“This book is a ‘must read’ for every Canadian who is interested in the history of the Arctic.” —Policy Options

“Grant’s Polar Imperative is the first really detailed study of 200 years of North American sovereignty in the Arctic, written from a Canadian vantage point but with excellent documentation of American, Danish, British and Norwegian histories.” —Globe and Mail

“Grant knows this stuff better than anyone and has always told her complex tales well.” —Toronto Star

Winner of the 2011 Lionel Gelber Prize
Winner for the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize
Shortlisted for the 2010 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

Based on Shelagh Grant ’s groundbreaking archival research and drawing on her reputation as a leading historian in the field, Polar Imperative is a compelling overview of the historical claims of sovereignty over this continent’s polar regions. This engaging, timely history examines:

The unfolding implications of major climate changes
The impact of resource exploitation on the indigenous peoples
The current high-stakes game for control over the adjacent waters of Alaska, Arctic Canada and Greenland
The events, issues and strategies that have influenced claims to authority over the lands and waters of the North American Arctic, from the arrival of the first inhabitants around 3,000 BCE to the present
Sovereignty from a comparative point of view within North America and parallel situations in the European and Asian Arctic

Told from a Canadian perspective, this book will become a standard reference on Arctic history and will redefine North Americans’ understanding of the sovereign rights and responsibilities of Canada’s northernmost region.