Seeds on Ice by Cary Fowler

Seeds on Ice: Svalbard and the Global Seed Vault
by Cary Fowler [631.52 Fow]

For those who are unaware, there is a vault tucked away up in Norway that stores seeds from all over the world. The reason why is basically an insurance plan against disasters that could threaten or destroy crops around the world. It’s underground, in a place called Svalbard, where it’s naturally cold enough the seeds can stay preserved without much electricity, away from natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes, and remote enough to be out of the way from disasters caused by humans. This book contains abundant photos of this unique archive, as it tells the story of its inception, creation and ongoing work. I had heard about the vault before I picked this up, but didn’t know very much about it. It was a fascinating read and not one you’d need to do cover to cover. Even if you are not into agriculture, gardening, or scientific archives, I think it’d be of interest to a wide range of people, as it’s pretty much a documentary in a book!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Don’t Throw it, Grow It!, by Deborah Peterson (635 Pet).]

[ official Global Seed Vault web site ] | [ official Cary Fowler web site ]

Recommended by Kristen A.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!