1. Bill Streever, a cold enthusiast, takes a positive outlook on cold and its effects in this book. But there are certainly negatives to extreme cold as well. How does Streever balance the beauty that cold brings with the drama and dangers of cold’s extremes?

2. Did you think Streever evoked the feeling of cold in his writing? In what ways did the language of his narrative bring the subject to life?

3. Streever gives many examples of how plants and animals have made adaptations to survive in cold climates. What strikes youas the most ingenious or impressive strategy employed by a living thing to survive the cold?

4. Discuss the implications of our warming earth and how the loss of cold will affect our environment and our culture.

5. What were some of the most surprising or interesting cold facts that you learned from this book?

6. What do you think inspired the earliest explorers to investigate the extreme climates of the North Pole and Antarctica, despite the hardships and severe risks? What did we ultimately learn from their journeys?

7. Cold reveals that Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was created while Shelley was cooped up during the incredibly cold summer of 1816. What are some of your favorite stories that take place in a cold climate, or that feature cold weather as an important part of the tale?

8. Has Streever’s book changed your outlook on the cold in any way? If so, how? What do you appreciate about the cold, and what, if anything, turns you off from the cold?

9. What are some of your favorite cold-weather activities? How do you manage to stay warm while appreciating the cold weather outdoors?

10. What’s the coldest weather you’ve ever braved?