Vassnes is a leading Norwegian science journalist who grew up among the Sami people in the far north of Norway This is a wide-ranging exploration in the vein of Jared Diamond, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Barry Lopez Vassnes shows readers how the climate "dance" of hot and cold periods, has shaped both the planet and all creatures living on it. But we may be heading toward a "last dance". Clearly identifies why the coldest regions on the planet, and not just the polar ice caps, are so important to sustaining life everywhere, from the United States, to India and Bangladesh. Ice loss is a massive concern due to the current climate crisis, and Vassnes explains how the lives of more than a billion people depend on meltwater from glaciers even if they themselves have never seen ice or snow. Almost half of the Arctic's old ice loss has occurred in the last 5 years, and 95% of the Arctic's oldest and thickest ice is already gone Glaciers are rapidly disappearing: for example, in 1910, Glacier National Park had 150 glaciers, but now has only 30.