A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice

(Paperback)

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"Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book." Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey

"Glassley exhibits an uncanny ability to put us in the midst of Greenland's vast silence, where he takes us deep into the planet's soul. It is an important and well-told adventure that opens us to life's grand expanse and begs us to follow in spite of the brevity of our existence." John Francis, author of Planetwalker and The Ragged Edge of Silence

"Reminds us of the degree to which climate change is damaging the planet. . . . Urgently recommended!" Lawrence Millman, author of Last Places and At the End of the World

Greenland, one of the last truly wild places, contains a treasure trove of information on Earth's early history embedded in its pristine landscape. Over numerous seasons, William E. Glassley and two fellow geologists traveled there to collect samples and observe rock formations for evidence to prove a contested theory that plate tectonics, the movement of Earth's crust over its molten core, is a much more ancient process than some believed. As their research drove the scientists ever farther into regions barely explored by humans for millenniaif everGlassley encountered wondrous creatures and natural phenomena that gave him unexpected insight into the origins of myth, the virtues and boundaries of science, and the importance of seeking the wilderness within.

An invitation to experience a breathtaking place and the fascinating science behind its creation, A Wilder Time is nature writing at its best.

William E. Glassley is a geologist at the University of California, Davis, and an emeritus researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, focusing on the evolution of continents and the processes that energize them. He is the author of over seventy research articles and a textbook on geothermal energy. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

While conveying the geological hypotheses, techniques of data collection, and adventures of his expeditions to Greenland with his two Danish colleagues, Glassley also brings startling sensory precision to his descriptions. The velvety feeling of moss, the taste of reindeer lichen, the alternating rhythms of terror and fluidity in schools of fish through which a predatory sculpin cruisessuch experiences bring what might have seemed a stark world of rock and ice alive. This delicacy of perception is the vehicle through which not only the scientific quest but also the profound mystery of our living Earth saturates this memorable book. John Elder, coeditor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing and author of Picking Up the Flute Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book. Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey

Author Bio

William E. Glassley is a geologist at the University of California, Davis, and an emeritus researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, focusing on the evolution of continents and the processes that energize them. He is the author of over seventy research articles, a textbook on geothermal energy, and A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice (forthcoming from Bellevue Literary Press). He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.