SUMMER OF FIRE

Grounding her narrative in outstanding color photos of plants and animals before, during, and after the awe-inspiring conflagration that burned 2,600,000 acres, Lauber gives more attention to renewal than either Vogel's The Great Yellowstone Fire or Patent's Yellowstone Fires (both 1990), postulating questions that scientists and naturalists are currently studying: ``If an area has been heavily burned, how quickly do bugs colonize it?'' ``Do large burned patches grow back at the same rate as small burned out patches?'' This strikingly beautiful book has larger and clearer photos than Patent's, while Vogel's lacks an index: Lauber is a first choice. Glossary; further reading; index. (Nonfiction. 10-14)