The Bering Strait Crossing: A 21st Century Frontier between East and West

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Information Architects, 2006 - History - 150 pages

The Bering Strait Crossing is the epic story of the Intercontinental Divide. The ancient waterway - when the fog clears over the Diomede Islands - is among the world’s most stunning vistas. This is where the 53-mile wide strait, named for Danish explorer Vitus Bering (1681-1741), separates four continents across the Europe-Asia landmass and the Americas.  Extremes of climate, isolation, and geopolitical tension have all interfaced to create the perception of a frozen limbo at the edge of the world. Yet the Bering Strait is the world’s geographical crossroads - linking East with West - for nowhere else on the globe is it possible to cross the Pacific Rim between Asia and the Americas.

In the modern era, various schemes have been proposed - rail, ferry, tunnel - by which to cross the strait. Since the end of the Cold War, a scheduled air service has been in place. The strait remains undefeated in terms of a terrestrial link between the USA and Russia - so far. 

The author uncovers a world-shaping revelation: that the Bering Strait has the potential to become a global shipping nexus via the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route between Europe, North America, and Asia.

The self-induced amnesia of the long Cold War years is yielding to a fresh outlook between East and West across the strait. In a world thirsty for energy resources and trade, the prospect for US-Russian cooperation across the northern Pacific Rim is tantalising in its multiplicity - and vastness - with profound implications for the global economy. In this  twenty first century, the Beringia corridors (N-S, E-W) have the potential to unite the world.

From inside the book

Contents

Captain Cooks Third Voyage
61
Beyond the Two Islands Return to the Sandwich Islands
73
W H Seward has his Way
89
Copyright

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Page 92 - Island, which point lies in the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude, and between the 131st and 133d degree of west longitude (meridian of Greenwich), the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called Portland Channel, as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the 56th degree of north latitude...
Page 93 - North Latitude, and between the 131st and the 133d Degree of West Longitude (Meridian of Greenwich), the said line shall ascend to the North along the Channel called Portland Channel, as far as the Point of the Continent where it strikes the 56th Degree of North Latitude ; from this last mentioned Point, the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the Coast, as far as the point of intersection of the lllst Degree of West Longitude (of the same Meridian) ,...
Page 93 - ... point, the line of demarcation shall follow the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude (of the same meridian) ; and finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree, in its prolongation as far as the Frozen Ocean.
Page 83 - The untransacted destiny of the American people is to subdue the continent — to rush over this vast field to the Pacific Ocean...
Page 75 - I must say, that he has delineated the coast very well, and fixed the latitude and longitude of the points better than could be expected from the methods he had to go by.
Page 49 - ... of it, the announcement, as usual, was regarded as one of my peculiarities; yet on the following day, in very clear weather, it came into view in the same place. The land was here very much elevated; the mountains, observed extending inland, were so lofty that we could see them quite plainly at sea at a distance of sixteen Dutch miles. I cannot recall having seen higher mountains anywhere in Siberia and Kamchatka. The coast was everywhere much indented and therefore provided with numerous bays...
Page 49 - We think now we have accomplished everything, and many go about greatly inflated, but they do not consider where we have reached land, how far we are from home, and what may yet happen; who knows but that perhaps trade winds may arise, which may prevent us from returning? We do not know this country; nor are we provided with supplies for a wintering.
Page 73 - Staehlm's map, and his account of the new northern archipelago, to be either exceedingly erroneous, even in latitude, or else to be a mere fiction ; a judgment which I had no right to pass upon a publication so respectably vouched, without producing the clearest...
Page 137 - I'm back in the USSR. You don't know how lucky you are boy, Back in the USSR. Been away so long I hardly knew the place. Gee it's good to be back home. Leave it till tomorrow to unpack my case. Honey disconnect the phone. Refrain Back in the US, back in the US, Back in the USSR.
Page 49 - He, however, received it all not only very indifferently and without particular pleasure, but in the presence of all he even shrugged his shoulders while looking at the land. Had the Commander survived and had he intended to take any action against his officers because of their misdoings, they would have been ready to point to his conduct then as evidence of his evilminded disposition. But the good Captain Commander was much superior to his officers in looking into the...

About the author (2006)

James A. Oliver is an international writer, editor and consultant based in Devonshire. He is the author of A Footprint in the Sand, an epic political comedy inspired by a special assignment at the end of the Cold War, and The Anarchist's Arms - a stage play set in near-future London.  

In 2006, The Bering Strait Crossing: A 21st century frontier was published worldwide.  In April 2007, James Oliver travelled to Moscow with US associates at the invitation of the Russian Academy of Sciences to discuss the World Link concept. By 2009, these materials had formed the basis for a Discovery Channel documentary on the theme. At the Shanghai World Expo 2010, the Beringia concept won the Grand Prix for innovation.

From 2007-2009, James Oliver lived on the IÎe Saint Louis in Paris, where he worked as a writer and editor with the Single European Sky (SES) project. On his return to England, he developed the script for The Pamphleteers: The Birth of Journalism, Emergence of the Press & the Fourth Estate (2010).

Strait of Gibraltar: Non Plus Ultra  End of the World (2018) is the second part of the trilogy Where Continents Meet. The projected third instalment is planned as The Bosporus: Where East meets West.

At present, he is based at a remote location for his research on the flagship essays Isle of Dogs and A Freshwater Assignment.   

James Oliver is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

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