3 Review(s)

A vivid, visionary exploration of the Arctic, the forces that have shaped it, and its emergence onto the main stage of global affairs. Previously always at the margins of global affairs, the Arctic has now found its way to the centre of the issues which will challenge and define our world in the twenty-first century. The region is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet and its future is uncertain, with the rush to claim the territory one of the ugliest aspects of the hydrocarbon era. In The Future History of the Arctic, geopolitics expert Charles Emmerson weaves together the history of the region with reportage and reflection, revealing a vast and complex area, loaded with opportunity and rich in challenges. Travelling from the oil-fields of Prudhoe Bay and the Russian port of Murmansk to the shores of Greenland and the militarised borderlands of northern Norway we learn how the Arctic nations have used the area's resources, and how past ideas frame the future.