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When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous History and Perilous Future
In 2018, lumps of frozen soil, collected from the bottom of the world's first deep ice core and lost for decades, reappeared in Denmark. When geologist Paul Bierman and his team first melted a piece of this unique material, they were shocked to find perfectly preserved leaves, twigs, and moss. That observation led them to a startling Greenland's ice sheet had melted naturally before, about 400,000 years ago.
In When the Ice Is Gone, Bierman traces the story of this extraordinary finding, revealing how it radically changes our understanding of the Earth and its climate. A longtime researcher in Greenland, he begins with a brief history of the island, both human and geological. For the origins of ice coring, Bierman brings us to Camp Century, a US military base built inside Greenland's ice sheet, where engineers first drilled through mile-thick ice and into the frozen soil beneath. Decades later, a few feet of that long-frozen earth would reveal its secrets—ancient warmth and melted ice.
Changes in Greenland reverberate around the world, with ice melting high in the arctic affecting people everywhere. Bierman explores how losing Greenland's ice will catalyze devastating events if we don't change course and address climate change now.
In When the Ice Is Gone, Bierman traces the story of this extraordinary finding, revealing how it radically changes our understanding of the Earth and its climate. A longtime researcher in Greenland, he begins with a brief history of the island, both human and geological. For the origins of ice coring, Bierman brings us to Camp Century, a US military base built inside Greenland's ice sheet, where engineers first drilled through mile-thick ice and into the frozen soil beneath. Decades later, a few feet of that long-frozen earth would reveal its secrets—ancient warmth and melted ice.
Changes in Greenland reverberate around the world, with ice melting high in the arctic affecting people everywhere. Bierman explores how losing Greenland's ice will catalyze devastating events if we don't change course and address climate change now.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published August 20, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
August 26, 2024
The author provides an interested reader with a well written, incredibly researched, and engaging exploration of ice and polar studies since WWII, sharing information on scientific, military, commercial and residential interests in Greenland going back for some of those areas millennia for human use and millions of years geologically.
The implications of rapid human-induced climate change are evident from the geologic and biological records contained in glacial ice and the lands beneath it. The author had the great fortune of being part of the team to discover northwestern Greenland was once sufficiently ice free to support thousands of years of plant life. My hat is off to him for that and for being able to write about it in such an accessible and interesting manner. It is a fascinating story.
The inevitability of disruptive change to the ice sheets and glaciers across the planet brought on so rapidly by industrialization and western arrogant affluence is made clear repeatedly throughout the book. We have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels so quickly that even if we stopped adding more completely today the ice will continue to melt, sea levels will continue to rise and many of the other changes outlined in the “Iceless” chapter will continue as well for centuries.
That inevitable fact doesn’t take anything away from the value of the book, his life work and the need for more of us to pay attention. Hopefully this story helps inspire another generation of people to look to careers in physical sciences like geology. And the rest of us may become inspired to do more to help turn off our ice-melting ways.
The implications of rapid human-induced climate change are evident from the geologic and biological records contained in glacial ice and the lands beneath it. The author had the great fortune of being part of the team to discover northwestern Greenland was once sufficiently ice free to support thousands of years of plant life. My hat is off to him for that and for being able to write about it in such an accessible and interesting manner. It is a fascinating story.
The inevitability of disruptive change to the ice sheets and glaciers across the planet brought on so rapidly by industrialization and western arrogant affluence is made clear repeatedly throughout the book. We have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels so quickly that even if we stopped adding more completely today the ice will continue to melt, sea levels will continue to rise and many of the other changes outlined in the “Iceless” chapter will continue as well for centuries.
That inevitable fact doesn’t take anything away from the value of the book, his life work and the need for more of us to pay attention. Hopefully this story helps inspire another generation of people to look to careers in physical sciences like geology. And the rest of us may become inspired to do more to help turn off our ice-melting ways.
December 17, 2024
When the Ice is Gone is an illuminating exploration of Greenland’s ice sheet, its history, and the scientific endeavors of ice core research that have sought to understand it. While the book inevitably touches on the implications of a warming climate, it should be far less about debating the realities of global warming, which are better discussed in myriad research elsewhere. The work is more about chronicling decades of groundbreaking research and the awe-inspiring natural landscape that serves as its backdrop. Those seeking a deeper understanding of how science unearths Earth’s climatic past—and what that past can reveal—will find this work both educational and compelling.
