The Dundurn Arctic Culture and Sovereignty Library

The Dundurn Arctic Culture and Sovereignty Library
Author: Michael Posluns
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 1835
Release: 2014-05-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1459729560

This special bundle is your essential guide to all things concerning Canada’s polar regions, which make up the majority of Canada’s territory but are places most of us will never visit. The Arctic has played a key role in Canada’s history and in the history of the indigenous peoples of this land, and the area will only become more strategically and economically important in the future. This bundle provides an in-depth crash course, including titles on Arctic exploration (Arctic Obsession), Native issues (Arctic Twilight), sovereignty (In the Shadow of the Pole), adventure and survival (Death Wins in the Arctic), and military issues (Arctic Front). Let this collection be your guide to the far reaches of this country. Arctic Front Arctic Naturalist Arctic Obsession Arctic Revolution Arctic Twilight Death Wins in the Arctic In the Shadow of the Pole Pike’s Portage Voices From the Odeyak

Acts of Occupation

Acts of Occupation
Author: Janice Cavell
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0774818700

As climate change threatens to open the Northwest Passage to ice-free travel, Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic has come to the fore. Although Canada’s claim to the Arctic archipelago is now firmly entrenched in the minds of Canadians, less than a century ago, that claim was much less secure. Acts of Occupation draws on a wealth of previously untapped archival sources to piece together the engrossing story of how one explorer’s self-serving ambition ultimately led Canada to craft and defend a decisive Arctic policy. Historians Cavell and Noakes show how unfounded paranoia about Danish designs on the north, fueled by a deliberate campaign of deceit and fear-mongering, was the catalyst for Canada’s active administrative occupation of the Arctic. A compelling tale, Acts of Occupation throws new light on a transformative period in the history of Canadian Arctic policy and provides much-needed historical context for contemporary debates on northern sovereignty.

Encyclopedia of the Arctic

Encyclopedia of the Arctic
Author: Mark Nuttall
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 2306
Release: 2005-09-23
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1136786805

With detailed essays on the Arctic's environment, wildlife, climate, history, exploration, resources, economics, politics, indigenous cultures and languages, conservation initiatives and more, this Encyclopedia is the only major work and comprehensive reference on this vast, complex, changing, and increasingly important part of the globe. Including 305 maps. This Encyclopedia is not only an interdisciplinary work of reference for all those involved in teaching or researching Arctic issues, but a fascinating and comprehensive resource for residents of the Arctic, and all those concerned with global environmental issues, sustainability, science, and human interactions with the environment.

Sovereignty or Security?

Sovereignty or Security?
Author: Shelagh Grant
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 077484311X

Sovereignty or Security? explores the numerous and diverse influences responsible for the dramatic change in northern policies during the 1940s and their subsequent impact on the Yukon and Northwest Territories. Apart from concern for the social, economic, and political development of the North, two major issues emerged which became central to the policy initiatives in the war and postwar years -- the question of maintaining optimum sovereign control and of providing adequate defence against possible enemy attack. As a result, Ottawa abandoned its former laissez-faire approach to northern affairs and adopted an active interventionist role, accompanied by unprecedented financial support.

Paddling the Boreal Forest

Paddling the Boreal Forest
Author: Max Finkelstein
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2004-11-29
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1770706682

The boreal forest of Quebec/Labrador -- some of the most rugged and isolated land in Canada -- has captivated avid canoeists for generations. In the latter 19th and early 20th centuries, the intrepid A.P. Low of the Geological Survey of Canada spent, in total, more than ten years of his working life surveying the area. Employing Aboriginal canoemen and guides, he travelled by canoe, snowshoe and sailing vessel to map and document much of this vast territory. Challenged by the mystique of this extraordinary Canadian, canoeists Max Finkelstein and James Stone retraced Low's routes -- by their admission, their toughest canoe trip ever! Using archival sources, oral history and personal experience, they tell the story of A.P. Low and, in the process, reveal the environmental issues now facing this much threatened Canadian wilderness. "Once again Max Finkelstein has blessed us with his incredible ability to make history of exploration come alive. Rather than sit behind a desk and try to imagine the 'misadventures' Low would have had, he goes out and duplicates them, and along the way creates a few tales of his own. This is one great read and we should be thankful that people like Max and Jim Stone exist in this world of ours." - Kevin Callan, well-known author and canoeist "From A.P. Low's logs and reports, Max Finkelstein and Jim Stone give vitality to that great geological surveyor. Interspersed are vivid accounts of their own challenging canoe voyages on the same rivers and portages of the boreal forest and rock in the James Bay/Ungava/Labrador country of the Cree, Innu and Inuit. What emerges is an eloquent testimonial for the wilderness canoe trip in the Canadian experience." — Bruce W. Hodgins, Emeritus Professor of History, Trent University; President, Camp Wanapitei; Member, Advisory Council, Canadian Canoe Museum

Ships of Wood and Men of Iron

Ships of Wood and Men of Iron
Author: Gerard Kenney
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2005-09-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1897045069

A history of explorations of the Arctic in Canada, beginning with Otto Sverdrup's 1898?1902 Norwegian expedition.

