Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World

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Kieran Mulvaney

Arctic Passages

Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World

Kieran Mulvaney

$65.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Island Press
13 May 2025

Geopolitics; Geographical discovery & exploration; Global warming; The Earth: natural history general; Expeditions

Almost two centuries after British explorer Sir John Franklin and his men died amid paralyzing cold and ice in pursuit of the mythical Northwest Passage, the Arctic—in response to temperatures greater than at any time in the last ten thousand years—is melting at an alarming pace. Instead of heeding this clear sign that the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent runaway warming, countries such as the United States, Russia, China, and Canada are instead racing to control newly ice free waters and the riches in the seabed below. But by choosing short term self interest over cooperative action, they may be condemning the world to an uninhabitable future.

Uniquely among books on climate change and the Arctic, Arctic Passages ties together past, present, and future, showing how historical fancies of a navigable Arctic are becoming future realities. In fast paced storytelling packed with surprising revelations, journalist Kieran Mulvaney argues that today’s emerging geopolitical rivalries have roots in earlier waves of exploration and that the future prospect of a developed Arctic, with navigable passages to equal the Suez and Panama Canals, is drowning out the real impacts of warming on Arctic peoples, wildlife, and ecosystems. Mulvaney reminds us that while we go about our lives, climate change is unspooling slowly but insidiously, spawning extreme weather events that will be increasingly difficult to ignore. He asks: if governments shrug their shoulders at the five alarm fire at the top of the world, what is the likelihood they’ll respond to the emerging climate crises across the rest of the planet?

Arctic Passages speaks to those fascinated by the potent intertwining of environmental and geopolitical issues. Ultimately, the fate of the Arctic will not be decided in the Arctic, but by the rest of the world and how it decides to take action—if it’s not too late.

By: Kieran Mulvaney
Imprint: Island Press
Country of Publication: United States
ISBN: 9781642832075
ISBN 10: 1642832073
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 13 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Kieran Mulvaney is a journalist who has written for National Geographic, The Guardian, The Washington Post Magazine, BBC Wildlife, New Scientist, E Magazine, and other publications, and has authored three books. Born in England, he spent several years living in a cabin in Alaska and visits the Arctic and subarctic regularly. He now lives in rural Vermont.

Reviews for Arctic Passages: Ice, Exploration, and the Battle for Power at the Top of the World

""Arctic Passages is Kieran Mulvaney's comprehensive study of one of the world's most mysterious and significant geopolitical flashpoints.... The Arctic's complicated allure shows forth in the book's pages. It traces the region's development in the popular imagination through the imperial ambitions of the British, Russians, Swedes, and Finns, up to the tense treaty-making of the nuclear era. Throughout, the Arctic's precipitous warming is studied not only for its devastating ecological implications but for global superpowers' maneuvers to capitalize on possible new trade opportunities."" -- ""Foreword Reviews""