Black Summer: Stories of Loss, Courage and Community from the 2019-2020 Bushfires

by Michael Rowland (Editor)

Told by ABC journalists who were on the ground and broadcasting during our worst ever fire season, spearheaded by Michael Rowland

The bushfires that burnt across Australia from June 2019 to February 2020 were unprecedented. By the time the rains came, they had devoured more than 18 million hectares of bush and farm land, destroyed nearly 3000 homes, claimed the lives of 33 people, killed about a billion animals and driven more to the brink of extinction. The heartbreak, pain, loss and uncertainty were felt far and wide. These were fires that burnt in every state and affected all Australians, directly or indirectly.

But out of the tragedies, the fear, the lost homes, the burnt forests, the bleak holidays, the unrelenting smoke have come stories of courage and community. ABC journalists on the ground during the crises brought many of these stories into homes across the nation. This book contains updates, new stories and overviews by them, as well as reflections on how such a catastrophe occurred and what we have learnt from it. It is both a record of the events and a tribute to those who endured, escaped, fought and in some cases paid the ultimate price.

With forewords by Ita Buttrose and Andrew Constance, and contributions from Casey Briggs, Jessie Davies, Daniel Doody, Matthew Doran, Brittany Evins, Richard Glover, Nick Hose, Melinda James, Tom Joyner, Jonathon Kendall, Stacey Lee, Hamish Macdonald, Jade Macmillan, Jennifer McCutcheon, Philippa McDonald, Karen Michelmore, Greg Nelson, Adriane Reardon, Michael Rowland, Baz Ruddick, Erin Semmler, Josh Szeps, Claire Wheaton and Philip Williams.

All publisher profits from this book will be donated to the Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund. By purchasing this book you are assisting people, animals, forests and communities affected by the fires.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 6, 2021

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely outstanding book.

The 2019-2020 bushfire season was one Australians will never forget, and this book perfectly captures the anxiety, fear, and community of that summer. Every contributor brought something special and a new perspective; sometimes the passages were so well written it was like reliving December 2019 all over again.

Black Summer really is a must read, both for people who didn't go through it personally and those of us who did. It's not about pointlessly reopening wounds but about remembering how to process a trauma that was interrupted by a global pandemic.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave Black Summer a 4 star review.
This book is about the bushfires that took place between 2019 and 2020, it’s told by several ABC journalists that were there during this time. They were either covering them or living there.

I think this is a must read for all Australians to learn more about that time, the survival and hope during this period. Sadly, once the fires were out, a new issue came up soon after COVID. During the bushfires we stood by each other, during COVID we were tearing each other apart over toilet paper. Hard to believe.

It now marks 5 years since this time, and as I write this about 60 plus fires incidents are taking place in New South Wales alone.

Prehaps the bushfires are now a new normal.

[Julie Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sad time but very brave RFS and other's and the journalists wrote it very well

[Peter Langston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling series of essays by ABC journalists who were in the field reporting during the 2019-20 Black Summer bush fires. Including eye-witness accounts of the experiences of survival and recovery, much of it is very moving. Richard Glover's piece gives two perspectives: that of the one air program maker talking with listeners who are living through their moments of hell and also that of the property owner who sat for 24 hours wondering if the house he and his wife had built had been destroyed. Casey Briggs wrote a staggering piece about Kangaroo Island at the devastation of bee farmer Peter Davis. He captures the damage both physical and emotional done to this normally sleepy island which tourists love. Josh Szeps politically charged conclusion, "The New Normal", is the perfect conclusion to an excellent collection, edited well by Michael Rowland.

[gemsbooknook Geramie Kate Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘The bushfires that burnt across Australia from June 2019 to February 2020 were unprecedented. By the time the rains came, they had devoured more than 18 million hectares of bush and farmland, destroyed nearly 3000 homes, claimed the lives of 33 people, killed about a billion animals, and driven more to the brink of extinction. The heartbreak, pain, loss, and uncertainty were felt far and wide. These were fires that burnt in every state and affected all Australians, directly or indirectly.
But out of the tragedies, the fear, the lost homes, the burnt forests, the bleak holidays, and the unrelenting smoke have come stories of courage and community. ABC journalists on the ground during the crises brought many of these stories into homes across the nation. This book contains updates, new stories, and overviews by them, as well as reflections on how such a catastrophe occurred and what we have learned from it. It is both a record of the events and a tribute to those who endured, escaped, fought, and in some cases paid the ultimate price.
With forewords by Ita Buttrose and Andrew Constance, and contributions from Casey Briggs, Jessie Davies, Daniel Doody, Matthew Doran, Brittany Evins, Richard Glover, Nick Hose, Melinda James, Tom Joyner, Jonathon Kendall, Stacey Lee, Hamish Macdonald, Jade Macmillan, Jennifer McCutcheon, Philippa McDonald, Karen Michelmore, Greg Nelson, Adriane Reardon, Michael Rowland, Baz Ruddick, Erin Semmler, Josh Szeps, Claire Wheaton and Philip Williams.’
This book was fantastic.
I have wanted to read this book from the moment I saw it and now that I finally read it I am happy to say that it was well worth the wait.
The Black Summer bushfires were so horrific and widespread that many of the stories in this book were new to me; especially those that weren’t in NSW.
Hearing these stories and seeing the photographs was truly heartbreaking. The devastation, the stress, and the loss were something I couldn’t even imagine and at times struggled to comprehend.
With so much emotion and trauma it would be easy for this book to just overwhelm a reader, but the Aussie spirit and the mate-ship and community that rose out of these terrible times gives hope to a reader and made me proud to be an Australian.
Black Summer by Michael Rowland is an absolute must-read for everyone.

