C has been swelteringly hot the past few days. Today, National Airport hit 100 degrees and broke the old record high. I have never been happier for things like "the shade" and "frosty cold beverages." On days like this, if I can't be on a beach sipping an obnoxiously colored drink, I like to think I'm somewhere cold. Here are some cold related books to put you on ice.
The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-180
Brian M. Fagan
Global warming may be heating the planet up, but human society has gone through several devastating cold snaps. Fagan's book chronicles one such lengthy cold snap and how it changed human society, migration, and economic patterns. This is both an easy and entertaining read that you will be glad you checked out.
Frozen Earth: The Once and Future Story of Ice Ages
Doug MacDougall
Where Fagan looks back into history, MacDougall seeks to see where future ice ages might take us. He looks at the scientific history behind ice ages and discusses studies done by the major scientists in this field. One reviewer finds, "Macdougall's account promotes a welcome, reasoning attitude toward ice-age research and its relevance to global warming"
The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition
Susan Solomon
Except when the mercury hits the 90s and higher, I'm not generally a fan of cold. It baffles me how people, voluntarily go to either of the poles. More power to ya, but brr. Those who did so before the invention of super-puffy, warm coats are even more fascinating. Brit Robert Falcon Scott and his gang trekked to the South Pole and died on the trip back. Solomon chronicles their legendary story in The Coldest March.
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Alfred Lansing
This is perhaps the quintessential story of struggle in the antarctic. Shackleton and his crew survived for a year in the inhospitable cold at the bottom of the earth. Lansing's book is considered the definitive narrative of Shackleton's journey.
Wondrous Cold
Joan Myers
Ice and glaciers can be beautiful, natural pieces of art. Myers books simply shows stunning images of ice in the wild.
Cool Comfort: America's Romance with Air-Conditioning
Marsha E. Ackermann
I keep my thermostat warmer than most (a profound lack of body heat), but even I appreciate the cooling comfort of the AC on days like this. Ackermann chronicles of the innovation that has become an American staple. She argues that the cooling has change our opinion of comfort and has influenced how we live, work, and play.
Other Books About Cold Things
Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
- Tom Shachtam
The Frozen Water Trade: A True Story
- Gavin Weightman
Ice: The Nature, The History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance
- Mariana Gosnell
In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic
- Valerian Albanov
The Last Place on Earth
- Roland Huntford
Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica
- Sara Wheeler
The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future
- Richard B. Alley
The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300-180Brian M. Fagan
Global warming may be heating the planet up, but human society has gone through several devastating cold snaps. Fagan's book chronicles one such lengthy cold snap and how it changed human society, migration, and economic patterns. This is both an easy and entertaining read that you will be glad you checked out.
Frozen Earth: The Once and Future Story of Ice AgesDoug MacDougall
Where Fagan looks back into history, MacDougall seeks to see where future ice ages might take us. He looks at the scientific history behind ice ages and discusses studies done by the major scientists in this field. One reviewer finds, "Macdougall's account promotes a welcome, reasoning attitude toward ice-age research and its relevance to global warming"
The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic ExpeditionSusan Solomon
Except when the mercury hits the 90s and higher, I'm not generally a fan of cold. It baffles me how people, voluntarily go to either of the poles. More power to ya, but brr. Those who did so before the invention of super-puffy, warm coats are even more fascinating. Brit Robert Falcon Scott and his gang trekked to the South Pole and died on the trip back. Solomon chronicles their legendary story in The Coldest March.
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Alfred Lansing
This is perhaps the quintessential story of struggle in the antarctic. Shackleton and his crew survived for a year in the inhospitable cold at the bottom of the earth. Lansing's book is considered the definitive narrative of Shackleton's journey.
Wondrous Cold
Joan Myers
Ice and glaciers can be beautiful, natural pieces of art. Myers books simply shows stunning images of ice in the wild.
Cool Comfort: America's Romance with Air-ConditioningMarsha E. Ackermann
I keep my thermostat warmer than most (a profound lack of body heat), but even I appreciate the cooling comfort of the AC on days like this. Ackermann chronicles of the innovation that has become an American staple. She argues that the cooling has change our opinion of comfort and has influenced how we live, work, and play.
Other Books About Cold Things
Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
- Tom Shachtam The Frozen Water Trade: A True Story
- Gavin Weightman Ice: The Nature, The History, and the Uses of an Astonishing Substance
- Mariana GosnellIn the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic
- Valerian Albanov The Last Place on Earth
- Roland HuntfordTerra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica
- Sara WheelerThe Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future
- Richard B. Alley
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