Awards

• Commended for L.A. Times Book Prize (Science/Technology) 2009

Overview

From avalanches to glaciers and seals to snowflakes, from igloos to icebergs, permafrost to hoarfrost, chilblains to frostbite, and from Shackleton's expedition to 'The Year Without Summer', Bill Streever unearths the consistent, ongoing influence of cold on the planet. Evoking history, myth, geography, and ecology, Streever's wide-ranging, lyrical quest for real, icy, forty-below cold gains purchase in July, while he's taking a dip in an Arctic swimming hole; in September, while excavating our planet's ice ages, ancient and not so ancient; and in October, while exploring animals' hibernation habits, from humans to wood frogs to bears. And in March he even does his best to escape it, bundling up in layers of polyester, spandex, and Primaloft fill to face thermometers reading twenty-three below. Guiding us through an astounding natural history that has shaped our planet and our culture, Streever shows us the cold that remains, and what's been left in its absence. A scientist and writer whose passion for cold runs deep, Streever is a wondrous guide.

Full Product Details

9780316042918

Table of Contents

Reviews

A poetic, anecdotal narrative complete with polar expeditions, Ice Age mysteries, igloos, permafrost, and hailstorms...A wonderful collection of one man's first-rate observations and commentary about the history and importance of cold to the earth and its occupants. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'Mr Streever writes with passion and fills his book with entertaining facts' - ECONOMIST 'He sculptures lucid explanations and fires them with fine writing'- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Mr Streever's prose does what E L Doctorow says good writing is supposed to do, which is to evoke sensation in the reader The New York TIMES

'A poetic, anecdotal narrative complete with polar expeditions, Ice Age mysteries, igloos, permafrost, and hailstorms...A wonderful collection of one man's first-rate observations and commentary about the history and importance of cold to the earth and its occupants.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'Mr Streever writes with passion and fills his book with entertaining facts' - ECONOMIST 'He sculptures lucid explanations and fires them with fine writing'- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Mr Streever's prose does what E L Doctorow says good writing is supposed to do, which is to evoke sensation in the reader' - The New York Times

- ECONOMIST 'He sculptures lucid explanations and fires them with fine writing'- NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 'Mr Streever's prose does what E L Doctorow says good writing is supposed to do, which is to evoke sensation in the reader * The New York TIMES * A poetic, anecdotal narrative complete with polar expeditions, Ice Age mysteries, igloos, permafrost, and hailstorms...A wonderful collection of one man's first-rate observations and commentary about the history and importance of cold to the earth and its occupants. * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'Mr Streever writes with passion and fills his book with entertaining facts' *

Author Information

Bill Streever chairs the North Slope Science Initiative's Science Technical Advisory Panel in Alaska and serves on many related committees, including a climate change advisory panel. A biologist, he lives with his son in Anchorage, where he hikes, bikes, camps, scuba dives, and cross country skies, as often as the weather allows.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available