A Wilder Time: Notes from a Geologist at the Edge of the Greenland Ice

JOHN BURROUGHS MEDAL FOR DISTINGUISHED NATURAL HISTORY BOOK

A scientist experiences primordial wonders and the wisdom of solitude in one of Earth’s wildest and most endangered places

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 (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.