William E. Glassley (1947–2023)

Through LibraryThing Early Reviewers, I received this book along with an ARC from the publisher. Thank you, Bellevue Literary Press. See https://blpress.org for books at the intersection of the arts and sciences.

Who would've thought, a book about the author's six geological expeditions in Greenland, recounted non-chronologically, that is not only absorbing in its detail, expansiveness, and informativeness, but also awe inspiring in its evocation of wilderness that is the provenance and sustainer of human existence. The books approach of evolving impressions make it far more interesting than a scientific travelogue, and the impetus of the expeditions expands the characterizations.

This scientist is an accomplished writer, depicting vivid characters, emotions, and settings, making something as esoterically uninspiring to the average reader as geological studies come alive to captivate the mind.

"The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar, and familiar things new." ~ Samuel Johnson

“Live as if your Life has consequences far beyond your understanding. It does.” ~ Duncan Morrison

Enhance your frame of reference with a balance of meaningful reading. Please, for our sake, our children's, and all the innocents whose futures are threatened.

L. G. Cullens… (más)

Took the chance to take this one on a trip to Iceland, and ended up reading it on the plane home, during which flight I happened to look out the window to find completely clear skies looking down over the Greenland ice sheet and then the glaciers and fjords of the west coast, to the south of where Glassley was studying in the expeditions covered by this book. An awfully nice complement to the text, I found! There's some pretty complicated geological debating in here, but generally it's just a very well done account of study and scenery in Greenland, which makes for absorbing reading.… (más)

This review is dedicated to Charles, aka Chip, who generously befriended me in HS a handful of decades ago. We went our separate ways upon graduation; his chosen field was geology. Thus, Chip was much in my mind as I began to read geologist William E. Glassley's "A Wilder Time." Glassley and two colleagues/friends explore the rock formations of Greenland, above the Arctic Circle, in hopes of proving that plate tectonics (the floating, if you will, of Earth's crust on its molten core) is more ancient than currently thought. Throughout the journey, Glassley learns as much about himself as he does the rocks. Now, I really wanted to enjoy this book, and in no small measure, I did. Glassley's encounters with a still pristine little corner of our planet, can be evocative and certainly thought-provoking. But those of you who remember Action Figure Librarian will recall one of her rules: with any book, read as many pages as your age; if it hasn't grabbed hold of you by then, put the down and pick up another, as there is too much good stuff out there. Well, I read well more pages than my age, and, with apologies to Chip, "A Wilder Time" did not grab hold of me as other books have. This is no slap at Glassley: from my LT statistics, I've read almost 1400 books, listing a little over 200 of them as my favorites, which is about 15%. I certainly appreciate Mr Glassley's imagination, insight, and power of observation, but I probably should have had Chip nearby to help me with the geologic specifics.… (más)