Preface -- Introduction -- The Great Dismal Swamp -- Central Park -- Peat and endangered species -- Tropical peat -- Ash meadows, ancient bogs, and desert fens -- Sasquatches of the swamps -- Peat and reptiles -- Mountain peat -- Ring of fire: the Hudson Bay lowlands -- Pingos, polygons, and frozen peat -- Tundra beavers, saltwater trout, and barren-ground grizzly bears -- Portals to the Otherworld -- "Growing peat" -- Conclusion.