The Cold Vanish

Reviews

"[A] compassionate and riveting non-fiction dive into wilderness disappearances."—MacLean's "It's a rare book that makes the hair stand up on your neck and pierces your heart all at once. With The Cold Vanish, Jon Billman has created a breath-taking genre all his own: the search-and-rescue of wandering souls. I was captivated from start to finish."—Alyson Hagy, author of Scribe and Boleto "Required reading for anyone concerned about the missing, Billman's authentic and encyclopedic book leads us across the landscapes of the vanished with a journalist's acumen and a searcher's sympathy. It's both true and useful, a storytelling textbook I wish I'd read before my own son went missing."—Roman Dial, author of The Adventurer's Son "A shocking, gut-wrenching, thriller-paced investigation into America's "silent mass disaster" of people who have disappeared through the invisible membrane at the edge of even the shortest hike. . . The Cold Vanish belongs in the front rank of outdoor narrative nonfiction, with Krakauer, Matthiessen, Chatwin. And throw in Stephen King, there is horror here. Written with understated compassion, The Cold Vanish will take you deeper than you ever hope to go into the wild, and it will break your heart."—Peter Nichols, bestselling author of A Voyage for Madmen, The Rocks "A harrowing collection of real-life wilderness ghost stories, proving that - even in this era of GPS and Instagram - it is still quite possible to get lost out there."—Bill Gifford, New York Times bestselling author of Spring Chicken "A compassionate, sympathetic, and haunting book sure to make you think twice before stepping out into the wilderness alone."—Kirkus (starred review) "Most of us prefer to measure and celebrate nature in terms of its tendency to delight, to inspire, to instill awe. But there is another metric by which the power of wilderness can be calibrated, which lies in its capacity to take us between its teeth, tear us asunder, and swallow up whatever is left with such ruthless efficiency that no trace remains. Thanks to Jon Billman's talent for wielding words with the chilling precision of a scalpel, The Cold Vanish lays open nature's capacity to evoke terror in a way that will give you pause the next time you think about venturing into the backcountry. Haunting, spooky, and propulsive." —Kevin Fedarko, author of The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon "Colorful side characters, like psychics and Bigfoot hunters, provide some light moments, but what makes a lasting impression is the story of Randy and his ultimately dashed hopes of finding his son alive. The author's personal involvement makes this tale all the more affecting."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The Cold Vanish is part mystery, part glance into a world of heroes and charlatans, death, and loss that most of us, fortunately, do not know, and don't want to know, but perhaps should. The Cold Vanish is informative, and in a sad way, captivating and well worth a read."—National Parks Traveler "Through deep research and personal investigation, Jon Billman has crafted the definitive account of the baffling stories of people who go missing in the wilderness. The Cold Vanish is provocative, disturbing, compulsively readable-and a brilliant achievement."—David Roberts, author of The Mountain of My Fear and Deborah Expand reviews