Frostbite

“The saga of 'domesticating cold' and the many methods of food preservation are spryly communicated by Twilley . . . Information about the evolution and design of modern refrigerators, food waste, the control of fruit ripening, and the subterranean Global Seed Vault ('a Noah's ark for seeds') is noteworthy. This distinctive history tells us not to take our household fridge for granted; it has profoundly affected the composition of our meals and made handy leftovers possible.” —Booklist “Frostbite is a perfectly executed cold fusion of science, history, and literary verve. You have no idea the fun you’re in for here, the marvelously odd characters and their quietly world-shifting devices – truths and tales that could only have been unearthed through the reporterly perseverance and giddy curiosity of Nicola Twilley. As a fellow nonfiction writer, I bow down. This is how it's done.” —Mary Roach, author of Fuzz and Stiff   “Nicola Twilley takes readers on a trip along the “cold chain,” which is really what connects farm to table. It’s a fascinating, eye-opening journey, and Twilley is a fabulous guide. Frostbite will forever change the way you look at food.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction   “In Frostbite, Nicola Twilley has made the simple idea of cold into both a complex tale of life on Earth and a wonderfully addictive reading experience. There’s a remarkable cast of characters–from scientists to freezer specialists–working to understand it, to harness it, along the way accidentally and purposefully reshaping our lives. We so often focus on issues of warmth that we tend to forget the bone-chilling power of its opposite. But, I can promise you, after this book you won't do that.” —Deborah Blum, author of The Poison Squad   “Frostbite is astonishing. From daring cryonauts to exhaling salad bags to gaseous apples, Nicola Twilley brings readers on a jaw-dropping voyage that lays bare the miracle, mess, and surprising ramifications of refrigeration. A must-read for anyone who eats or drinks in the 21st century. I can’t stop thinking about this book.” —Bianca Bosker, author of Get the Picture   “In her wonderfully, shiver-inducingly immersive Frostbite, Nicola Twilley scrapes clear a window onto the modern cold chain, the pervasive yet mostly invisible infrastructure of chilled warehouses and distribution systems that supply food to our household refrigerators—today’s humming hearths. As Twilley documents in both entertaining and sobering detail, this cold control is a truly remarkable achievement, a boon for human nourishment and pleasure, yet a costly one for the natural superstructures that ultimately feed and house us all.” —Harold McGee, James Beard Award–winning author of Nose Dive and On Food and Cooking