Book & podcast collection

Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks–a Cool History of a Hot Commodity

byAmy Brady

Amy Brady traces ice from a seasonal natural resource to an industrial commodity that transformed food, drink, medicine, sports, cities, and global trade. Harvested ponds gave way to mechanical refrigeration, allowing cold storage, cocktails, skating rinks, air conditioning, and year-round supply chains. Inventors, laborers, businesses, and consumers reveal the infrastructure hidden behind an ordinary cube. The book also confronts ice's energy costs and vulnerability in a warming world. Brady shows how manufactured cold reshaped expectations of freshness, comfort, and leisure while making modern life dependent on continuous power.

Publisher

Penguin Publishing Group

Publication date

2023

Format

Print edition

Pages

336

ISBN

9780593422199