The book's core is a journey through time for an account of the research conducted on and beneath Greenland’s vast ice sheet. The tales of scientists’ painstaking efforts in extreme and unforgiving conditions to drill thousands of feet into the ice are breathtaking. From the United States Army’s Cold War-era camps of the 1940s to the advanced research techniques of modern-day glaciology, the narrative captures the perseverance and ingenuity required to uncover millennia of climatic data locked within the ice.
What sets the book apart is its ability to bring the Greenland landscape to life. The author’s descriptions of the icy, ever-changing terrain are evocative, with descriptions like "…vast, white, and silent… emptiness [that] stretches to the horizon," where the only sounds are "the wind and the occasional creak of the ice." At the same time, the book details how sediment layers, ancient pollen, and isotopic data extracted from beneath the ice have revealed that Greenland’s ice sheet has melted before—an unsettling but fascinating insight drawn from the Earth’s history.
The narrative also touches upon the political dimensions of ice research, particularly the military and geopolitical interests that once fueled scientific activities in Greenland. One also sees the negative side of politics in academic research fields, which can waylay the obvious investigations for long periods.
The book excels in its clear and engaging explanation of the science behind ice-core research. Bierman breaks down complex concepts, making them accessible to a broad audience.
Ultimately, most may rate the book based on whether they agree or disagree with its climate conclusions, but this is a serious work about a rarely described subject, even for the skeptics.
The book's core is a journey through time for an account of the research conducted on and beneath Greenland’s vast ice sheet. The tales of scientists’ painstaking efforts in extreme and unforgiving conditions to drill thousands of feet into the ice are breathtaking. From the United States Army’s Cold War-era camps of the 1940s to the advanced research techniques of modern-day glaciology, the narrative captures the perseverance and ingenuity required to uncover millennia of climatic data locked within the ice.
What sets the book apart is its ability to bring the Greenland landscape to life. The author’s descriptions of the icy, ever-changing terrain are evocative, with descriptions like "…vast, white, and silent… emptiness [that] stretches to the horizon," where the only sounds are "the wind and the occasional creak of the ice." At the same time, the book details how sediment layers, ancient pollen, and isotopic data extracted from beneath the ice have revealed that Greenland’s ice sheet has melted before—an unsettling but fascinating insight drawn from the Earth’s history.
The narrative also touches upon the political dimensions of ice research, particularly the military and geopolitical interests that once fueled scientific activities in Greenland. One also sees the negative side of politics in academic research fields, which can waylay the obvious investigations for long periods.
The book excels in its clear and engaging explanation of the science behind ice-core research. Bierman breaks down complex concepts, making them accessible to a broad audience.
Ultimately, most may rate the book based on whether they agree or disagree with its climate conclusions, but this is a serious work about a rarely described subject, even for the skeptics.
September 5, 2024
This book is filled to the brim with such useful information about Ice, I know that sounds weird but it actually is so important to learn and understand this topic as it is something we will no doubt have to deal with within our lifetime.
This book follows the history of the Greenland Ice Sheet, most people think Greenland is really green and Iceland has all the ice, but ironically enough, it is the opposite!
Greenland has had an enormous Ice Sheet for centuries but it wasn’t until the late 1900s that we started the process of learning more about the ice and what we may find hidden in it. It also touches on how important the information Scientists gained from our experiments with the Ice, taken from the bottom of the Greenland ice sheet, and what it may mean for our future.
Climate Change is still happening and some people choose to remain ignorant to the issue, thinking that it will be the next generations problem, but things are heating up faster than Scientists expected and Climate Change and the storms that come with it make this a chilling reality (Pun intended). As someone who was living in Texas in 2021, and had navigate the Texas Snowpocolypse, we are not adequately prepared for what the future has in store for us, hopefully people will come to their senses sooner rather than later and we can work together to try to reach a solution.
This book was well researched, and very easy to follow, sometimes non-fiction books have a hard time keeping my attention, so the fact that I was able to enjoy this book in audiobook form was fantastic. I really enjoyed the narrator, he did an excellent job!
Thank you to the Author Paul Bierman for your very important research and for sharing it with us, and to the Narrator David Marantz for your work in this project as well!
Big Thank you as well to RBMedia and NetGalley for my Audiobook copy of “When the Ice is Gone”.
I received this advance review copy at no personal cost and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book follows the history of the Greenland Ice Sheet, most people think Greenland is really green and Iceland has all the ice, but ironically enough, it is the opposite!
Greenland has had an enormous Ice Sheet for centuries but it wasn’t until the late 1900s that we started the process of learning more about the ice and what we may find hidden in it. It also touches on how important the information Scientists gained from our experiments with the Ice, taken from the bottom of the Greenland ice sheet, and what it may mean for our future.
