaped by conviction, fear, loyalty, and consequence.

Perhaps most valuable is the book's willingness to explore enduring ethical questions without offering simplistic answers. As climate change continues to intensify, Fires in the Night invites readers to consider the difficult relationship between activism, civil disobedience, political resistance, environmental responsibility, and the limits of protest. Those questions give the book significance far beyond its historical subject matter.

Written with clarity, precision, and exceptional narrative skill, Fires in the Night is an outstanding contribution to environmental history, investigative journalism, and political nonfiction. It offers readers an illuminating examination of a controversial movement while encouraging thoughtful reflection on the evolving relationship between environmental advocacy and social change.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Setting fires that no one asked for is not nice. If you do them a certain way, they can even become terrorism. For the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), setting fires was kind of their thing for a while. (Side note: I am sorry but ELF is not a great name if you are trying to scare people.) Author Matthew Wolfe looks at a specific cell of ELF from the end of the 1990s that was quite successful in the fire-setting, but not much else.

My initial hesitation before reading this book was going to be bias. The environment is somehow very controversial nowadays, and I didn't know if Wolfe would use this story to rail against the government, environmentalists, or corporations. I have great news, everyone. Wolfe basically calls it down the middle. Yes, I'd say he probably gives the weakest defense to corporations and one particular government official, but otherwise, the ELF, FBI, and other assorted governments acronyms are treated equally. Each of them has a point but the counterpoints are also laid out for the reader. I personally felt that Wolfe was fair throughout the story.

And what a story it is. ELF operates almost independently from itself. People come together, do some sabotage, and then return to their own lives. The cell in the book is based out of the Pacific Northwest and the characters are extremely interesting. Please note that "interesting" does not mean likable. Wolfe lets these people be people, and it means the entire plot is that much more interesting. There is not a single wasted chapter even though Wolfe has to balance more than a dozen main characters. The missions are covered with some detail and the ending is satisfying with a tinge of sadness. This is Wolfe's first book, and he nails it.

(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and Viking Books.)

[Rae Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fires in the Night is a gripping, clear‑eyed excavation of the Earth Liberation Front’s rise and the federal machinery that mobilized to stop it, told with the pacing of a thriller and the rigor of investigative journalism. Wolfe traces the blurred line between idealism and extremism, showing how environmental desperation hardened into sabotage and how the FBI’s pursuit became its own story of obsession, overreach, and political theater. What makes the book compelling is its refusal to flatten anyone into hero or villain; instead, it reveals a landscape of moral ambiguity where ecological grief, state power, and personal conviction collide. It’s a propulsive, unsettling look at the costs of fighting for a burning planet.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely a great nonfiction book and points a light in the direction of corruption in the world. I didn't agree with their methods, but it boggles my mind to know that they where given harsher sentences than pedophiles and rapist. It was definitely an eye opening read!

[Brendan O'Meara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew's deeply reported narrative takes the reader behind the scenes to a core group of eco-vigilantes. The story is told with great authority and great care for his subjects. Deeply researched and wonderfully written.

[Debra Erikson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional narrative of a group of frustrated environmentalists who take the lack of concern for the environment into their own hands. Produced through painstaking research, this book is especially timely.

[Tom Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would suggest skimming through reviews both on here and in the media to get a sense of how, even today, lobsters will boil in their pots while still chiding any of their fellows who try to break free.

[Daniel Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bizarre story that is perfectly told by the author, thank you

[J.P.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic; super nuanced look at a group of noble saboteurs. Did they commit crimes? Yes. Did this book make me root for them on some level, both as a mechanism of their ethos and the author’s skill at portraying their humanity? Yes. Would recommend to anyone. Very prescient and reads like a fiction thriller. Started and finished it over a weekend. Really hope the author writes more, in this or any topic.

[Gabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good view, clearly deeply researched and interested in every person in the story, even their smaller moments, when they're in the spotlight.

[Matthew Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 5 stars are for my wife who put up with me while writing this book.