Arctic Front
Defending Canadian Interests in the Far North
by Ken Coates, Bill Morrison, Greg Poelzer, Whitney Lackenbauer
A HARD-HITTING, TIMELY AND PROVOCATIVE BOOK ABOUT THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF THE CANADIAN ARCTIC
With passion and sharp words, Arctic Front confronts Canada's longstanding neglect of the Far North and outline what needs to be done to protect our national interest.
Through a lively and engaging history of the region, Arctic Front reveals how Canadians and their governments have
ignored this region for generations
expanded Canadian sovereignty over the past hundred years by reacting to other countries' challenges
become the least effective of all circumpolar nations in responding to the needs of the Arctic
neglected our obligations to the North, including a failure to capitalize on the human and economic resources of this vast landor to establish a presence that would make any foreign claims to offshore resources inconceivable.
As global warming continues to melt the ice in the Northwest Passage and the competition for northern resources heats up, Canada, the authors warn, will be forced to defend this area from a position of grave weakness. Our leaders need to take action today, blending defense and development, to complete Canadian nation-building in this fragile region.
An energetic and engaging collaboration by four of Canada's leading Northern specialists, Arctic Front is a clarion call to all Canadians about our endangered Arctic region, challenging the country to step away from the symbols and myth-making of the past and toward the urgent political, environmental and economic realities of the 21st century.
Finished books available
RIGHTS SOLD
Canada: Thomas Allen Publishers, Fall 2008
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
(Photo: courtesy of the author)
KEN COATES was raised in Whitehorse. Some of his titles include Canada’s Colonies, The Sinking of the Princess Sophia (with Bill Morrison), The Modern North, and North to Alaska. He has worked in north-centred television documentaries, consulting northern governments and organizations, and is currently Dean of Arts, University of Waterloo.
BILL MORRISON is recognized as the most senior Canadian historian of the Canadian North. He is author of the acclaimed True North, among other titles, including The Alaska Highway in World War II, Land of the Midnight Sun, and Strange Things Done, with Ken Coates. He is currently Professor of History, University of Northern British Columbia.
GREG POELZER has years of experience in Russia and Scandinavia, and is an expert in Circumpolar affairs and the North. He is the founding Dean of Undergraduate Affairs for the University of the Arctic, and Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Saskatchewan.
WHITNEY LACKENBAUER has travelled throughout the Arctic with the Canadian Rangers. He recently published Battle Grounds: The Canadian Military and Aboriginal Land, and is currently assistant professor of History at the University of Waterloo.