In The Fall of the Glaciers, it’s the ability ice has to tell a deeper story about who we are, where we come from, and where we are going that forms the nerve of the narrative. Long before becoming one of Scandinavia’s most renowned biologists, Dag O. Hessen spent his summers navigating the crevasses of Norway’s majestic glaciers. Decades later, as climate change accelerates and ancient ice recedes, Hessen returns to these blue cathedrals to confront a profound global phenomenon: the beauty, science, and collective grief surrounding the world’s disappearing glaciers.

What can more effectively convey the story of tipping points and a warmer planet than a glacier that melts more in summer than it grows in winter?

With The Fall of the Glaciers, Hessen completes a trilogy destined to become a pillar of Norwegian non-fiction, building on Wolverine Tracks (2023) and Bird’s-Eye View (2025). While each book stands on its own, they are bound together by Hessen’s personal and scientific reflections on the natural world and humanity’s place within its accelerating changes.

“In a level-headed and knowledgeable manner, Hessen navigates such dizzying spans of time (...) Besides inspired accounts of his own experiences with glaciers, Hessen offers both the history of science and cultural history ... he [elaborates on] how the loss of nature carries cultural and existential dimensions (...)"
Morgenbladet