Planet Ice documents the beauty and the power of ice and its unique role in revealing the changing condition of the planet. Glaciers and ice fields are critical to the health of our world-and we are making them disappear.

Pairing the striking glacier photography of James Martin with essays by Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, polar bear expert Ian Stirling, ice scientist Richard Alley, glaciologist Gino Casassa, and noted writers Gretel Ehrlich, Nick Jans, and Broughton Coburn, Planet Ice examines the characteristics of polar, mountain, and tropical ice. It also explores human concepts of ice and wilderness; the lives of penguins, polar bears, and other fauna that depend on ice; the far-reaching effects of climate change; and our responsibilities as stewards of the natural world. Yet this is not just a book of science. Together, these authors illuminate the profound connection between ice-a substance that is at once mutable and forceful-and the wellbeing of our global community.