Climate Change is still happening and some people choose to remain ignorant to the issue, thinking that it will be the next generations problem, but things are heating up faster than Scientists expected and Climate Change and the storms that come with it make this a chilling reality (Pun intended). As someone who was living in Texas in 2021, and had navigate the Texas Snowpocolypse, we are not adequately prepared for what the future has in store for us, hopefully people will come to their senses sooner rather than later and we can work together to try to reach a solution.
This book was well researched, and very easy to follow, sometimes non-fiction books have a hard time keeping my attention, so the fact that I was able to enjoy this book in audiobook form was fantastic. I really enjoyed the narrator, he did an excellent job!
Thank you to the Author Paul Bierman for your very important research and for sharing it with us, and to the Narrator David Marantz for your work in this project as well!
Big Thank you as well to RBMedia and NetGalley for my Audiobook copy of “When the Ice is Gone”.
I received this advance review copy at no personal cost and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 2, 2025
This book is an excellent narrative regarding the exploration and understanding of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Written in an easy to read style with plenty of humourous anecdotes and sidebar comments. Wonderfully annotated for those with a desire to dig deeper into the science of the study of ice. Not really a book about global warming or a climate crisis, but does explain in a clear and reasonable manner what will happen if, and when, the Greenland Ice Sheet does melt. Well worth the read.
September 18, 2024
Well-narrated and intensely researched, WHEN THE ICE MELTS presents a startling and scary consequence of Climate Change. Scientific in nature, it is nonetheless written with an eye to enlightening laypersons to these consequences. Eye-opening and inspiring, WHEN THE ICE MELTS needs to be widely read and considered.
October 13, 2025
Like many past scientific initiatives, geological study of Greenland began with the military. During the Cold War, the U.S. built air bases in Greenland, wishing to fly over the North Pole to spy on Russia. The army learned how to build structures and transportation infrastructure on ice. In an astounding feat of engineering, they created Camp Century, a fully functioning city under Greenland’s ice. In the late 1950’s, the Army Corps of Engineers drilled through Greenland’s mile-thick ice cap. They removed ice cores, as well as “permacrete,” water-saturated soil beneath the ice. Though the cores were safely stored, scientists did not examine them for decades.
In 2018, Bierman was a member of the geological team that melted and examined these ice cores, representing more than 100,000 years of Greenland’s history. The Greenland ice, Bierman writes, is a library, recording evidence or “plagues, smelting, the advent of fossil fuels, the Green Revolution, . . . the COVID pandemic” (218-19), and atmospheric nuclear testing. Bierman describes the dramatic moment when he found plant parts in the cores—Willow trees, berry bushes, and other tundra vegetation—evidence that, sometime in the past, Greenland had been ice-free! The ice and frozen soil covering Greenland preserved “not only evidence of when ice covered the land, but also evidence of when it did not” (182). “For several million years,” Bierman states, “Earth’s climate has swung between glacial and interglacial periods more than fifty times. . . .” Greenland’s “ice sheets have been yo-yoing the sea level up and down” (208). Study of the ice cores reveals that Greenland’s ice cap had melted, then refrozen, WITHOUT human-induced atmospheric warming. Because we are pumping carbon dioxide into earth’s atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, glacial melting has accelerated.
Today, earth’s atmosphere contains 50% more carbon dioxide than it did a century ago. Periods with elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warm earth’s temperature, while lower levels cool it. Greenland’s rapidly melting ice holds enough water to raise global sea level 24 feet. As polar ice melts, ocean rise will obliterate coastal cities, displacing millions of people. The familiar outline of the world’s continents will become unrecognizable.
Flooding is not the only problem caused by the rapid melting of the world’s glaciers. Paradoxically, as melted glacial ice flows into the ocean, it exacerbates an already serious scarcity of fresh water. When glaciers melt away, rivers of freshwater, essential for farming and drinking, dry up. Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the ocean. As the ocean warms, altered currents not only destroy fish and other ocean life, but precipitate monster hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and heat waves. Bierman notes that extreme weather are harder on the poor than the rich. In 2023, a heat dome over Texas caused the homeless inordinate suffering, and nine incarcerated people died when interior temperatures peaked at over 140 degrees F (215) in prisons lacking air conditioning. Because carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissipates slowly, what we do today matters for the next thousand d generations.
Geologist Paul Bierman’s terrifying, eloquent, necessary book graphically describes the destruction the melting of polar ice will inflict—and is presently inflicting—on earth’s temperate regions. We CAN reduce the carbon we are pumping into the atmosphere, but lawmakers, whose donors and supporters represent a petroleum-based global economy, lack the political will. Collectively, we are in such a state of denial that even the National Science Foundation is reluctant to fund projects that explicitly use the terms “global warming” or “climate change.”
