Winterlust: Finding Beauty in the Fiercest Season

by Bernd Brunner, Mark Kurlansky (Foreword)

“Mr. Brunner’s winning book is a reassuring, nostalgic reminder that winter is the season of both play and regeneration.”— Wall Street Journal In Winterlust , a farmer painstakingly photographs five thousand snowflakes, each one dramatically different from the next. Indigenous peoples thrive on frozen terrain, where famous explorers perish. Icicles reach deep underwater, then explode. Rooms warmed by crackling fires fill with scents of cinnamon, cloves, and pine. Skis carve into powdery slopes, and iceboats traverse glacial lakes. This lovingly illustrated meditation on winter entwines the spectacular with the everyday, expertly capturing the essence of a beloved yet dangerous season, which is all the more precious in an era of climate change “Brunner masterfully does in words what resilient and adventurous people have done in their lives for centuries; he finds beauty in blizzards and ice and the crystallized enchantment of snow.”
—Dan Egan, Pulitzer finalist and author of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, History, Outdoors, Science

280 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2016

About the author

Bernd Brunner, a graduate of the Free University of Berlin and Berlin School of Economics, is an independent scholar, freelance writer, and editor of nonfiction books. He is the author of The Ocean at Home: An Illustrated History of the Aquarium. Lori Lantz received a Ph.D. in comparative literature from UCLA and attended the Free University of Berlin as a Fulbright Scholar.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So last summer I moved north. I'm used to cold, snowy winters, but my new home is higher in both latitude and altitude, and is COLD and SNOWY. There are a lot of Alaskan transplants here and they love it because it reminds them so much of home. Anyway, when October hit, I got cold and had a hard time getting warm and was super depressed to think that I might not be warm again until June. Then I read an article by a man (sorry, I can't remember who it was) who had moved to Michigan or Wisconsin or someplace like that and was hating the winter until he read an article about how people in northern Europe just embrace the winter and love it for everything good that it brings. It changed his attitude and then his attitude changed mine.
ANYWAY, this book was good for me to read. It talks about how much there is to appreciate during the cold season- warm fires, hot cocoa, cozy blankets, snowball fights, ice skating, snowshoeing, etc etc. It talks about the science of snow (and how the world really is hushed during snowfalls- the flakes actually disrupt sound waves) and the history of winter sports. It talks about the joys of playing in the snow and how even before people had nice, warm homes to duck back into, snow still brought them out to play in it.
I'm no longer grumpily hiding under an electric blanket, and learning to love this season. It helps to have good grippy tires on my truck, but mostly it helps to have a better attitude, and this book has helped me with it.

[Carlos Catena Cózar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comfort reading definitivo. Las partes sobre las plantas un poco pesadas, pero imagino que a habrá a quien le encanten y no son tantas.

[La Central · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Acércate a la ventana más próxima. ¿Lo ves? No hay nieve en la calle. Podrías repetir este procedimiento durante los 365 días del año y, seguramente, el resultado sería siempre el mismo. Por extraño que nos parezca, hay sitios, todavía hoy, donde la gente debe convivir con climas extremadamente fríos durante la mayor parte del año. Las bajas temperaturas, el viento y la nieve forman parte de un paisaje silencioso, en el que el canto de los pájaros queda amortiguado. Bernd Brunner nos guía a través de la historia de estos lugares, y nos enseña las formas que ha tenido el ser humano para hacerles frente.
El libro es atravesado por diferentes formas narrativas, desde las literarias descripciones paisajísticas hasta las detalladas historias de diferentes tradiciones mágicas y misteriosas en torno al invierno. Sin embargo, la sensación de encontrarnos en un refugio montañoso, a los pies de un buen fuego nos acompañará durante toda la lectura, ya que el autor se encarga de no estigmatizar el invierno de forma negativa, sino que lo presenta como una estación en ebullición, en la que diversas formas de vida encuentran su lugar y se expresan."

