FIRE (2008)

This sort of thing happens all the time in Hollywood: A writer hits the scene like a freight train, experiences smashing success, and swiftly repackages old stuff to snag an easy paycheck. (Call it Farrelly brothers syndrome.) Following the formula to a tee, The Perfect Storm author Sebastian Junger has dusted off everything short of his ninth-grade essay on the agricultural exports of Guam for a slim, catchall collection. All told, it's pretty engaging, though the title essays on forest fires are by far the weakest. The problem, however, is that dipping into the war in Kosovo or the sickening triumphs of the Taliban over the Afghani rebels earlier this year in just 20-odd pages (and sometimes less) is, by definition, an unsatisfying proposition. And when one considers the rich work done this year by noted journalists like Michela Wrong (In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz), Fire burns substantially less bright by comparison.