If we do not act immediately, however, we face catastrophic weather events, arriving more frequently and with greater force. Our willful blindness will render larger portions of the planet uninhabitable.
In 2018, Bierman was a member of the geological team that melted and examined these ice cores, representing more than 100,000 years of Greenland’s history. The Greenland ice, Bierman writes, is a library, recording evidence or “plagues, smelting, the advent of fossil fuels, the Green Revolution, . . . the COVID pandemic” (218-19), and atmospheric nuclear testing. Bierman describes the dramatic moment when he found plant parts in the cores—Willow trees, berry bushes, and other tundra vegetation—evidence that, sometime in the past, Greenland had been ice-free! The ice and frozen soil covering Greenland preserved “not only evidence of when ice covered the land, but also evidence of when it did not” (182). “For several million years,” Bierman states, “Earth’s climate has swung between glacial and interglacial periods more than fifty times. . . .” Greenland’s “ice sheets have been yo-yoing the sea level up and down” (208). Study of the ice cores reveals that Greenland’s ice cap had melted, then refrozen, WITHOUT human-induced atmospheric warming. Because we are pumping carbon dioxide into earth’s atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, glacial melting has accelerated.
Today, earth’s atmosphere contains 50% more carbon dioxide than it did a century ago. Periods with elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warm earth’s temperature, while lower levels cool it. Greenland’s rapidly melting ice holds enough water to raise global sea level 24 feet. As polar ice melts, ocean rise will obliterate coastal cities, displacing millions of people. The familiar outline of the world’s continents will become unrecognizable.
Flooding is not the only problem caused by the rapid melting of the world’s glaciers. Paradoxically, as melted glacial ice flows into the ocean, it exacerbates an already serious scarcity of fresh water. When glaciers melt away, rivers of freshwater, essential for farming and drinking, dry up. Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the ocean. As the ocean warms, altered currents not only destroy fish and other ocean life, but precipitate monster hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, and heat waves. Bierman notes that extreme weather are harder on the poor than the rich. In 2023, a heat dome over Texas caused the homeless inordinate suffering, and nine incarcerated people died when interior temperatures peaked at over 140 degrees F (215) in prisons lacking air conditioning. Because carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissipates slowly, what we do today matters for the next thousand d generations.
Geologist Paul Bierman’s terrifying, eloquent, necessary book graphically describes the destruction the melting of polar ice will inflict—and is presently inflicting—on earth’s temperate regions. We CAN reduce the carbon we are pumping into the atmosphere, but lawmakers, whose donors and supporters represent a petroleum-based global economy, lack the political will. Collectively, we are in such a state of denial that even the National Science Foundation is reluctant to fund projects that explicitly use the terms “global warming” or “climate change.”
If we do not act immediately, however, we face catastrophic weather events, arriving more frequently and with greater force. Our willful blindness will render larger portions of the planet uninhabitable.
December 8, 2024
eview: When the Ice is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous HIstory and Perilous FUture (Paul Bierman). This book was both fascinating and quite a slog, as it is SO full of scientific explanations that I needed to read it slowly and in bits and pieces, a feat I Raccomplished by reading it at work during my breaks and occasional slow periods. I acquired this book when I went to a presentation by the author at a Music Hall Lounge event. He was passionate about his subject matter, and I learned an incredible amount... even if I would never have picked this out in a bookstore display! Did you have any idea that the US built an under-the-ice core mini-city in Greenland during the Cold War? It is a harrowing picture. There was even a "portable" mini nuclear reactor to power the place. And it is because of the success of the ice cores pulled from the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet that we have, finally, a record of climate events dating back thousands/millions of year, and what has been learned from this science is what underscores the reality of what is happening to our earth as human activity has accelerated the melting of our ice sheets throughout the world. So even if this book was sometimes fatiguing to read, I am glad I did stick with it (I generally finish the books I take on...). Our neglect of nature, our refusal to see the fragility of the planet in our own selfishness... it comes out here, but with a guarded hope that young scientists will take up the cause and come up with solutions. And yet... it seems that such hope is very scant in the current world. Rather than feel sorrow at how misguided humanity seems to be overall, I feel a greater urge to appreciate how lucky I am to have lived in a fairly golden time. How much will it matter in the end if we can't grasp at the joy of being alive in the moment?
February 26, 2025
Call it 4 stars even for the modern Western history on Greenland, if you will, starting with Wegener's expeditions, a brief WWII military interlude, then post-WWII US-Danish work. Some of the details on equations for how ice compacts (and compacts non-ice items buried in it), and the equations for ice flow rate, etc., were kind of dry.
