Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places

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.