"Brunner considers both winter's terrors and it's fascination. ... His winter's tales are edifying as well, because even as he explores the past he looks to a present and future marked by climate change."
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"In this enjoyable examination of the enduring human fascination with snow and cold, Mr. Brunner rekindles the heat in our frozen childhood memories and offers insight into the history, art and science of winter. ... Mr. Brunner’s winning book is a reassuring, nostalgic reminder that winter is the season of both play and regeneration, which may yet turn to glorious summer."
The Wall Street Journal

★Rights sold: English Worldwide, Spanish, German, Simplified Chinese.
★A winter encyclopedia. In this book, the talented German naturalist Bernd Brunner takes the reader into the mysterious and romantic winter, learn all about winter!
★Full English Translation Available.

The history of civilisations seems to show that human beings have a clear preference for heat and that we flee from the cold. Heat is associated with life, while cold seems to be united with death. Spring is the time of flowering, summer of ripening, and autumn the mournful harbinger of the arduous months ahead when everything dies or lies dormant waiting for the next spring. Yet there are cultures—as exotic, rich, and fascinating as those of the tropics—which have flourished in conditions of extreme cold. Devoted to them, this book ponders winter from its many historical, biological, and anthropological viewpoints, capturing some of its voluptuous delights, like the sheer joy of gliding on skis down a slope of virgin snow, or coming across a hut, warm and steamy, like an island in a sea of frozen white. Bernd Brunner captures the essence of this season, which one can love for all its rigours, one that is more precious than ever in these times of climate change.

Bernd Brunner (Berlin, 1964) is an essayist and author of several books in which he combines history, anthropology, and the sciences to offer wide-ranging insights on unusual subjects like aquariums, bears, the moon, the Christmas tree, the art of resting, and a passion for birds. His works have been translated into English and he is a regular contributor to such publications as Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, The Wall Street Journal, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Huffington Post.