Winter has shaped Canada s image and has been embraced with hearty enthusiasm from snowshoeing hikers in the nineteenth century, to future hockey stars on backyard rinks, to the indoor spectacle of figure-skating carnivals and curling bonspiels. Much of our literature, our songs, and our memories of youth reflect the bracing tonic that winter brings even as we curse the ice-laden roads on morning commutes or during weekend ski trips.

But alas, winter s demise to a weak reminder of its former glory is a real possibility as climate change wreaks long-term havoc. This timely book...