Snow : the biography
Whittell, Giles2018
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How many snowflakes does it take to build a snowman? Why does it feel so good to watch snow fall? Why is snow so quiet? Will it survive global warming and what was the greatest snowstorm in history? Snow has a lot in common with religion. It comes from heaven. It changes everything. It creates an alternative reality and brings on irrational behaviour in humans. But unlike most religions, snow has never had a bible, until now. This book is for people who are obsessed with snow, worried that it's all going to melt or who just want more of it in their lives. It's the next best thing to a white Christmas, an anthropology and travelogue for everyone from ski addicts to the half of the world's population that has never seen snow. In this lively and engaging book, Giles Whittell, a passionate snow enthusiast, takes the reader on a quest across centuries and continents in search of the meaning of snow. Along the way he reveals the mystery of temperature-dependent crystal morphology, how avalanches happen, the definitive number of Inuit words for snow and the terrifying truth about the opening ceremony of the 1960 winter Olympics.
Main title:
Snow : the biography / Giles Whittell.
Author:
Imprint:
London : Short Books, 2018.
Collation:
288 pages, 16 unnumbered pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm.
Notes:
Includes index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Chapter one. Perfect snow -- Chapter two. If polar bears could talk -- Chapter three. Snomo sapiens -- Chapter four. What Bruegel saw -- Chapter five. The wrong kind of snow -- Chapter six. Record breaking -- Chapter seven. Winter of terror -- Chapter eight. At play in the snowfields of the gods -- Chapter nine. Last rites -- Chapter ten. Boutique mountain engineering -- Chapter eleven. Snowpocalypse -- Chapter twelve. Snowbusiness -- Chapter thirteen. Snowmads -- Chapter fourteen. The future of snow -- Snow Q & A -- Acknowledgements -- A note on units -- A note on sources -- Photo credits -- Index -- Plates.
ISBN:
9781780723600
Dewey class:
551.5784
Language:
English
Added title:
Subject:
BRN:
348783
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Library | Adult Non Fiction - Environment | 551.5784 WHI | Available |