A Cold Spell

Taking us from the beginning of our story to the present day, A Cold Spell examines how ice has shaped our thoughts, actions and societies ¿ and what it means for us that it is rapidly disappearing from our planet''A warm-hearted tale of the bizarre, something to cuddle up with in the bleak midwinter . . . Astonishing'' THE TIMES ''Bracingly original . . . As the earth warms threateningly, there could hardly be a more pertinent time for a story like this¿ MICHAEL PALIN''A book of limitless fascinations'' OLIVIA LAING''Brightly written, nimbly researched and really quite delightful'' LITERARY REVIEWIce has confounded, delighted and fascinated us since the first sparks of art and culture in Europe and it now underpins the modern world. Without ice, we would not feed ourselves or heal our sick as we do, and our towns and cities, countryside and oceans would look very different. Science would not have progressed along th