Ice: Nature and Culture

Description

In Ice, Klaus Dodds provides a wide-ranging exploration of the cultural, natural, and geopolitical history of this most slippery of subjects. Beyond Earth, ice has been found on other planets, moons, and meteors—and scientists even think that ice-rich asteroids played a pivotal role in bringing water to our blue home. But our outlook need not be cosmic to see ice’s importance. Here today and gone tomorrow in many parts of the temperate world, ice is a perennial feature of polar and mountainous regions, where it has long shaped human culture. But as climates change, ice caps and glaciers melt, and waters rise, more than ever this frozen force touches at the core of who we are. As Dodds reveals, ice has played a prominent role in shaping both the earth’s living communities and its geology. Throughout history, humans have had fun with it, battled over it, struggled with it, and made money from it—and every time we open our refrigerator doors, we’re reminded how ice has transformed our relationship with food. Our connection to ice has been captured in art, literature, movies, and television, as well as made manifest in sport and leisure. In our landscapes and seascapes, too, we find myriad reminders of ice’s chilly power, clues as to how our lakes, mountains, and coastlines have been indelibly shaped by the advance and retreat of ice and snow. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Ice is an informative, thought-provoking guide to a substance both cold and compelling. Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 4 Imprint Page......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Prologue......Page 8 1: A World of Ice......Page 25 2: Exploring and Conquering Ice......Page 52 3: Imagining and Representing Ice......Page 80 4: Icy Geopolitics......Page 110 5: Working with Ice......Page 142 6: Sport, Leisure and Pleasure on Ice......Page 167 7: Adapting to Ice......Page 183 Farewell to Ice......Page 200 References......Page 202 Select Bibliography......Page 210 Associations and Websites......Page 214 Acknowledgements......Page 218 Photo Acknowledgements......Page 220 Index......Page 224