In this midget volume the author has briefly reviewed the more descriptive aspects of the broad subject of snow and glaciers. With the aid of many tables and diagrams a surprising amount of useful information has been compressed into the relatively few small pages. The purely factual information is presented in an interesting manner and illustrative examples have been drawn from the multitude of available sources.
The author’s approach to the subject as a whole is certainly logical, describing in turn the physical characteristics of snow and snow cover, the relationship between climate and snowfall, and the physical processes of the glacier. The latter part of the book is devoted to a careful discussion of glaciers of three separate latitudinal species, the erosive processes and morphology of glaciers, and the Quaternary glaciation. It is unfortunate that no serious attempt has been made to include a section on the mathematical theory of glacial movement.
At the end of the book there is an appendix of “statistical tables”, which contains useful facts on the Antarctic and the Arctic, snow and glaciers. The selected bibliography is comprehensive, including most of the important papers to be recommended to the intending student of the subject.
This “pocket-size” handbook is well worthy of consideration by anyone seeking an introduction to “snow and ice”.