Julen Sarasola

[José Nebreda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Totalmente enfocado a los países norteños: pintura, arte, música, vivencias. Todo. O sea, un pestiño que acaba perdiendo todo interés. El principio se deja leer un pelín. Países del mediterráneo y un poco más arriba, abstenerse. Si quiero saber algo determinado de esa zona septentrional me voy a un libro concreto, ya sea de arte, de exploración, de sociología o de meteorología. Pero un libro que en teoría abarca el invierno, así, en general, debería hacer referencia a otras partes del mundo y no sólo a esa zona tan restringida. Lo dicho, suspenso bajo.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was saving this read for a snowy day when I was off work and thought it was going to have to wait another year. Today's quiet snowfall was the perfect backdrop for reading this collection of writings on all things winter releated - from snow, to winter sports, to animals and more, this was a delight.

[Masteatro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un ensayo muy interesante para los amantes del invierno y las bajas temperaturas. La parte que más me ha gustado es aquella en la que se habla de curiosidades y costumbres relativas al comportamiento humano durante la estación más fría. Otras secciones que entraban en temas más eruditos se me han escapado un poco. Con todo, merece la pena si te interesa el tema.

[Sophy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good read on all things "winter".

Brunner explores the relationship we humans have with the cold and our propensity for wrapping up before hurling ourselves out into the snow, ice, wind, sleet and rain during the colder months.

Brunner explores everything from weather to art to philosophy to wildlife in this whirlwind tour. The book benefits from great colour illustrations and reproductions too.

Highly enjoyable read.

[Mercedes Fernández Varea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reseña en 5 minutos y al dictado

Esta obra es un ensayo centrado en un tema en principio banal como es el invierno y que el autor nos presenta a modo de caleidoscopio y saltando a veces de un tema a otro sin mayor conexión: desde cuadros que tienen como motivo la nieve y el frío, la formación de cristales de los copos de nieve, pasando por deportes como el patinaje o el esquí.

Hay que dejarse llevar por sus páginas..., pero a mí me ha llevado a ratos a plantearme aspectos muy interesantes sobre el invierno acerca de los que nunca habría reflexionado y en otros momentos directamente a aburrirme.

Aunque ya imaginaba que el libro estaría enfocado en los países europeos del norte, me esperaba mucha más información sobre cómo en el pasado habían podido vivir comunidades en estas tierras tan inhóspitas. Y aquí el libro se me ha quedado cortísimo. Tal vez esperaba algo diferente.

No recuerdo bien de dónde saqué la sugerencia de leer este libro, pero creo que es de un canal de ensayo en Youtube. Como persona que pasó los primeros años de su vida en un país de nieve y más tarde vivió tres años en un país de frío y oscuridad invernal, me atrajo enseguida la reseña. Ver nevar, bien abrigado en el exterior o tras una ventana, es una experiencia mágica.

Finalmente aprovecho para recomendar encarecidamente a quien esté interesado por "el frío" ver la película de Nanuk el esquimal, rodada en 1922. Aquí sí que me faltarían estrellas!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book.
Bernd Brunner used each chapter to address a different aspect of winter, most of which I'd never considered. Admittedly I like winter but I'm fortunate in that I have a roof over my head, food in my cupboards and I can afford to dress appropriately for the weather.
There's a chapter about the art of winter and he uses the Group of Seven artists (Canadian) as an example of artists who've illustrated the beauty, majesty and sometimes starkness of the season. He also talks about winter sports and their development over the ages. Different cultures and eras have different views of this time of year. Mr. Brunner does not gloss over the brutality of winter though. For example he cites a number of major disasters in the form of avalanches that wiped out villages, train loads of people and even part of a herd of caribou.
For me this book reminded me of the aspects of the season that I've taken for granted, or even ignored. It also enlightened me about many views of the season that I hadn't realized.
All in all a very interesting book. And yes, we are in the middle of winter while I read it!

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful and unique book. I really enjoyed every page. Recommended for both inveterate winter lovers such as myself and those more reluctant readers looking for a new perspective on the season. I think this is one I will revisit again and again.

