Overview

"""Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book."" -Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey ""Glassley exhibits an uncanny ability to put us in the midst of Greenland's vast silence, where he takes us deep into the planet's soul. It is an important and well-told adventure that opens us to life's grand expanse and begs us to follow in spite of the brevity of our existence."" -John Francis, author of Planetwalker and The Ragged Edge of Silence ""Reminds us of the degree to which climate change is damaging the planet. . . . Urgently recommended!"" -Lawrence Millman, author of Last Places and At the End of the World Greenland, one of the last truly wild places, contains a treasure trove of information on Earth's early history embedded in its pristine landscape. Over numerous seasons, William E. Glassley and two fellow geologists traveled there to collect samples and observe rock formations for evidence to prove a contested theory that plate tectonics, the movement of Earth's crust over its molten core, is a much more ancient process than some believed. As their research drove the scientists ever farther into regions barely explored by humans for millennia-if ever-Glassley encountered wondrous creatures and natural phenomena that gave him unexpected insight into the origins of myth, the virtues and boundaries of science, and the importance of seeking the wilderness within. An invitation to experience a breathtaking place and the fascinating science behind its creation, A Wilder Time is nature writing at its best. William E. Glassley is a geologist at the University of California, Davis, and an emeritus researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, focusing on the evolution of continents and the processes that energize them. He is the author of over seventy research articles and a textbook on geothermal energy. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico."

Full Product Details

9781942658344

Table of Contents

Reviews

While conveying the geological hypotheses, techniques of data collection, and adventures of his expeditions to Greenland with his two Danish colleagues, William E. Glassley also brings startling sensory precision to his descriptions. The velvety feeling of moss, the taste of lichen, the alternating rhythms of terror and fluidity in schools of fish through which a predatory sculpin cruises--such experiences bring what might have seemed a stark world of rock and ice alive. This delicacy of perception is the vehicle through which not only the scientific quest but also the profound mystery of our living Earth saturates this memorable book. --John Elder, coeditor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing and author of Picking Up the Flute Glassley exhibits an uncanny ability to put us in the midst of Greenland's vast silence, where he takes us deep into the planet's soul. It is an important and well-told adventure that opens us to life's grand expanse and begs us to follow in spite of the brevity of our existence. --John Francis, author of Planetwalker and The Ragged Edge of Silence A Wilder Time is a wonderful mix of science and poetry. It delves into the kind of spiritual effect that wilderness has on those privileged to work in it and how it changes the way we experience and understand our surroundings and our lives. The science, including the geological controversy at the heart of the book, is lucidly explained, and readers will be absorbed by the story Glassley tells as well as his many vividly described encounters with nature. Next time someone asks me why I am a geologist, I will just hand them this book. --William L. Griffin, professor of geology at Macquarie University While conducting research probing deep time and the origin of continents, Glassley discovered a further source of fascination: the Arctic wilderness of Greenland. In A Wilder Time, he shares his encounters with unvarnished nature still free--for now--from the corruptions and constructs of human settlement. With openness, clarity, and a keen eye for detail, he weaves adventure, research, astonished awe, and thoughtful reflection into an absorbing account of his sojourns. --Martha Hickman Hild, author of Geology of Newfoundland: Field Guide Very few people have spent as much time as Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book. --Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey As geologists, we may be rational scientists, but expeditions to remote places touch something deep in us that moves us to also be poets. Glassley has turned his experiences in Greenland into searingly beautiful descriptions of a wild landscape and the ways in which that landscape moves and changes him. Every sentence is evocative, connoting curiosity, awe, and respect in equal measure. A Wilder Time is a paean on the importance of wilderness to the human spirit and a saddening reminder of what we lose when we divorce ourselves from contact with wild places. Glassley's voice will stay with me the way the works of Loren Eiseley, Edward Abbey, Rachel Carson, and Aldo Leopold have stayed with me over the decades. --Jane Selverstone, professor emerita in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico While conveying the geological hypotheses, techniques of data collection, and adventures of his expeditions to Greenland with his two Danish colleagues, Glassley also brings startling sensory precision to his descriptions. The velvety feeling of moss, the taste of lichen, the alternating rhythms of terror and fluidity in schools of fish through which a predatory sculpin cruises--such experiences bring what might have seemed a stark world of rock and ice alive. This delicacy of perception is the vehicle through which not only the scientific quest but also the profound mystery of our living Earth saturates this memorable book. --John Elder, coeditor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing and author of Picking Up the Flute Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book. --Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey -While conveying the geological hypotheses, techniques of data collection, and adventures of his expeditions to Greenland with his two Danish colleagues, Glassley also brings startling sensory precision to his descriptions. The velvety feeling of moss, the taste of reindeer lichen, the alternating rhythms of terror and fluidity in schools of fish through which a predatory sculpin cruises--such experiences bring what might have seemed a stark world of rock and ice alive. This delicacy of perception is the vehicle through which not only the scientific quest but also the profound mystery of our living Earth saturates this memorable book.- --John Elder, coeditor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing and author of Picking Up the Flute -Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book.- --Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey

While conveying the geological hypotheses, techniques of data collection, and adventures of his expeditions to Greenland with his two Danish colleagues, Glassley also brings startling sensory precision to his descriptions. The velvety feeling of moss, the taste of reindeer lichen, the alternating rhythms of terror and fluidity in schools of fish through which a predatory sculpin cruises--such experiences bring what might have seemed a stark world of rock and ice alive. This delicacy of perception is the vehicle through which not only the scientific quest but also the profound mystery of our living Earth saturates this memorable book. --John Elder, coeditor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing and author of Picking Up the Flute Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book. --Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey -While conveying the geological hypotheses, techniques of data collection, and adventures of his expeditions to Greenland with his two Danish colleagues, Glassley also brings startling sensory precision to his descriptions. The velvety feeling of moss, the taste of reindeer lichen, the alternating rhythms of terror and fluidity in schools of fish through which a predatory sculpin cruises--such experiences bring what might have seemed a stark world of rock and ice alive. This delicacy of perception is the vehicle through which not only the scientific quest but also the profound mystery of our living Earth saturates this memorable book.- --John Elder, coeditor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing and author of Picking Up the Flute -Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book.- --Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey

While conveying the geological hypotheses, techniques of data collection, and adventures of his expeditions to Greenland with his two Danish colleagues, Glassley also brings startling sensory precision to his descriptions. The velvety feeling of moss, the taste of reindeer lichen, the alternating rhythms of terror and fluidity in schools of fish through which a predatory sculpin cruises-such experiences bring what might have seemed a stark world of rock and ice alive. This delicacy of perception is the vehicle through which not only the scientific quest but also the profound mystery of our living Earth saturates this memorable book. -John Elder, coeditor of The Norton Book of Nature Writing and author of Picking Up the Flute Very few people have spent as much time as William E. Glassley in such deep wilderness. So it would behoove us to pay attention even if he had not brought back such a fascinating, lovely, and useful set of observations. This is a remarkable book. -Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Oil and Honey

Author Information

William E. Glassley (July 1, 1947 March 19, 2023) was a geologist at the University of California, Davis and a researcher at Aarhus University, Denmark, focusing on the evolution of continents and the processes that energize them. He was the author of over seventy research articles and a textbook on geothermal energy. A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice, his first book for a general audience, received the John Burroughs Medal for Distinguished Natural History Book and the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, among other honors.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available