“The edge of wilderness, offering little resistance, was silently retreating into a new future we unknowingly are shaping.

When wilderness is gone, even that which is responding naturally to climate change forces, all that will remain are memories and impressions of its textures and forms, its silences and screams, its smells and tastes.”

I was intrigued by this book despite the fact science was one of my least favorite school subjects 😅

The book follows the author’s experiences of Greenland from six different expeditions. The writing wasn’t as dry as I expected; it discusses not only the technical/informational research but also draws on the beauty of nature. It’s written in a very poetic way especially in the second half!

I enjoyed the beautiful descriptions of the landscape and animals. However it could be a little too philosophical and prose-y rather than diving into the scientific aspects mentioned in the introduction. I was pulled in but by the second half I had lost interest and was confused what Glassley was trying to say with this book.

A Wilder Time felt like two different books with the poetic writing of most of the book vs the intro and epilogue exploring the life/science of Greenland.

I expected something different based on the introduction and the science felt rushed in the epilogue because he chose the rest of the book to give us prose on nature and philosophical questions of existence 😭

In the introduction, he talked about Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) and Inuit communities in terms of how they’re affected by climate change. As well as wilderness being affected by climate change and expansion of society. I thought we’d explore this topic more in the book but it was seemingly forgotten?

There were a few quotes I enjoyed and like I said, the descriptions were beautiful. I just wish Glassley expanded on the topics he brought up in the intro and hadn’t put all the scientific research findings in the epilogue, but paced it out throughout the entire book.

“Life lived in Greenland is integrated with the life of the sea; it is balanced and nuanced, and nothing is taken for granted.”