Think the frigid Northeastern winters are unbearable even under layers of GorTex? Imagine the challenges that 30-below temperatures bring to the tiny gold-crowned kinglet, which weighs in at a fifth of an ounce. Or how the snapper turtle can exist at the bottom of ponds for the duration of the season without coming up for air.
In his new book, "Winter World," University of Vermont biologist Bernd Heinrich offers a fascinating look at the amazing adaptability and ingenuity -- which in many cases, defy the laws of physics -- enabling animals large and small to survive harsh New England winters. A better understanding of this remarkable physiology, he notes, may one day shed light on the mechanisms of the human body.
A veteran natural history writer, marathon runner and author of eight books, Heinrich was inspired to write "Winter World" by the course in winter ecology he teaches to University of Vermont students each year.
In uncomplicated and engrossing language that will appeal to both natural history buffs and general readers, Heinrich describes and depicts in detailed illustrations the bustling landscape that lies under the seemingly quiet Maine woods he has studied since his boyhood.
"He richly deserves comparisons to Thoreau," says the Washington Post of Heinrich, whose first book, "Bumblebee Economics," was nominated for a National Book Award. "Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival," was published this month by Ecco/HarperCollins.
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