# Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks--A Cool History of a Hot Commodity - Hardcover

by **Amy Brady** (Author)

**The unexpected and unexplored ways that ice has transformed a nation--from the foods Americans eat, to the sports they play, to the way they live today--and what its future might look like on a swiftly warming planet.**

Ice is everywhere: in gas stations, in restaurants, in hospitals, in our homes. Americans think nothing of dropping a few ice cubes into tall glasses of tea to ward off the heat of a hot summer day. Most refrigerators owned by Americans feature automatic ice machines. Ice on-demand has so revolutionized modern life that it's easy to forget that it wasn't always this way--and to overlook what aspects of society might just melt away as the planet warms.

In _Ice_, journalist and historian Amy Brady shares the strange and storied two-hundred-year-old history of ice in America: from the introduction of mixed drinks "on the rocks," to the nation's first-ever indoor ice rink, to how delicacies like ice creams and iced tea revolutionized our palates, to the ubiquitous ice machine in every motel across the US. But _Ice_ doesn't end in the past. Brady also explores the surprising present-day uses of ice in sports, medicine, and sustainable energy--including cutting-edge cryotherapy breast-cancer treatments and new refrigerator technologies that may prove to be more energy efficient--underscoring how precious this commodity is, especially in an age of climate change.

### Author Biography

**Amy Brady** is the executive director of _Orion_ magazine and coeditor of _The World as We Knew It: Dispatches from a Changing Climate_. Brady has made appearances on the BBC, NPR, and PBS. She holds a PhD in literature and American studies and has won writing and research awards from the National Science Foundation, the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference, and the Library of Congress.

**Number of Pages:** 336

**Dimensions:** 1.3 x 9.1 x 6.2 IN

**Publication Date:** June 06, 2023

## Details

- **Price:** 29.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 29.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks--A Cool History of a Hot Commodity - Hardcover

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> Updated: 2026-07-21