The book is one of a series of an Enzlyklopaedie der Erdkunde, just as was its forerunner, Das Eis der Erde, by H. Hess. The work may be regarded as a textbook of glacier science (Gletscherkunde has a less wide meaning than “Glaciology”) and as such claims a considerable measure of success. But the authors wrote under the handicap of the war years, so that some of the more recent contributions to the subject arc missing. Even the narrower Gletscherkunde embraces a big field and it seems desirable to give here the chapter headings into which the authors have divided it: I. The Region of Snow. The Snow Line. II. Glacier Forms. III. Glacier Economy. IV. The Physics of Ice. V. Temperature in Glaciers and in the Inland Ice. VI. The Structure of Ice and of Glaciers. VII. The Movement of Glaciers and Inland Ice. VIII. Moraines, Drumlins and Glaciolluvial Formations. IX. The Geographical Distribution of Glaciers. X. Glacier Fluctuations.
The general impression given is that the treatment, with perhaps the exception of the climatological section, is severely factual and that it omits discussion of the causes and mechanism of glacier phenomena. For example the chapter on Banding makes little attempt to account for the way in which the various glacier bands are formed. Forbes’ Bands arc mentioned practically without comment. It must be conceded, however, that to discuss the many theories and suggestions that have been put forward to account for glacier structures would fill a very large book indeed and might even be out of place in a textbook.
The index is not very full, a failing which is accentuated by the paucity of paragraph headings in the text. This is particularly unfortunate in a book which should assist reference. For the same reason the list of authors would have been more useful if arranged in alphabetical order. On the other hand, the bibliographies are good with the limitations mentioned earlier in this review. The photographs are excellent but all too few in number. The printing is clear and fortunately forsakes the Gothic.
In other respects, too, the work is excellent. No one has greater practical experience of glaciers in many parts of the world than von Drygalski and he has conceived his task on a broad geographical basis, neglecting no glacierized area, and has lent his ripe knowledge and great scholarship to produce a work of real importance.
