Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Hockey History > Item 196
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Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance
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by Mariana Gosnell
Sales Rank: 403601
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List Price: $18.00
$13.50
At Amazon
on 11-2-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 576 pages
Published by: University Of Chicago Press June 1, 2007
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0226304965
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0226304960
Book Dimensions:
9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
Weighs: 2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Eskimos have more than a dozen words for sea ice; compared with Gosnell, they're downright thrifty. A self-professed "pagophile" ("lover of ice"), Gosnell exhausts the matter of frozen water in this needlessly long and maddeningly repetitive tome. A former Newsweek science reporter and author of Zero Three Bravo, she writes smoothly and wrings a measure of interest from her various subjects—sea ice, lake ice, river ice, space ice, ice games, frostbite, John Wayne Bobbitt (yes, that Mr. Bobbitt). But this book is an often mystifying precipitate of facts, curious words and anecdotes that could be slashed in half with no ill effect. The book also suffers from an overdose of distracting literary quotations on nearly every page. To be sure, ice is not a trivial substance. At the caps it locks up the vast majority of the world's fresh water; it confounds land and sea travel and commerce; it's a major hazard and a major source of winter fun. All this Gosnell argues convincingly. The trouble is, she's like a speed skater who can't stop going in circles. 16 pages of photos. (Nov. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Booklist
Former Newsweek reporter Gosnell is an attentive and patient observer who traveled around the globe for this enyclopedia of the human and natural history of ice. She opens with a description of the sound and sight of a small lake freezing, expanding from there to discuss the seasonal advance and retreat of ice, as on the Great Lakes or Lake Baikal. Taking the next natural step, the persistence of ice through the summer, brings Gosnell to the 1800s origin of glaciology in Louis Agassiz's study of Mont Blanc's Mer de Glace, and subsequently into the contemporary specialty of ice cores in ice-age research. En route through the science, which Gosnell condenses from the technical literature, the author imparts eclectic information through excerpts from poems, adventure and disaster stories, and discussions of ice sports and diversions. Gosnell conducts a bright, curious, and omnidirectional tour that will entrance nature readers. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance (Hardcover)
Ice in your drink, on the pond, at the North Pole, in your gas line of your car on a 42-below morning in Northern New Hampshire. "Ice" goes into some exciting detail about a mundane substance, frozen Haitch-Two-Oh, or water. The very structure of ice makes life possible on this planet (did you know?) Because of hydrogen bonding that keeps the structure of ice lighter than liquid water, ice floats on the top of a pond, letting critters below delve into mud and survive a long winter. I happened to open the book to the story of the soldiers at Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. When the temperatures dropped to 45 below zero, many of the Marines suffered frostbitten feet and to this day, have troubl walking due to their injuries. It happens I know one of these Marine vets of the Korean War and he does indeed have trouble walking. Not many people know the role cold weather and freezing limbs have played in military history, from Xenophon in 400 BC to the Korean War. Frogs and fish actually have antifreeze in their blood, a fact the author discusses. There is a considerable amount devoted to frostbite and various cures. Then there is the section on the Ice Age. I have always wondered what life was like when the earth was covered with a polar cap extending down into Europe. Even with global warming, it's believed the Ice Age will return. The author also discusses icebergs, the Titanic and a good dissertation into the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and what its melting could mean in terms of a disastrous result. All fascinating reading; if you are a science buff, this is a very fun read. If you are a home-schooling science teacher, I highly recommend "Ice" for your home library.
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Ice: The Nature, the History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance
Available from Amazon
Price: $13.50
Updated on 11-2-2008.
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