The academic skullduggery over the ice cores was kind of interesting. The luck — and that is a part of science at times — of discovery issues on the sub-ice sediment cores, ditto.
The last one-third? Other than Bierman's discovery that Greenland could lose at least sections of its ice (unclear if truly ALL of it or not) at temperatures near today's (and CO2 levels lower) was kind of "run of the mill" in terms of modern climate science. More discussion of what we can tell from Greenland itself about past shutdowns of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation would have been welcome.
Then, there's this one weird thing that I appear to be the only reviewer to have picked up on.
Bierman seems to believe that Robert Peary actually reached the North Pole in 1909. Page 59: "Modern-day Thule got its start when Robert Peary, the American who later claimed, some think erroneously, to have been the first to reach the North Pole, spent several months of 1892 there." Two shorter and less direct comments in the same vein occur earlier.
In reality, about everybody who knows anything about Peary, not only his 1909 trek but the one before that, are sure he didn't reach the pole. Even the National Geographic Society of today, his sponsor back then, has affirmatively said he didn't. The only question is, how much of Peary's 1909 claim was sloppiness and/or bad measurement and how much was outright fraud?
Over the past decade or so, as I have read more and more on the subject, I have tilted more and more to the "mainly fraud." That's why these statements, especially made multiple times, were a head scratcher.
So, around 3.5 overall?
The academic skullduggery over the ice cores was kind of interesting. The luck — and that is a part of science at times — of discovery issues on the sub-ice sediment cores, ditto.
The last one-third? Other than Bierman's discovery that Greenland could lose at least sections of its ice (unclear if truly ALL of it or not) at temperatures near today's (and CO2 levels lower) was kind of "run of the mill" in terms of modern climate science. More discussion of what we can tell from Greenland itself about past shutdowns of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation would have been welcome.
Then, there's this one weird thing that I appear to be the only reviewer to have picked up on.
Bierman seems to believe that Robert Peary actually reached the North Pole in 1909. Page 59: "Modern-day Thule got its start when Robert Peary, the American who later claimed, some think erroneously, to have been the first to reach the North Pole, spent several months of 1892 there." Two shorter and less direct comments in the same vein occur earlier.
In reality, about everybody who knows anything about Peary, not only his 1909 trek but the one before that, are sure he didn't reach the pole. Even the National Geographic Society of today, his sponsor back then, has affirmatively said he didn't. The only question is, how much of Peary's 1909 claim was sloppiness and/or bad measurement and how much was outright fraud?
Over the past decade or so, as I have read more and more on the subject, I have tilted more and more to the "mainly fraud." That's why these statements, especially made multiple times, were a head scratcher.
So, around 3.5 overall?
August 29, 2024
I just finished listening to When the Ice Is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth's Tumultuous History and Perilous Future by Paul Bierman.
Apparently it doesn’t take anthropocentric global warming to completely melt the Greenland ice sheet, as that is what happened roughly 400,000 years before. Those days the effect on the planet was enormous. I shudder to think what the additional CO2 we have put into the athmosphere will do combined with the factors that caused the disappearance of the ice all those years ago.
The book is entertaining and sometimes surprising. It clearly shows the scientists at their work and emphasises the need for many different fields working together to make progress. It was interesting to hear how precise timing can get when you combine several methods. The book also shows to what extent some people will go to make sure that credit goes to them – and only to them. The story of the disappeared samples sometimes reads like a thriller.
If you are interested in science and especially in ice and climatology, this book is definitely for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and HighBridge (a division of Recorded Books) for sending me an ALC of this audiobook.
Apparently it doesn’t take anthropocentric global warming to completely melt the Greenland ice sheet, as that is what happened roughly 400,000 years before. Those days the effect on the planet was enormous. I shudder to think what the additional CO2 we have put into the athmosphere will do combined with the factors that caused the disappearance of the ice all those years ago.
The book is entertaining and sometimes surprising. It clearly shows the scientists at their work and emphasises the need for many different fields working together to make progress. It was interesting to hear how precise timing can get when you combine several methods. The book also shows to what extent some people will go to make sure that credit goes to them – and only to them. The story of the disappeared samples sometimes reads like a thriller.
If you are interested in science and especially in ice and climatology, this book is definitely for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and HighBridge (a division of Recorded Books) for sending me an ALC of this audiobook.
September 6, 2024
This is a really well done non fiction, I feel like if you struggle to understand things like me he does well explaining everything but if you're super smart it won't feel like he's really dumbing it down. I really learnt a lot with this and I'm super happy to have learnt what I did. It's definitely important stuff for people to know.
