A Recommended Read from Yale Climate Connections “[ Frostlines weaves] together natural
history indigenous perspective and environmental transformation in the Arctic. The book helps
bring a human story to the science of climate change.”— Parade A sweeping exploration of the
Arctic—and how it’s being transformed by climate change—from National Geographic writer Neil
Shea As warming reshapes our planet the Arctic—a region that once seemed unchangeable beyond
the reach of modern problems—is quickly coming undone. While the old cold world can still be
glimpsed in the movements of caribou the hidden lives of wolves and the hunting skill of an
Iñupiaq elder look closer and you’ll find a new Arctic appearing in its place. In Frostlines
Neil Shea blends natural history anthropology and travel writing to explore how the beauty
chaos and power of change in the far north are reflected in the lives of people and animals.
He sojourns with a wolf pack on Canada’s Ellesmere Island and travels with Indigenous hunters
in Alaska Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. He tracks dwindling caribou herds across the
top of North America searches for vanished Vikings in Greenland and visits the front line of
the new Cold War rising between Russia and Europe. What Shea finds is not one Arctic but
many—all still linked by shattering cold seasons of darkness and a pure inimitable light.
Frostlines illuminates: How Greenland’s history has led to Trump’s interest in [or obsession
with] the country today How Russia is using the Arctic as a testing ground for geopolitical
confrontations Why oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will further threaten
Indigenous people and animals Why increased ship traffic in the Northwest Passage has profound
consequences for the Inuit and global politics Written with masterful prose and a spark of
adventure Frostlines is an expansive yet intimate revelation of the Arctic during a time of
transformation and a journey along the threshold of a stunning and sometimes frightening world
that’s emerging right before our eyes.
