Ice

April 15, 2023
A lively history of ice in America. Environmental historian Brady, executive director of Orion magazine, takes a wide-ranging, comprehensive tour of places and people associated with our frosty obsession. Frederic Tudor's idea of shipping blocks of ice from post-Revolutionary War Massachusetts to Martinique and selling them didn't go well. It went better in Cuba and New Orleans, where ice and liquor paired well, and Tudor's ice-cutters and icehouses were a big success. Florida doctor John Gorrie's experiments using ice on yellow fever victims led to his groundbreaking invention of a hand-cranked ice-making machine. Their use in hospitals and shipping was transformative. With the advent of cars, people could stop at their local ice dock, and icemen and their wagons, as popular as milkmen, were popping up all over in popular culture. In the 1930s, General Electric began manufacturing affordable refrigerators. A visit to Mount Vernon taught Brady about Washington's slaves harvesting ice on the Potomac for his well, which fed his love of ice cream. In 1818, Philadelphia free Black man Augustus Jackson's ice cream was a sensation. Ice cream peddlers became commonplace, and the sundae, iced tea, and Good Humor ice cream bar were born, as were electric air conditioners and cocktail bars like Manhattan's influential Milk and Honey. The author also visited Bill Covitz, a master ice sculptor, to watch as a laser cut designs from massive blocks. In 1887, St. Paul, Minnesota, made a big splash with its 14-story ice castle, constructed of 30,000 blocks of ice. "Mechanically created ice could transform ice sports as we know them," Brady notes, as she uncovers the indoor worlds of ice skating, hockey, speed skating, and curling. In 1949, Frank Zamboni unveiled his eponymous machine, which could resurface an entire rink in 15 minutes. The author also investigates why ice is so slippery, and she concludes her spirited book with a look at the dire effects of cold and making ice on an endangered planet. Bursting at the seams with icy facts and trivia.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 10, 2023
Brady (coeditor, The World as We Knew It), the executive director of Orion magazine, offers a vibrant history of America’s “obsession” with ice. She begins her survey with Frederic Tudor, who launched the “American ice trade” in 1806 by harvesting ice from a Massachusetts lake and sailing it to the Caribbean. Among other innovations, Tudor designed a cargo hold that reduced melting by “keeping the ice elevated and as sealed off from air as possible” and created a demand for his product in Cuba by offering “several pounds of ice to competitive baristas for free, on the condition that they’d allow him to demonstrate how best to serve their drinks chilled.” Physician John Gorrie demonstrated his ice-making machine at a Bastille Day party in Florida in 1850, and by 1920, nearly 5,000 block-ice plants were “churning out over 40 million tons of ice per year,” leading the way for ice to become an essential aspect of American life, from home kitchens to hospitals and hockey arenas. Brady also delves into more troubling aspects of the national love affair with ice, noting that refrigerators release 60 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Overflowing with intriguing arcana and colorful personalities, this is an eye-opener. Photos.

May 1, 2023
Ice is everywhere. We put it in our drinks, use it to numb pain and injuries, and have machines in our kitchen that make it on demand. Given its ubiquity, it's remarkable how little attention we've paid to its history. Environmental historian Brady is on a mission to fill this gap. Ice has played a central role in the evolution of culture, economics, and technology from the sixteenth century on. It revolutionized how we live: what we eat and drink, the sports we play, and how we treat illness. Ice, along with the rise of car culture, led to the invention of convenience stores. Ice even helped elect one the United States' most popular presidents. But our obsessive pursuit of cold via refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and a driver of global warming. Ironically, the growing role of human-made ice in our lives has caused the crucial loss of ice on earth. Brady's history of ice focuses a fascinating lens on how our modern world came to be.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.