My only issues is at times it felt like just fact after fact after fact. I got a bit overwhelmed, it's not the whole time but at some points in this it was. And then I didn't understand whenever he was talking about temperatures because I'm not sure what Fahrenheit is in Celsius that's on me though because I don't expect him to say them all but the temperature is important in the learning and I'm not sure how to exchange it in my mind. The other American thing I didn't understand was the gigatons to be able to see really how much water it is he said the size of Texas if it was in 24 ft of water which I also can't imagine ft. So that's all on me but that's what I struggled with. It wasn't dumb kiwi friendly bahahaha
*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review*
My only issues is at times it felt like just fact after fact after fact. I got a bit overwhelmed, it's not the whole time but at some points in this it was. And then I didn't understand whenever he was talking about temperatures because I'm not sure what Fahrenheit is in Celsius that's on me though because I don't expect him to say them all but the temperature is important in the learning and I'm not sure how to exchange it in my mind. The other American thing I didn't understand was the gigatons to be able to see really how much water it is he said the size of Texas if it was in 24 ft of water which I also can't imagine ft. So that's all on me but that's what I struggled with. It wasn't dumb kiwi friendly bahahaha
*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review*
December 29, 2024
"Glaciers hold no political agenda"
With a background in Biology and Chemistry, I found this book to be a fascinating read as it delves into the science behind Greenland and its research on ice core. However, I believe it's accessible to readers without a similar scientific background as well. Bierman offers valuable insights into Greenland's history and the experiences of early researchers, shedding light on their sacrifices and the significant progress that has been made since their time.
Like Olaf's line in Frozen 2 'Water has memory' it's crucial to acknowledge the dangers of climate change, especially the alarming rise in global temperatures and sea levels. These changes highlight the urgent need for action to address the ongoing environmental crisis, especially in relation to water and Greenland's ice core. As stewards of the earth, we are responsible for preserving its beauty and history. I hope more people are inspired to read scientific books like this one that explore both the history and the future of our ecosystem.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook!
With a background in Biology and Chemistry, I found this book to be a fascinating read as it delves into the science behind Greenland and its research on ice core. However, I believe it's accessible to readers without a similar scientific background as well. Bierman offers valuable insights into Greenland's history and the experiences of early researchers, shedding light on their sacrifices and the significant progress that has been made since their time.
Like Olaf's line in Frozen 2 'Water has memory' it's crucial to acknowledge the dangers of climate change, especially the alarming rise in global temperatures and sea levels. These changes highlight the urgent need for action to address the ongoing environmental crisis, especially in relation to water and Greenland's ice core. As stewards of the earth, we are responsible for preserving its beauty and history. I hope more people are inspired to read scientific books like this one that explore both the history and the future of our ecosystem.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook!
September 4, 2024
3.5 stars, actually!
Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook! This book began with a very interesting introduction that presented a scientific discovery and a bit of a mystery. I was hooked right away, but as I listened on I felt there was a disconnect in the information that was being presented. For about 80% of the book, we learn about the Greenland ice sheet and its history, including scientific and military involvement, and then for the last 20% of the book, we learn about climate change and are presented with a scientific look at what the future holds (I'm getting Kevin Costner / Waterworld flashbacks), but it didn't cohesively flow with the first 80%. The first part of the book was a bit dry and I think that could have been mitigated by tying the history of the Greenland ice sheet with today's climate change instead of leaving the latter for a standalone topic at the end. That said, I ended this listening with valuable takeaways and learned a lot. One thing that I did also find with this book is that it contained an element of hope and adaptability for the planet.
Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook! This book began with a very interesting introduction that presented a scientific discovery and a bit of a mystery. I was hooked right away, but as I listened on I felt there was a disconnect in the information that was being presented. For about 80% of the book, we learn about the Greenland ice sheet and its history, including scientific and military involvement, and then for the last 20% of the book, we learn about climate change and are presented with a scientific look at what the future holds (I'm getting Kevin Costner / Waterworld flashbacks), but it didn't cohesively flow with the first 80%. The first part of the book was a bit dry and I think that could have been mitigated by tying the history of the Greenland ice sheet with today's climate change instead of leaving the latter for a standalone topic at the end. That said, I ended this listening with valuable takeaways and learned a lot. One thing that I did also find with this book is that it contained an element of hope and adaptability for the planet.
