Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past

Deem, James. 2008. BODIES FROM THE ICE: MELTING GLACIERS AND THE RECOVERY OF THE PAST. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 978-0-329-70908-2.

BODIES FROM THE ICE is a book brings together the fields of glaciology and anthropology. It is very interesting to see how these two fields can work together to determine how old bodies are and where they originally frozen into the glacier.

BODIES FROM THE ICE has a readability suitable for the age range. Although some scientific jargon is used, most of it is explained in the text. For example on the first page, "Although the Niederjoch had been gradually retreating, or thawing..." Readers might not know what retreating means in regards to glaciers, but it is explained in an easy way that doesn't take away from the text. Another example is found in a sidebar on page 24, "The father of glaciology (the study of glaciers)..."

The text is logically organized starting with the first major discovery from a melting glacier and then moving on to details about several other important discoveries. The book ends with a chapter about the increasing melting rate of glaciers and the implications that they have on the world.

There are a lot of different types of visuals used throughout the book. "Heavily illustrated with historical memorabilia as well as photos of bodies, scenery, artifacts, and rather simplistic maps, this offers a lot to look at and learn about." (Cooper 2008). The pictures on pages 32 and 33 of the Children of the Andes really show the reader how almost perfectly bodies can be preserved in the ice. There are also side bars that give the reader more information such as the sidebar on page 10 that describes the types of glaciers.

The information found in the book is backed up by a thorough bibliography. The illustration credits are very clearly labeled as to which picture they are referring to, the same cannot be said for the bibliography. There are no references in the book and the bibliography is just an alphabetical listing of sources. It would be very hard to find a particular source used for a fact or quote in the book. There is also a list of glaciers to visit and suggested websites to get more information.

Reference List:
Cooper, Ilene. "Reivew of Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past." Booklist 105, no 7 (2008): 61. http://ezproxy.twu.edu: 2056/ehost /pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hid=126&sid= 35792edb-1b40-4f16-a75b-e1ee40afab75%40sessionmgr113.