Glacier: Nature and Culture

by Peter G. Knight

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 two hundred years since we first realized 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 and a challenge for engineers, glaciers mean different things to different people. Crossing the boundaries between art, environment, science, nature, and culture, this book considers glaciers from myriad perspectives, revealing their complexity, majesty, and importance—but also their fragility.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published December 15, 2019

About the author

Peter G. Knight is a senior lecturer in Geography at Keele University. He carries out research in glaciology based on Arctic fieldwork and laboratory experiments. He has written and contributed to a variety of books and his work has appeared in journals such as Journal of Glaciology and Quaternary Science Reviews.

Reviews

[Tom Stanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve had the pleasure of reading a number of books recently on Glaciers and the Arctic, full of tales of adventure and discovery, however, I hadn’t really explored what any of these actually are.

Glacier, by Peter G. Knight, comes as part of Reaktion Books Earth Series; a superb series of books, written by experts with both passion and knowledge exploring the significance and history of Earth’s natural resources.

Glacier doesn’t just explain what Glaciers are, Knight brings his own expertise to bring these natural structures to life by exploring how they have had their impact upon not just science but also mythology, religion, art, literature, music, popular culture, cinema, and television. Meticulously detailed with stunning photographs of a large number of Glaciers around the world, helps bring Glaciers into a life of their own.

Delving into the history and science of Glaciers Knight portrays the subject with knowledge and sympathy, not just for the Glaciers themselves, but also for the reader, not bombarding us with scientific terminology, this is a book that serves as an ideal introduction for anyone with even a slight interest in the subject and for those with more knowledge who is looking for a book which explores the subject in manageable pieces.

From the earliest explorations to modern Arctic tourism Glaciers have had an enduring presence upon our lives and our very world, providing the landscape in which we still see and explore today to the very means of our survival. Peter G. Knight brings to life the Glacial world in a way that will appeal to all readers.

In Glacier, Peter G Knight manages to highlight not just the magnificence of Glaciers, and their historical significance but in showing this significance manages to highlight the dangers we are facing with Climate Change and the rising of sea levels due to the melting of the ice, much of which has been stored within them for hundreds of thousands of years and a message to us all to act before they are lost forever.