Author(s): Giles Whittell

Science & Natural History

Description: How many snowflakes does it take to build a snowman? Why does it feel so good to watch snow fall? Why is snow so quiet? Will it survive global warming and what was the greatest snowstorm in history? Snow has a lot in common with religion. It comes from heaven. It changes everything. It creates an alternative reality and brings on irrational behaviour in humans. But unlike most religions, snow has never had a bible, until now. This book is for people who are obsessed with snow, worried that it's all going to melt or who just want more of it in their lives. It's the next best thing to a white Christmas, an anthropology and travelogue for everyone from ski addicts to the half of the world's population that has never seen snow. In this lively and engaging book, Giles Whittell, a passionate snow enthusiast, takes the reader on a quest across centuries and continents in search of the meaning of snow. Along the way he reveals the mystery of temperature-dependent crystal morphology, how avalanches happen, the definitive number of Inuit words for snow and the terrifying truth about the opening ceremony of the 1960 winter Olympics.