Icefall Adventures at the wild edges of our dangerous, changing planet

John All

Book - 2017

"In May 2014, the mountaineer and scientist John All fell into a crevasse near Everest and took a series of videos as he struggled to climb out 70 feet of ice and snow with fifteen broken bones - including 6 cracked vertebrae, internal bleeding, a severely dislocated shoulder, and his face covered in blood. The videos of him went viral and appeared in newscasts all over the world: CNN, BBC, Australia, Brazil, Israel, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, etc. and every website imaginable - from People Magazine to National Geographic. NPR called him "a badass for science." Yet this story is only the latest of All's adventures. He's also won a footrace for his life with a wild hyena, stepped on a black mamba in the African bush,... and scaled Everest - all in pursuit of his true passion: the future of adaptation to our world's changing climate. Icefall is more than a fascinating adventure story-it is a report from the extremes, which hold new lessons about the impact of climate change. It is about the collapsing Andean glaciers, the hidden jungles in Honduras where native people have learned about surviving hurricanes, and the highest points on earth, where more scientific secrets lie. The result is a thrilling adventure memoir with profound lessons for how humans will adjust as our world continues to change beneath our feet"--

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Subjects
Published
New York : PublicAffairs 2017.
Language
English
Main Author
John All (author)
Other Authors
John Balzar (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
viii, 221 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 25 cm
ISBN
9781610396936
  • Part I.
  • Chapter 1. Alone on the Ice
  • Chapter 2. Lhotse
  • Part II.
  • Chapter 3. Adaptation
  • Chapter 4. Paradise Lost
  • Interlude: Bugged
  • Part III.
  • Chapter 5. Up and Lip
  • Chapter 6. Here, There, and Beyond
  • Interlude: Sunsets
  • Chapter 7. Everest
  • Interlude: The Stuff
  • Chapter 8. Top of the World
  • Interlude: Letters
  • Chapter 9. The Unknown
  • Part IV. Survival
  • Chapter 10. Alive
  • Interlude: Harry Potter
  • Chapter 11. Findings
  • Acknowledgments
Review by Choice Review

This unique book combines scientific details about the impact of global climate change in some of the world's more remote places and a very personal, adventurous narrative by All (mountain environmental science, Western Washington Univ.) and coauthor Balzar, a seasoned writer. This text follows All as he travels, documenting the effects of a changing climate in some of the world's most extreme and remote environments, from the Everest massif to the jungles of Costa Rica. The book is an easy read, and the authors make the topic of climate change very approachable, not only through the intrepid narrative but also through the description of All's relationships with the people he works with and meets through his travels. The authors present an extremely thoughtful account of the relationship humans have with the planet and how adaptation and resilience will be needed as more climate change challenges are encountered. The book is enthusiastically recommended for a wide variety of readers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Wil Weston, San Diego State University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.