November 6, 2024
The author has given us insights into the military establishment of the remarkable Camp Century in the 1960s, and the scientists who coped with sub-zero freezing temperatures as they drilled down through Greenland’s ice sheet to obtain core samples that reveal history from over 130,000 years ago. Importantly, Greenland’s ice sheet is central to Earth’s climate systems and affects entire oceans around the world. The first part of the book about the early exploration and then the construction of the camp that housed the scientists was most interesting. Following that, the details on core samples, isotope ratios and carbon dioxide concentrations could easily glaze over the eyes of the reader.
While there was a good overview of the fact that Greenland ice holds enough water to raise the sea level by 24 feet, not much insight was gained into the timing of the melting due to thermal expansion. Indeed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a more useful source for the impact that climate warming will have.
While there was a good overview of the fact that Greenland ice holds enough water to raise the sea level by 24 feet, not much insight was gained into the timing of the melting due to thermal expansion. Indeed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a more useful source for the impact that climate warming will have.
February 13, 2025
Solid 4.25 stars. Thoroughly researched account of Greenland ice core work through its long history by someone who is clearly both an expert in the field and passionate about it. It is a non-fiction account woven with personal experience, as many of the best nonfiction books are. The language was clear and the stories within the book compelling (including intrigue about missing core material!). My only critique is structural - I wish the chapters had subheadings or were shorter, so that I could more easily read smaller chunks at a time. Sitting down to "read a chapter" required quite a bit of time commitment, and without a break for my brain, some passages dragged. Worth it, but did make me take longer to finish the book. It's a must-read for weather and climate followers (professionals, hobbyists, and those with general interest), geologists, and military history buffs, at the very least.
March 3, 2025
By measure of what I was able to learn about ice core research, I would say this book offers a lot of information. It is also significantly easier to follow than other similar books like 6 Degrees. Regardless of whether I draw the same conclusions as the author or not, I appreciate the way the evidence is presented. Sometimes the author offers demographic information about the scientists at work that feels a lot like an afterthought. These details do not really relate to the research at hand, and if they had been woven into the story in some significant way the acknowledgement might stand out. As written, I found that those details detracted from the science. The book offered an interesting perspective in Greenland/times when there was more melted ice on the planet and poses some interesting questions as to who might/should take responsibility for the unfinished projects, and what the future may hold considering all the developed land facing the reshaping of our environment.
March 6, 2025
I got this book to figure out why Greenland is so important that we should barter it for Puerto Rico to the Danes. You can’t make this stuff up. I mean, we already have 8 military bases buried in the snow, a bunch of scientists, and anti-ballistic missile systems and nuclear death ray warnings. What do we want to do up there that we’re not already doing? Paul Bierman manages to make his ice core samples and the people who pulled them out of the frozen earth interesting, and that's hard to do, especially when you have a PhD but your book needs to be engaging and readable.
So Paul Bierman answers my question; why should we care about Greenland. China keeps trying to buy pieces of it. Russia has more icebreakers than we do. All the bad actors want new trade routes at the top of the world. They want that ice to melt, and quickly. Greenland is suddenly popular and not only as an extreme tourist destination.
www.criticusbookreviews.wordpress.com
So Paul Bierman answers my question; why should we care about Greenland. China keeps trying to buy pieces of it. Russia has more icebreakers than we do. All the bad actors want new trade routes at the top of the world. They want that ice to melt, and quickly. Greenland is suddenly popular and not only as an extreme tourist destination.
www.criticusbookreviews.wordpress.com
August 25, 2024
Decades-old frozen soil from Greenland’s first deep ice core has revealed a startling truth: 400,000 years ago, the ice sheet melted naturally. The book recounts this surprising discovery and its implications for our understanding of climate change. It explores the history of Greenland and argues that the melting of ice sheets will have devastating global repercussions if we fail to take action.
This book spent a lot more time on the history of Greenland and the nature of ice than I expected. It didn’t spend as much time as I hoped on the period when the ice melted. The audiobook narration was fine, but it didn’t do anything to make the rather dry subject more interesting.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.
This book spent a lot more time on the history of Greenland and the nature of ice than I expected. It didn’t spend as much time as I hoped on the period when the ice melted. The audiobook narration was fine, but it didn’t do anything to make the rather dry subject more interesting.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.
January 9, 2025
I highly recommend this very accessible/highly engaging book to anyone interested in climate, Cold War history, and the future of our world. I happen to have read this book at the same time as an incoming administration is talking nonsense about buying(?) Greenland from (whom, exactly?) which makes this book all the more timely and fascinating. I hope Professor Bierman both continues his work, and continues to write for the rest of us.
