The Bering Strait Crossing: Part 1 A 21st Century Frontier Between East and West

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. Isolation, extremes of climate, and geopolitical tensions have 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 overland, between Asia and the Americas. In the modern era, several 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.In the early 21st century, 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. James A. Oliver blends geography, exploration and international relations to recount a story that has, incredibly, been lost to the archives - but which belongs to the future as much as to the past. The Bering Strait Crossing is an adventure story that is still unfolding, and which, in the 21st century, stands as a frontier with new challenges on the horizon ...From East and West, enter a cast of extraordinary protagonists: Pliny, Mercator, Dezhnev, Vitus Bering, Shelikhov, Captain Cook, William Gilpin, Roald Amundsen, and - since the end of the Cold War - George Koumal, whose vision for a mighty project to cross the strait is worthy of Jules Verne's Voyages Extraordinaire..."The Bering Strait crossing has a deep, worldwide significance." - Dr Yutaka Mochida

Table of Contents:
Author's Log Entry Introduction EVENT HORIZONS Pacific Rim Beringia meltdown Deshnev Vitus Bering A Footnote to Gorlov Shelikhov, Natalia, and the Making of Russian America Captain James Cook's Third Voyage William Gilpin's Dream W.H. Seward has his Way The Men from the Telegraph: Perry Collins vs. Cyrus Field E.H. Harriman: The Manchurian Candidate Baron Loicq de Lobel Harry de Windt Summer, 1942 COLD WAR, ICE CURTAIN THE CROSSING International Date Line North Pacific The Arctic Northwest Passage - Northern Sea Route The Strait The Diomede Islands Air Corridor The Bering Strait Ferry? Northern Sea Routes of the 21st century When a Bridge is Not a Bridge George Koumal's Super Project Inter-continental Divide APPENDIX Vitus Bering's Report from Okhutsk (First Voyage) Travel Across the Bering Strait: What Is Necessary to Know (Courtesy: SOURCES INDEX

About the Author :
James A. Oliver is an international writer, editor, and journalist. He is the author of the novel "A Footprint in the Sand", a political comedy inspired by the end of the Cold War, and the "The Anarchist's Arms" (a play) set in near-future London. James Oliver's non-fiction title,"The Bering Strait Crossing: A 21st Century Frontier" is available in hardback and paperback worldwide.