[Terzah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep crossing paths with Bernd Brunner's books at this time of year. Perhaps a shared "winterlust"? This was an enjoyable survey of the folklore of winter and the history of humankind's relationship to what many consider the toughest season to love. I love it and can't really read enough about it. A great book for a fireplace, a mug of cocoa, and the curtains open so you can see a snowstorm outside.

[Cristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay algo con las ediciones acantilado que me parece realmente remarcable y es que puedes elegir cualquier ensayo de su colección al azar y saber que vas a encontrar un amigo interesante. Este libro se me convirtió casi en necesidad cuando el pequeño invierno de principios de enero asemejaba a algo tradicional del ideario de la estación y una nostalgia de algo que nunca he experimentado nació en mi cabeza: el invierno rudo, la necesidad de prepararse para una estación, nutrirse de la energía que desprende el oro blanco de antaño, el silencio de la capa nevada y la aparentemente parada momentánea del metabolismo del mundo.

El autor, famoso también por otros estudios enfocados a elementos insólitos como la luna, los acuarios o los osos, nos lleva de viaje por el pasado y el presente reflejando una historia social del invierno, la fascinación y terror de las gentes hacia la estación de la quietud y la oscuridad. Cómo se ha representado a lo largo de la historia esta época en cuadros, en libros, memorias, deportes, mitos... lo que hace de este libro una joya para los amantes de este periodo.

[VG · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tricky book to review, as I cannot quite articulate what held me back from fully enjoying it. It looks at winter around the world and how humans have interacted with and perceived it over time; chapters cover environmental adaptations, winter sports, traditions and myths, psychology and climate change to name just a few. There are numerous interesting facts, especially when the author delves into the 16th - 19th centuries, and the topics are well-structured. And yet at times, for such a short book, it felt a bit of a slog; more of a textbook approach than flowing, engaging musings on the season. An interesting potted history, but lacking inspiration.

[Marjie C-O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a hot and heavy winterluster, I actually started reading this in the middle of summer but kept getting pulled away by other requested library books. Apparently nobody but me even wanted to read "Winterlust" because I have had it from the library almost this entire time! Finally, now it's January I finished this little big book which examines just about every imaginable facet of my favorite season. I loved pretty much every page, just as I love pretty much every day of winter (the only exceptions being unseasonably rainy and/or warm ones which sadly are increasing in frequency).

[Evalynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this worldly, wintry book. 📖 ❄️

[Jami M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an informational book about winter. Every short chapter is about different aspects of winter. It is not a novel to be read straight through, so I took my time, picking it up whenever I felt like reading. It’s not boring even though it does have a lot of facts about winter. It is historical and scientific but also has great art, literature and film discussions about winter. I loved all the images in the book and the book itself has a lovely weight and size that, as a bibliophile, is very satisfying.

I love books like this and have learned some cool things about winter. I’m glad I picked this up at the bookshop from the sale table long before there was a pandemic and any notion of the long crazy winter we had this year. I’ll pick this one up again over winters to come.

[Kristen Iworsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An enjoyable read as I try to stop hating winter so much.

[Anne-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is just okay. It’s a fantastic collection of facts, but it never really seems to amount to more than that. Lots of information, not necessarily any coherent overarching meaning that will inspire you.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 13 of 2022.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical overview of winter was much more compelling than I thought it would be. Included a variety of settings and folklore, as well.

[cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every fiber of my being loves summer and yearns for warm days, green grass, and abundant sunshine. And I live in Iowa. So every winter is a slog through the cold, the dark, and the snow. I have every intention each year of finding my way through winter with a better song in my heart, with a commitment to embracing the rhythm of a season that allows, no - actually demands, that you sleep more, live in darker moments, drift inward. And it NEVER works. All of my good intentions fly out the window as the winter progresses. The candles I light daily, the hearty stews, the cozy blankets and books to read, none of it enough to lift the dismal grey feeling, the cold in my bones, the yearning for that first day where no encumbrances of coat and boots are necessary.

And so, when I saw this book on the library site, I decided it could be another attempt to ENJOY this season, to dig into the parts of it that are so beautiful - the first snow and the quiet of a world full of falling flakes, the opportunity to drink warm tea/cocoa/coffee and watch the freezing world outside while cozy in my warm space.