Dangerous Passage

Dangerous Passage
Author: Gerard Kenney
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2006-05-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1459711203

Over the five hundred or so years that man searched for an elusive sea passage from Europe to Asia through the North American land mass, dozens of ships were lost and hundreds of mariners died. Eventually, a sea route stretching through the waters of the archipelago and along Canada's mainland Arctic coast was pieced together. But could ships navigate the Northwest Passage to the extent that it could be used as an international shipping route? Two seagoing captains and their ships -- a Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, and a Canadian of Norwegian birth, Henry Asbjorn Larsen -- answered that question in the first half of the 20th century. The first part of this book recounts their successful efforts. The second part addresses the many unsettling environmental and sovereignty issues concerning the future of the Northwest Passage in this time of melting ice caps, glaciers and sea ice in the Arctic.

Exploring Polar Frontiers [2 volumes]

Exploring Polar Frontiers [2 volumes]
Author: William James Mills
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 844
Release: 2003-12-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1576074234

Covers the entire history of Arctic and Antarctic exploration, from the voyage of Pytheas ca. 325 B.C. to the present, in one convenient, comprehensive reference resource. Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia is the only reference work that provides a comprehensive history of polar exploration from the ancient period through the present day. The author is a noted polar scholar and offers dramatic accounts of all major explorers and their expeditions, together with separate exploration histories for specific islands, regions, and uncharted waters. He presents a wealth of fascinating information under a variety of subject entries including methods of transport, myths, achievements, and record-breaking activities. By approaching polar exploration biographically, geographically, and topically, Mills reveals a number of intriguing connections between the various explorers, their patrons and times, and the process of discovery in all areas of the polar regions. Furthermore, he provides the reader with a clear understanding of the intellectual climate as well as the dominant social, economic, and political forces surrounding each expedition. Readers will learn why the journeys were undertaken, not just where, when, and how.

Ships of Wood and Men of Iron

Ships of Wood and Men of Iron
Author: Gerard Kenney
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2005-09-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1770704477

In the barren lands of Canada far north of the Arctic circle, summers are quick and cool, mere short interruptions in the true business of the polar regions, winter. Winters there can be dangerous with temperatures that plunge to awesome depths during the long, lonely hours of Arctic darkness. Powerful blizzards shriek across the land for days at a time, causing all animal life to seek shelter from the cutting blast, essentially putting a temporary end to normal activities of life, such as travelling and eating. It is an unforgiving land that does not easily suffer fools. Over 100 years ago, in June 1898, Captain Otto Sverdrup and 15 crewmen put out to sea aboard the schooner Fram from the Norwegian city today known as Oslo. When they returned to Norway four years later, they came back with a record of geographic and scientific discovery, the richness of which is unparalleled in the annals of Arctic exploration. The first section of this book is the story of those four heroic years spent in the High Arctic and their impact on Canadas subsequent efforts to ensure Canadian sovereignty in the area of the Norwegian discoveries. The second section of the book deals with the Canadian Arctic expeditions between 1903 and 1948, led by intrepid men such as A.P. Low, Joseph E. Bernier, Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Henry Larsen. "For anyone interested in the recent history of the Canadian North and why we even call it the Canadian North Ships of Wood and Men of Iron is a must read. Kenney persuasively nominates a shortlist of new national heroes for a country badly in need of them." - Randy Boswell, CanWest News Service "In my view, this book will be an important document about Canada-Norway relations in the North, especially considering the increased international emphasis now on circumpolar relations in the North." - Shirley Wolff Serafini, Canadian Ambassador to Norway "This book is a well deserved recognition of one of Norways most famous polar explorers and his invaluable contributions to the exploration and development of science in the Canadian Arctic. Gerard Kenney’s book also sheds an interesting new light on the history of the final settlement of Norways territorial claim of the Sverdrup Islands." - Ingvard Havnen, former Norwegian Ambassador to Canada