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.

 

Contents

Authors Log Entry
11
Introduction
19
Pacific Rim
31
Vitus Bering
40
A Footnote to Gvozdev
55
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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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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