While it WAS enjoyable - full of facts about WHY the world is so quiet in a snowstorm and scientific explanations of "how the lives of plants and animals play out in winter", and stories of deep hygge - none of it came close to making me swoon for winter. It did help me recognize the relative ease and warmth of my Iowa January, as he describes those places that have a way more intense experience of winter and revel in 8 months of snow, embrace the shoveling of snow from rooftops day in and day out, and tunnel under the snow like moles to move around.

Go ahead, read it. Some chapters are WAY more interesting than others and all of the illustration plates are delightfully full of wintry beauty and joy. Heck, maybe you will actually begin to feel some winterlust yourself. Not me, though. I am still dreaming summer into existence and counting down the days until the vernal equinox.

[emilee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dread winter all year long and really struggle to find motivation or enjoyment when it finally comes. I picked up this book in the hopes that it could show me some of the brighter sides of winter and help me find some way to enjoy it a bit more. I wasn't necessarily expecting a fully-referenced academic work, but I definitely expected something a bit different than what it actually is.

Winterlust discusses many different aspects of winter, encompassing both the good and the bad - from winter sports and carolling to avalanches and hypothermia. There are many pleasing little tidbits that show that humans always find a way to make the best out of the ice, snow, and long nights of winter. I felt that this book was possibly a bit too ambitious, though, and not particularly well-organised. Single paragraphs frequently contain two to three anecdotes or quotes that seem only tangentially related and would benefit from more contextualisation.

My edition is a small hardcover book with beautiful illustrations and lots of white space on the page - it's a lovely book but is definitely more of a coffee table book that you dip into occasionally than a comprehensive look at the season. It's so well-researched, however, that this format doesn't quite fit the content and I was left wanting something that either delved much further into each section or was much more stripped back.

It was a nice cosy book to curl up with as winter came to a close, but I was slightly disappointed in the end. Perhaps I can appreciate some small aspects of winter a bit more now and find fleeting beauty in it, but I'll still most likely spend next winter waiting impatiently for spring to come.

[Arturo Herrero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Repasando el catálogo de la editorial Acantilado, encuentro uno de esos libros raros que se leen con goce. Este es un libro de ensayos sobre distintos temas relacionados con el invierno. Un libro irregular (3.5), pero algunas partes del libro son brillantes: la descripción de la crudeza del invierno en épocas pasadas, la riqueza de algunas lenguas para denominar los distintos tipos de nieve, el nacimiento del mito de St. Moritz y el turismo de invierno, las representaciones artísticas del invierno como ventanas abiertas a otra época, etc.

Además el libro me pone sobre la pista de dos pequeñas joyas: Snow-flakes: A chapter from the book of nature y The American Boy's Handy Book.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative and fun, all save for one page that brought my estimation way, way down. After omitting dog sledding and winter dog sports in general entirely, when the author at last mentions mushing he only references the Iditarod and briefly parrots anti-mushing propaganda before never again mentioning the subject (not even recreational or historic dog sledding--or even dog skijoring!)
The text would have been better served if he had done his own research or not mentioned it at all. What is there is woefully ignorant in incomplete: while I don't expect a complex discussion of racing in a book like this, to see the sport dismissed out of hand with wrongheaded negativity is highly disappointing.
Otherwise the book is enjoyable, but I cannot recommend it very highly.

[Pablo Hidalgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tienen algo estos ensayos que publica Acantilado que hace que de un tema en apariencia poco atractivo o relevante (especias, invierno, cítricos,...) surgen estos libros que son preciosas miniaturas que van hundiendo al lector en mundos que jamás pensaría descubrir. Es eso lo que hace a Acantilado diferente, saber que muy probablemente, leas lo que leas acertarás. Así me sucedió con "Cuando los inviernos eran inviernos", un viaje que te sumerge de lleno en los paisajes nórdicos, en los fríos inviernos de antaño en los que no se disponía de calefacción, en la historia de una estación que ha cambiado al ser humano y que ha cambiado con el mismo. Arte, antropología, historia, biología...
Un libro casi elegíaco sobre esos inviernos que cada vez están más cerca de desaparecer.

