Glacier: Nature and Culture

(Paperback)

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Description

As major actors in the unfolding drama of climate change, glaciers feature prominently in Earth's past and its future. Wherever on the planet we live, glaciers affect each of us directly. They control the atmospheric and ocean circulations that drive the weather: they supply drinking and irrigation water to millions of people; and they protect us from catastrophic sea-level rise. The very existence of glaciers affects our view of the planet and of ourselves, but it is less than 200 years since we realised that ice ages come and go, and that glaciers once covered much more of the planet's surface than they do now.

An inspiration to artists, a challenge for engineers, glaciers mean different things to different people. Crossing the boundaries between art, environment, science, nature and culture, this book uniquely considers glaciers from a myriad perspectives, revealing their complexity, majesty and importance, but also their fragility.

Reviews

"This book exemplified Knight's ability to explain complex ideas with ease and simplicity. Knight's writing makes the book accessible to a wide range of audiences; to the glaciologist, the book offers a dimension of seeing glaciers through the artistic and cultural lenses; to the casual reader, it offers the background to understand the scientific significance of glaciers. I particularly appreciate the concise summary of the Earth's climate history . . . Glacier is a book deserving a place in everyone's library."-- "Arctic Journal"
"Well written and lavishly illustrated [. . .] Glacier: Nature and Culture is a beautifully produced book and well worth a read."-- "Isis"
"In Glacier, Knight highlights not just the magnificence of glaciers and their historical significance, but also the dangers we are facing with climate change. . . . A message to us all to act before they are lost forever."-- "The Pilgrim"
"Glacier takes readers on a journey through both the material and the metaphorical dimensions of ice--with scientists and songwriters, poets and holiday hikers, from nineteenth-century debates about Ice Ages to twenty-first-century art exhibits and debates about climate change. This book is perfect for anyone captivated by mountain glaciers and curious about people's long-standing relationships with ice."--Mark Carey, author of In the Shadow of Melting Glaciers: Climate Change and Andean Society
"Marcel Proust in In Search of Lost Time wrote that the only true path of discovery is . . . not to explore new places, but to see a hundred universes with your eyes, with the eyes of hundreds of other people. And this book looks at glaciers not only through the eyes of scientists, but also . . . travelers, politicians, artists, poets, and storytellers."-- "Ice and Snow (Russia)"
"Among the many victims of climate change are glaciers. The huge bodies of dense ice that form on land and are constantly moving from the force of their own weight no longer cover as much of Earth's surface as they once did. In Glacier, geographer Knight discusses not only the science of glaciers but also their importance and influence on the environment, weather, and even art and culture. Featuring more than 100 illustrations, Glacier pays homage to one of Earth's most majestic, yet fragile, features."-- "Physics Today"

Author Bio

Peter G. Knight is Reader in Geography at Keele University and his research on glaciers has been published in the leading international journals. His previous books include Glaciers (1999) and Glacier Science and Environmental Change (2006). He lives in Whitchurch, UK.