A Cold Spell

A Human History of Ice Max Leonard

Max Leonard tells the story of humanity through the lens of ice from the Ice Age to the modern day

Humanity came of age in a time when the landscape was cold and coated in ice. During the Ice Age, early humans saw themselves constantly reflected in these planes of ice - and became more reflective themselves, beginning to create works of art, innovate through technology and develop language. In A Cold Spell, Max Leonard takes us from the beginning of our story to the modern day, tracing the ways ice has influenced our development, our economies, our social customs and our lives - and what its rapid disappearance means for us.

Leonard combines history, literature and nature writing to tell our story through a new lens. Exposing the commonalities between an opulently frozen mummy, Winston Churchill's plans for inventive aircraft carriers and mountaineering, A Cold Spell will change how you think about the world around you. Ice has been here since the beginning. Will it be at the end?