The Big Thaw: Travels in the Melting North [Hardcover]

"Struzik is the real deal. He′s a manly man of the old–fashioned sort, equally adept with a kayak paddle, a rifle, a compass, a camera, a laptop and fuelled in part by a conviction that how we perceive and treat Canada′s northern regions – what degree of stewardship and respect we demonstrate toward Arctic people, critters, the environment, the works – speaks to a core definition of what kind of nation we are. All these attributes inform Struzik′s latest and perhaps most important book. Struzik brings the threat of global warming home with first–person impact. This eye–opening travelogue comes with just enough scientific and policy background for adequate context. A book of deep import to the country."
—Dan Smith, Toronto Star

"This book will take you on one adventure after another. It will also bring you intimate encounters with some of the coolest creatures on the planet. The book′s biggest reveal is that the radical changes affecting the far north are no longer just an Arctic concern, but rather a global crisis. The Big Thaw is a truly eye–opening tale. The wide–ranging effects of climate change in the Arctic expressed by this gifted writer and modern–day explorer are a mustread for everybody."
—Julia Bird, DiscoveryChannel.ca

"Struzik[′s] thoughtful reportage offers readers an arresting portrait of how quickly the northern landscape, including every ecological nook and cranberry bog that humans and other species inhabit, is being transformed."
—Margo McCaffrey, Canadian Geographic 

"A good place to start when trying to understand how climate change is affecting life in the North, and Canadian responsibilities and sovereignty there. Struzik has shared the quotidian demands of deep–sea research aboard an icebreaker, risked his life with scientists and aboriginal hunters on unstable floes and glaciers, intruded on the domain of polar bears and grizzlies, and fed his share of mosquitoes. And he can write."
—Erling Friis–Baastad, The Globe and Mail

"Stuzik melds the vivid stories of his experiences with fascinating explorations of the Arctic′s past". (EnvironmentTimes.co.uk, July 24th 2009)

"An irresistible mix of lyrical writing, adventurous feet–on–the–ground travel, solid reporting and acute observation of the dire things that are happening in the Arctic. We should lock every politician and corporate executive into a room and keep them there until they have read and understood the message Struzik is bringing us. It is that important."
— Marq De Villiers, author of The End: Natural Disasters, Manmade Catastrophes, and the Future of Human Survival

"Traveling in time and space across the Arctic, in The Big Thaw Ed Struzik describes at first hand the most alarming environmental crisis of our times. It′s a land that Struzik is passionate about, and he writes of its frozen beauty with an elegance of prose not seen since Barry Lopez′ Arctic Dreams."
— Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers

"The top of the world is profoundly different than ever before in human history. Climate change is already influencing the lives of the locals, from Inuit to polar bears. But it′s poised to make life hard for the rest of us, too. Ed Struzik gives a canny and compelling tour of a world in dangerous and rapid flux."
— Bill McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet and Deep Economy

"All–embracing, luminous and provocative, The Big Thaw is a fascinating chronicle of an infinite, threatened Canadian Arctic. Struzik expertly melds past and present into a thought–provoking story about what the current global warming means to Canada and the world. He combines the human and scientific narratives into a wonderful synthesis amplified by his own extensive travels through the North. Everyone interested in the implications of a warming planet should read this remarkable book."
— Brian Fagan, archeologist, historian and author of The Great Warming and The Little Ice Age

"Ed Struzik, one of those rare journalists who can paddle a canoe and enjoy a meal of whale blubber, has written an important and shocking book that reads like some new genre of adventure and horror story. As the Arctic melts and unravels faster than the global banking system, The Big Thaw raises some stark questions: Just what will Canada be without ice and snow? And what is a nation without its dreams?"
— Andrew Nikiforuk, author of Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of the Continent

"An important book. Urgent, timely, heartfelt."
— Will Ferguson, author of Beauty Tips Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada

Climate change’s effects are reshaping the Arctic profoundly. Landscapes are being radically transformed, animal habitats are disappearing, and natural resources are being revealed to an energy–starved world. Veteran Arctic journalist Ed Struzik took eleven trips throughout the north to document this rapidly changing land, gaining unprecedented access to scientific expeditions, native communities and security and sovereignty experts.

The product of those trips, The Big Thaw is the only book that looks at global warming’s wide–ranging impact on the Arctic. Struzik goes into the field with the world’s leading polar bear scientist, skis on melting glaciers with glaciologists, travels the Northwest Passage on an aging icebreaker and stalks a carnivorous rogue walrus with an Inuit hunter. His journeys bring him up close to some of the world’s most unique animals, from the iconic polar bear to the mysterious narwhal.

Struzik melds the vivid stories of his experiences with fascinating explorations of the Arctic’s past – from the alligators and giant tortoises that inhabited the north 55 million years ago, to the 19th century explorers who died searching for the Open Polar Sea – and its possible future as the center of international struggle, underground smuggling and ecological disaster.

Reviews

“In The Big Thaw Ed Struzik describes at first hand the most alarming environmental crisis of our times. It′s a land that Struzik is passionate about, and he writes of its frozen beauty with an elegance of prose not seen since Barry Lopez′ Arctic Dreams.”

Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers

“The top of the world is profoundly different than ever before in human history. Climate change is already influencing the lives of the locals, from Inuit to polar bears. But it′s poised to make life hard for the rest of us, too. Ed Struzik gives a canny and compelling tour of a world in dangerous and rapid flux.”

Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy

"All–embracing, luminous, and provocative, The Big Thaw is a fascinating chronicle of an infinite, threatened Canadian arctic. Struzik expertly melds past and present into a thought–provoking story about what the current global warming means to Canada and the world. He combines the human and scientific narratives into a wonderful synthesis amplified by his own extensive travels through the north. Everyone interested in the implications of a warming planet should read this remarkable book."

Brian Fagan, archeologist, author of The Great Warming and The Little Ice Age 

CLIMATE CHANGE′S EFFECTS ARE RESHAPING THE  Arctic profoundly. As the ice melts, permafrost thaws, sea levels rise and polar storms pick up steam. Animal habitats are disappearing and natives are seeing their way of life threatened. Meanwhile, the receding ice is opening up invaluable shipping routes and access to remarkable troves of natural resources – with nations arguing over who owns what.

Veteran Arctic journalist Ed Struzik took eleven trips throughout the North to document this rapidly changing world, gaining unprecedented access to scientific expeditions, native communities and security and sovereignty experts. In The Big Thaw, Struzik goes into the field with the world′s leading polar bear scientist, skis on melting glaciers with glaciologists, travels the Northwest Passage on an aging icebreaker and stalks a carnivorous rogue walrus with an Inuit hunter. His journeys bring him up close to some of the world′s most unique animals, from the iconic polar bear to the mysterious narwhal to the prehistoric–looking muskox.

Struzik melds the vivid stories of his experiences with fascinating explorations of the Arctic′s past – from the alligators and giant tortoises that inhabited the North 55 million years ago, to the 19th–century explorers who died searching for the Open Polar Sea – and its possible future as the center of international struggle, underground smuggling and ecological disaster.

A unique and important book, The big Thaw is at once intimate and epic, engaging and enlightening. It is an essential dispatch from the frontlines of global warming.

"Traveling in time and space across the Arctic, in The big Thaw Ed Struzik describes at first hand the most alarming environmental crisis of our times,. It′s a land that Struzik is passionate about, and he writes of its frozen beauty with an elegance of prose not seen since Barry Lopez′ Arctic Dreams." – Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers

"The top of the world is profoundly different than ever before in human history. Climate change is already influencing the lives of the locals, from Inuit to polar bears. But it′s poised to make life hard for the rest of us, too. Ed Struzik gives a canny and compelling tour of a world in dangerous and rapid flux." – Bill McKibben,   author of Deep Economy

"An irresistible mix of lyrical writing, adventurous feet–on–the–ground travel, solid reporting and acute observation of the dire things that are happening in the Arctic. We should lock every politician and corporate executive into a room and keep them there until they have read and understood the message Struzik is brining us. It is that important." – Marq De Villiers, author of The End: Natural Disasters, Manmade Castastrophes, and the Future of Human Survival 

"All–embracing, luminous and provocative, The Big Thaw is a fascinating chronicle of an infinite, threatened Canadian Arctic. Struzik expertly melds past and present into a thought–provoking story about what the current global warming means to Canada and the world. He combines the human and scientific narratives into a wonderful synthesis amplified by his won extensive travels through the North. Everyone interested in the implications of a warming planet should read this remarkable book." – Brian Fagan, archeologist, historian and author of The Great Warming and The Little Ice Age 

"Ed Struzik, one of those rare journalists who can paddle a canoe and enjoy a meal of whale blubber, has written an important and shocking book that reads like some new genre of adventure and horror story. As the Arctic melts and unravels faster than the global banking system, The Big Thaw raises some stark questions: just what will Canada be without ice and snow? And what is a nation without its dreams?" – Andrew Nikiforuk, author of Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of the Continent 

"An important book. Urgent, timely, heartfelt." – Will Ferguson, author of Beauty Tips Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada 

ED STRUZIK IS A NATURALIST–TURNED–JOURNALIST who has spent the better part of the past 29 years focusing on the Arctic. His travels by foot, ski, dog team, canoe, kayak, icebreaker and helicopter have taken him to the remotest corners of the polar world.

Struzik is the author of two previous books and a prolific magazine writer. His articles and photographs have appeared in dozens of magazines around the world, including Canadian Geographic, Equinox, Yale Environment 360, International Wildlife, Geo (Russia), Explore Magazine, Nature Canada, Report on Business Magazine and Great Decisions.

The recipient of more than 30 awards for his writing, Struzik has been nominated for the Grantham Prize for Excellence in reporting on the Environment, and he has received multiple national magazine and national newspaper awards, seven Canadian Science Writers Association awards, the Knight Science fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Southam Fellowship at the University of Toronto and the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. Struzik is also a multiple Citation of Merit recipient of the Roland Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism and a recipient of the Sir Sandford Fleming Medal, awarded by the Royal Canadian Institute, Canada′s oldest scientific society for outstanding contribution to the understanding of science in Canada.

Ed Struzik lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with his wife and two children.