Geramie Kate Barker
gemsbooknook.wordpress.com

[Kylie Purdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think many Australian's will forget the horrific summer of 2019/2020. Those of us who weren't directly affected watched as our country burned and our government continued to deny climate change had anything to do with it. All of us relied on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to keep us up to date and tell us what was happening.
This book is the first hand account of many ABC journalists as they reported on the quite frankly unbelievable events that left 17 million hectares destroyed across the country and 34 people dead. The communities that were affected will be forever changed - and that was all before COVID hit!
The journos who contributed to this collection had varying levels of involvement in the crisis. Some lost homes themselves, some were on holidays and put that on hold to report from the fire grounds they found themselves in, some were responsible for broadcasting emergency information. All worked long hours and all said it was like nothing that had ever experienced before.
This is a book that many may find hard to read. It's also important we do read it. This is going to happen more often and we need to have some idea of what to expect and the traumatising effect it has on all involved. My only suggestion is you read it with a box of tissues.

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is such an important one and the personal perspective is very sobering. Written as a collection of recounts by journalists in the field, some are more powerful and eloquent than others so it doesn’t necessarily flow together but is more of a patchwork of varying quality. I did appreciate the reflections of journalists scattered amongst it about their role and boundaries during such a challenging time - getting an important story out but also respecting the trauma for all involved. And, while the fires during this time spread well and truly across geographic boundaries, the stories in here are mostly from NSW.

[Andopoulos · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories of loss and community engagement in response to the bushfires are equal parts devastating and inspiring but I can't give this any more than two stars.

It's basically just a series of disconnected blog posts, and without a timeline or narrative flow it starts to feel repetitive and stale.

It would have been a far stronger concept for someone to have synthesised the reporting to build a more compelling breakdown of the disaster, including government response (which was really just tacked on at the end).

These are the types of articles that are best read during a major event, not years after it.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this book as I had to keep returning it to the library when I ran out of time. It was slow reading because it is so sad, and very vividly brought back all the stress and anxiety of the 2019 drought which led to the summer of fires. I appreciated that so many ABC journalists wrote chapters in the book with photographs also included. It is an amazing and incredible read, but a tough and a sad one. I would suggest it as a purchase for local studies collections for all areas which had bushfires in 2019 and 2020.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

We were given this as a gift some time ago, but the memories of Black Summer were still too strong for me to be able to read it until now. This concentrates mainly on good stories - the help offered to strangers and the caring for people who had lost everything, so that made it easier to read. It was a horrible 6 months and I hope it doesn't ever happen again.

[Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate the final chapter by Josh Szeps five stars. Powerful stuff!

[Kat Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book about courage, dedication and ripping the Prime Minister for his lack of leadership during the 2019-2020 bushfire season and COVID19

[Jess]

I thought I was ready to revisit this, but honestly I don't think I'll ever be ready.

[Rhiannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should be required reading in Australia and around the world, really.

Great tellings of terrible experiences of journalists during Black Summer.

[Melissa Stretton]

Such a sad book. I remember it quite well. I was very lucky where I lived. You could smell the smoke all the time.

[Cynthia Coghill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captures what happened during the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires. The stories from journalists whose property was affected, those reporting from the frontline and interviewing people who'd lost everything, gave morbid life to what was shown on tv. Each journalist gave up-to-the-minute reporting as the unaffected public tried to comprehend the incredible pace at which the fires were progressing. Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons was to say on 8 November, "Unfortunately, we are in unchartered territory this afternoon.".

Numerous communities were torn to shreds. Complete strangers helped and those within these communities helped each other. The loss of lives, homes, livelihoods, wildlife habitats and ecosystems is incomprehensible.

Thank you to the ABC journalists and the people who spoke to them for publishing this significant book.

[Yee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bushfire victims might be forced to move on with their lives, but the devastating memories will linger, and the trauma will be heightened every summer since then.