Extreme Ice Now: Vanishing Glaciers and Changing Climate: A Progress Report [Hardcover]

James Balog (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
Using both time-lapse and conventional photography as well as digital video, the Extreme Ice Survey is the most extensive visual study ever conducted to illustrate the catastrophic melting of glacial ice. The result is a dramatic and timely demonstration of global warming’s dangerous consequences from Alaska to Iceland to the Alps. Serviced via foot, horseback, dogsled, skis, fishing boats, and helicopters at 15 sites in the Northern Hemisphere and programmed to shoot once an hour, every hour of daylight, each of the 26 cameras captures approximately 4,000 images per year. This stunning collection of photographs will form a companion exhibition traveling to museums all over the world as part of an urgent outreach campaign aimed at educating the public about global warming and providing irrefutable scientific evidence of how rapidly our planet’s climate is changing.

Launched in the fall of 2006 and scheduled to continue until late summer of 2009, the remarkable Extreme Ice Survey archive will ultimately total more than 300,000 photographs--a treasure trove of data for researchers and a portrait of nature as arresting and unforgettable as it is ominous.

A Look Inside Extreme Ice Now
(Click on Images to Enlarge)

About the Author

James Balog has been an award-winning nature photographer for more than 25 years. His work has been exhibited in over 100 museums and galleries around the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Focal Point (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426204019
• ISBN-13: 978-1426204012
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 1 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > History > Europe > Iceland

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but could have been great, April 5, 2009

By 

Lars (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Extreme Ice Now: Vanishing Glaciers and Changing Climate: A Progress Report (Hardcover)

James Balog has taken many astonishing photos as he has documented changes in ice around the world, some of which are in this book. The book, however, is rather small and most photos span two pages which means they have a seam down the middle. I do not think this does the photos justice, I would have liked to have seen a bigger book and no distracting seam in the photos. Also, I feel like some of the more unique photos he has taken are not in the book, such as the meltwater rivers/waterfalls on the Greenland Ice Sheet (there are some included but they have writing over top of them). If you are fascinated by ice, though, you should check this out, along with his PBS special.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Had Awesome Potential But Ended Up as Average, September 18, 2009

By 

Frederick S. Goethel "wildcatcreekbooks" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Extreme Ice Now: Vanishing Glaciers and Changing Climate: A Progress Report (Hardcover)

This book, with its photographic evidence of climate change had the potential to be a fantastic learning tool for the average reader. That potential was lost in a number of ways, including weak text and a size that didn't allow all of the detail of the photographs to show through.

The photography that is present in the book is superb, but at times it is difficult to see what the author is trying to show due to the small frame size of the photos. Making the book a larger size would have provided a remedy to this problem. In addition, the writing is weak and either should have been reduced, or the photographer should have been paired with a better and more knowledgeable writer.

A good look at what is happening in the Polar Regions, but I am not sure it is worth the price charged. I would tend to view it in a library setting first to see if it meets expectations.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This could be the next Inconvenient Truth--Read this book & give it to a friend, April 17, 2009

By 

Sarah B. Warren, PhD "unlikely environmentalist" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extreme Ice Now: Vanishing Glaciers and Changing Climate: A Progress Report (Hardcover)

Extreme Ice Now is gorgeous, powerful and compelling. Because it is visual and beautiful, it draws people into the story of the climate crisis. As a psychologist and catalyst on climate change, I believe that it has the potential to reach people who are daunted by data and words.

Many books are being written about climate change, many of them very good, but most of them are dense and speak to those who are already persuaded. I think Extreme Ice Now is such an important contribution to the this arena that I am using it as an incentive during the membership drive for the Spheres of Influence Salon on Climate Change.

Read this book and pass it on to a friend.