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willrefuge's review against another edition
2.0
2 / 5 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2020/08/06/the-hidden-life-of-ice-by-marco-tedesco-brief/
I requested Hidden Life of Ice because I was expecting a scientific explanation of Greenland and ice floe and the climate change that’s resulting in its disappearance. What I got was not nearly as interesting.
Hidden Life of Ice reads like a field notebook crossed with a memoir, at least if that field notebook was full of random fun-facts that you could use to impress with at trivia. Despite it being centered in Greenland, there’s very little—almost nothing really—about ice. Prior to Chapter 9, ice is only described in any length once. And for that only about in one or two paragraphs. There’s a decent amount of history—the discovery of Greenland, and its settlement; the Northwest Passage, and extinction; the birth of the universe. There’s a bit of astronomy, physics, global warming, and geology. There’s a decent amount about the author and his team, their lives before, their time in Greenland. Just very little about ice.
There was a little about the Thule, the Inuit, the Vikings—the history of the human habitation of Greenland, that was of passing interest. Though mostly it was about the Vikings and their colonization of the land. And about its naming. Then later about its use and importance to scientists. Nothing too in-depth and nothing too interesting, sadly.
My favorite part was the brief (and I mean brief) time that the author talked about englacial flow. This is a bit like an aquifer, an underground river, just through a glacier as opposed to permeable rock. It sounds so cool! Even the author seemed impressed and amazed when he described it—only to lose focus to some other non-ice topic a few sentences later.
If you were to read this hoping for something in depth on Greenland and ice, prepare to be disappointed. If you were after a decent memoir filled with random facts about random Greenland-related topics, I guess this is the book for you. I found it boring and dry. I thought the story meandered aimlessly when I could find a story at all. But then I was expecting more about glaciology, ice science, maybe hydrology and physics. So long as you don’t go in with expectations like mine—hopefully it’ll provide a decent read.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2020/08/06/the-hidden-life-of-ice-by-marco-tedesco-brief/
I requested Hidden Life of Ice because I was expecting a scientific explanation of Greenland and ice floe and the climate change that’s resulting in its disappearance. What I got was not nearly as interesting.
Hidden Life of Ice reads like a field notebook crossed with a memoir, at least if that field notebook was full of random fun-facts that you could use to impress with at trivia. Despite it being centered in Greenland, there’s very little—almost nothing really—about ice. Prior to Chapter 9, ice is only described in any length once. And for that only about in one or two paragraphs. There’s a decent amount of history—the discovery of Greenland, and its settlement; the Northwest Passage, and extinction; the birth of the universe. There’s a bit of astronomy, physics, global warming, and geology. There’s a decent amount about the author and his team, their lives before, their time in Greenland. Just very little about ice.
There was a little about the Thule, the Inuit, the Vikings—the history of the human habitation of Greenland, that was of passing interest. Though mostly it was about the Vikings and their colonization of the land. And about its naming. Then later about its use and importance to scientists. Nothing too in-depth and nothing too interesting, sadly.
My favorite part was the brief (and I mean brief) time that the author talked about englacial flow. This is a bit like an aquifer, an underground river, just through a glacier as opposed to permeable rock. It sounds so cool! Even the author seemed impressed and amazed when he described it—only to lose focus to some other non-ice topic a few sentences later.
If you were to read this hoping for something in depth on Greenland and ice, prepare to be disappointed. If you were after a decent memoir filled with random facts about random Greenland-related topics, I guess this is the book for you. I found it boring and dry. I thought the story meandered aimlessly when I could find a story at all. But then I was expecting more about glaciology, ice science, maybe hydrology and physics. So long as you don’t go in with expectations like mine—hopefully it’ll provide a decent read.
somesnarksareboojums's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.0
a solid enough introduction to the North, but can only be recommended if you have almost no previous knowledge, as it never gets beyond superficial. found the “one day” structure very contrived. not helped by the narrator intoning like he was telling you a bedtime story.
kendyle's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
The narrators voice will put you to sleep!
daniellesalwaysreading's review against another edition
2.0
For a book called the Hidden Life of Ice there wasn't as much about Ice as I would have liked.
justjacq's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
3.75
For a little book, this packs a lot of punch. Less than 200 pages, and I learned so many little tidbits I never knew (like about Tardigrades and the "Polar Camel"). Besides the science and climate facts, Marco Tedesco also shared personal reflections that, in a sense, made the book for me. I think of times I have been in nature, when I've been in awe of nature, and how it's made me feel - how it has made me reflect on the past and the future. I may not ever get to spend time on the Greenland ice shelf, but I still relate to the feelings Tedesco shared from his time there. I was disappointed to read a number of reviews that felt this book was insignificant, and your opinion of it would be based on your opinion on climate change - how on earth are people still denying climate change? I found it to be a quick and meaningful read.
3.75/5⭐️s
3.75/5⭐️s
jenlisy's review against another edition
4.0
Good nonfiction about the arctic with an important warning about climate change.
karingforbooks's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
It’s well done but there’s almost something missing, like the ice is glossed over for humanity. Which I enjoyed but I wanted more about the ice itself.