Pringle, Laurence. Ice!

Pringle, Laurence.  Ice!  Boyd's Mills/Calkins Creek  2012  74p  $17.95 978-1-59078-801-1       ms/hs       Nonfiction  E-BN     

In today’s society we take refrigeration, freezers and air conditioners for granted and probably never try to imagine what life was like before these “necessities” were invented.  The author of this book has bothered to do so, however, and the result is this history of man’s use of ice, beginning with salt-based food preservation and the use of ice houses in rural areas.  The narrative follows the development of ice as an industry in urban areas, and all of its associated accoutrements, and the eventual development of refrigeration.

This is a fun, historically informative book about the ice industry, which should be oxymoronic, but isn’t.  In fact, it is a fascinating read about which this reader knew virtually nothing, and it provides a wonderful overview of an era in American history.  Black-and-white sketches and full-color photographs can be found throughout the book, highlighting many of the tools used in the ice industry and providing visuals for all the processes.  Sidebars highlight relevant factoids such as “For a dollar a day” (pg 23), which discusses the workers toiling all day for that one dollar.  The politics associated with the industry and the struggle to access ice year-round are also explored.  The book concludes with “for more information” list (print, web and multimedia), source notes, a bibliography, and an index.           

Ice industry – History                                            --Lynn Fisher