[Krysia Meráki Stories · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me parece un libro curioso y merece la pena leerlo. Sin embargo me esperaba que profundizará más en algunas partes que otras, a veces el lenguaje es un poco monótono y esto se hace pesado en algunas partes donde describe al detalle.

Creo que me lo releeré pero saltando algunos capítulos.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect winter read. I read 2 chapters a weekend through January and February. Living in a place with four seasons, I really appreciated this collection of essays about winter throughout the world.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

Muy interesante. Cuenta muchos aspectos relacionados con el invierno, cómo las personas se adaptan a él y cuáles son sus costumbres en diferentes partes del mundo.

[Miriam Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my full review here: http://mimi-cyberlibrarian.blogspot.c...

I wanted to wait until there was a cold snap or a significant snowstorm to review Winterlust. I wanted to be sitting in my quiet, warm winter spot, watching the snow fall as I was reading. But like everything else this winter, nothing happened as expected and here it is January 31, and there is just now enough snow and cold weather to be what I would call “winter.” On the other hand, you have to remember that I grew up in northern Minnesota and have lived all my adult life in the snow belt of Michigan.

Winterlust is filled with interesting information about the history of winter, the reader always aware of the fact that people who have to survive winter now have it a lot better than people who survived winter in antiquity. Each chapter is filled with information about what people did to keep warm. We learn that the Japanese have a word for the first snowfall of winter, hatsuyuki. In the Norwegian town of Rjukan, people placed three large mirrors above the city to redirect scarce winter sunlight into the valley and cheer up the residents. In Montreal, residents have evaded the winter gloom by building a brightly lit network of tunnels “where half a million people can move about without ever having to come into contact with the cold air outside.” Most all of the significant buildings in my home town of Duluth, Minnesota are connected by heated over-the-street walkways. The University is connected the same way. You can get all over without having to go outside.

With a variety of word pictures and representative historic paintings, Brunner reminds us of all the beautiful things of winter. The book is so beautifully written, the reader can’t help but agree with Brunner that our lives would be much less without winter. As I was reading by the fire, gazing at tender flakes of snow falling outside, I celebrated my 78th winter, happy to watch out the window but also happy to be inside—warm and cozy.

I will never forget watching a great scene in the movie Fargo, the one where the two men are talking to each other—parka hoods up over their heads and steam coming out of their mouths. When I saw the movie for the first time, I laughed out loud at the absurdity and appropriateness of that scene. Duh! I was in Kalamazoo, and I was the only one laughing.

Today, I watched the little boy across the street pile into a friend’s car with two or three sleds, obviously off for a snowy adventure. He was so excited. Some of my own grandchildren went sledding yesterday. That is the best of winter, and in Winterlust, Brunner reminds us of the best of winter as well, from the paintings through the centuries to the representative poetry and prose as well.

Bernd Brunner is a well-known German writer. His nonfiction titles include Birdmania and Bears, A Brief History.

[Kimberlee (reading.wanderwoman) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"As long as the ground Doesn't freeze, roses can be planted well into December. Incredibly -- despite the cold weather -- a white rose manages to bloom."


"Almighty God what a sweet picture This is! How They glint like countless small mirrors in which your omnipotence and wisdom are reflected. What a subtle image indeed! -- which melts away with even the least breath of man. What an astonishing proportion is to be felt in them in that the different points of the same are at such an exact distance from each other, as if the hand of the most precise Mathematici had encircled them." Balthasar Heinrich Heinsius. (Which translates to... Snowflakes are super cool.... Pun partially intended)


I finished reading Winterlust, a beautiful ode to my least favorite season and of course Bernd talks about why. There truly is so much beauty in each season. This is a fun book, a lot of factual details but I loved reading the history behind the season in different areas and reading about some of the most notorious places for year round winterlust. I think about my friend who lives in Alaska and when there was talk about different types of snow, I thought about one of her more recent Instagram posts about the fun snowflake types. She also has some of the most beautiful photos of winterlust.


A beautiful book with beautiful illustrations.