Peter J. Marchand’s Life in the Cold remains the one book that offers a comprehensive picture of the interactions of plants and animals—including humans—with their cold-weather environment. Focusing on the problems of “winter-active” organisms, Marchand illuminates the many challenges of sustaining life in places that demand extraordinary adaptations. The fourth edition of this classic text includes a new chapter on climate change and its effects on plants and animals wintering in the North.

PETER J. MARCHAND is trained in earth sciences and ecosystem analysis. He earned his doctorate studying winter stresses at tree line in the northern Appalachian Mountains, and has devoted much of his career to investigating all aspects of winter ecology. He currently resides in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where he serves as principal investigator at the Catamount Center Biological Field Station. In addition to Life in the Cold, he is the author of Nature Guide to the Northern Forest (AMC Books, 2010).