This small (11 cm × 17.5 cm ) and short (163 page) book presents many interesting snippets of information on some of the earlier advocates for our recent (Quaternary) Ice Age and a reasonable summary of current thinking on many aspects of Quaternary history. However, in some areas it appears to be based on information that is not up to date. For example, Figure 3, which shows the extent of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, appears to be based on data as it was in the 1980s, and (p. 13) the statement that the central dome of the ice sheet was located over Hudson Bay is not correct. It is also worth noting that there are no references given for either the source of the map or the dimensions and volume of the ice sheet. Thus, this book is not, nor does it pretend to be, a text book.
The early chapters are largely concerned with the observations, ideas, and arguments that were being advanced in the late 18th and 19th centuries as research started to question the former biblical-based notions of the origins of life and landscapes. For example, Chapter 2 is titled “ Erratic boulders and the diluvium” and pays tribute to the early Scottish geologist James Hutton, who (p. 26) “…. advocated a dominant role for ‘existing causes’….” and was thus a proponent of uniformitarianism. Thus Hutton, and many other early geologists, used observations of glaciers in the European Alps to argue for glacial erosion and transportation. These observations on present-day glacial processes were then linked with the presence of massive erratic boulders, which had been noted in Scotland, England, and elsewhere (Fig. 8, p. 28), to deduce the former presence of glaciers or icebergs, and to argue against the biblical flood hypothesis. In Chapter 6, “Ice sheets or icebergs,” the arguments for and against these two transport processes are examined, against the backdrop of the evidence developed by Louise Agassiz and Jean de Charpentier (Chapter 3, “Monster glaciers,” and Chapter 4, “Die Eiszeit”). Thus, in Chapters 1 through 6 the reader is introduced to many of the key players involved in revising the biblical focus of earth history and especially with the renunciation of the “great flood” as the origin for what is now more commonly referred to as “glacial till.” I found these chapters to be very informative; however, they are Eurocentric (largely U.K. and the Alps), and the North American reader might reasonably wonder if the contributions of several early Canadian and American scientists might not have garnered some attention, especially given the spatial and volume dominance of the North American Ice Sheet during the Quaternary.
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 present succinct summaries of three major aspects of present-day Quaternary research, namely the relationship between Milankovitch celestial cycles and glacial cycles; the importance of ocean sediments in deciphering past glacial and interglacial conditions; and the importance of ice cores in demonstrating that the earth's climate during the Quaternary involved dramatic and abrupt climate shifts superimposed on the 104–105 yr Milankovitch cycles. In the Epilogue the author briefly brings up the issue of global climate change and the probably important role of ice sheets and glaciers.
This book is not intended as a text book, but for anyone, from an interested citizen to a university teacher, it documents the history of ideas that have led to our present state of understanding of the Ice Age and as such it will be a welcome addition to any library.