May 15, 2025
Fascinating read. Only gave it 4 stars because I feel it’s missing a chapter about current life, research, and military endeavors happening on Greenland. After the long sections on structural designs in the 20th century, I wanted to understand more about how camps today are designed, and how the ice melting is currently impacting residents and people who call Greenland home.
July 30, 2025
Fascinating read and also quite sobering! I knew nothing about the US military involvement in Greenland during WWII and the Cold War. Amazing to learn how much effort was focused on learnings and how to adapt to the freezing climate in order to live there. Throughout the book the reader is left thinking about future impacts but none more than in the last chapter!!
June 11, 2024
I found the book to be an interesting and engaging read. It presented many compelling points regarding the disappearance of ice and the subsequent ramifications. I recommend this book to all readers who are concerned about our environment.
August 15, 2024
This is a thorough review of the history of the Greenland ice sheet and its explorations by scientists in the 20th and 21st centuries. It's only in the last two chapters that Bierman focuses on the consequences of the ongoing loss of the ice, but those are informative and well-written.
August 4, 2025
Highly informative but it taught me more about ice & snow than I ever wanted to know - especially ice & snow in polar regions & Greenland & the difficulties they pose to the people who want to study them. Too specialized for me.
October 1, 2024
Less about what will happen when the gone and more about the history of US presence in Greenland and the history of glacial chemistry and ice coring, but interesting nonetheless.
January 24, 2025
Great book about the history and future of the Earth.
February 2, 2025
Too technical, however a very scary theme is woven among the scientific jargon. Last chapter sums it up and worth reading
October 9, 2025
Great book!!
August 4, 2025
A good and timely book on the recent human history of Greenland, mostly from WW2 to now. And about what might happen to Greenland's ice if the world continues to warm, which seems very likely. Geologist Paul Bierman found some missing core from the bottom of a drill hole from the early 1960s at Camp Century https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Ce... , a long-abandoned American military base in NW Greenland. This was the first deep hole cored in the Greenland ice, drilled with great difficulty through a mile of ice into bedrock, or rather into the glacial till under the ice. Bierman and his group found fossil plant fragments in the 'lost' core, from tundra, the same plants that grow in southern Greenland now. Around 400,000 years ago, the ice in this part of NW Greenland melted, and tundra grew. Which strongly suggests that this could happen again, since it's warmer now. A sweet find: good work!
Well. People do worry about melting ice, and rising sea-levels. And it does seem likely that this is something humanity is going to have to deal with. Not the end of the world but a big deal, especially if you live near the ocean, or in someplace that's already hot.
Along the way, you may learn more than you really want to know about the Cold War history of Greenland. It was pretty interesting (in a grim sort of way), but I did mostly enjoy it. I'm a retired geologist myself, who's been interested in climate change since student days. I thought Bierman went pretty seriously over the top in his final chapter. It's hard to get too worried about untreated sewage or leaded gasoline leaking from the ruins of the old military bases when the ice melts.
Here's the article that led me to read the book. Good photos.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/sc...
If it's paywalled I'd be pleased to send you a copy: PM me with your email.
Well. People do worry about melting ice, and rising sea-levels. And it does seem likely that this is something humanity is going to have to deal with. Not the end of the world but a big deal, especially if you live near the ocean, or in someplace that's already hot.
Along the way, you may learn more than you really want to know about the Cold War history of Greenland. It was pretty interesting (in a grim sort of way), but I did mostly enjoy it. I'm a retired geologist myself, who's been interested in climate change since student days. I thought Bierman went pretty seriously over the top in his final chapter. It's hard to get too worried about untreated sewage or leaded gasoline leaking from the ruins of the old military bases when the ice melts.
Here's the article that led me to read the book. Good photos.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/sc...
If it's paywalled I'd be pleased to send you a copy: PM me with your email.
June 5, 2025
I loved this book. It was not what I expected and thus I was so pleasantly surprised. Rather than a dense book on climate and Greenland, it was a highly entertaining read- part historical, part science and part memoir. The author included real-life stories from the people involved to illustrate a lot of the history and science too-- from his research into the letters and archives, and talking to those involved, and the personal cost as well. How and why the military got involved with the first bases in Greenland, how the scientists and engineers learned about ice, and what it takes to build and survive there. The scientific birds-eye-view was extraordinary. The author is a glaciologist and his stories about the ice cores, and the key one that went missing (and how it was found) were stunning, gripping. And the politics of science, like wow! When I finished the book, I was left with a deep knowing about how much trouble we are in with climate! It was sobering, and scary. And totally believable. I do think EVERY congressman should get a copy. Students studying environmental sciences should also read this book and every concerned citizen.
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