This is an unusual book. Effectively its intention is to alert the Canadian government and people to the dangers posed to the nation when navigation through the Northwest Passage becomes easier due to the decline in ice cover because of global warming. The writer suggests that, as the United States has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and, hence, does not accept Canadian sovereignty over the various waterways of the Passage, Canada is vulnerable in the event of a rise in oil prices to the use of the Passage by tankers, with all the political and environmental dangers inherent in that. It is, in effect, a call to action: ‘Canada must take steps immediately to ensure that she is not caught unawares on this subject. It is already quite late in the game’ (page 5).
But this only covers the last section of the book, from pages 163 to 196. Before this there are two sections that seem more or less unconnected with the main thrust of the book save that they centre on aspects of the history of the Northwest Passage, and touch on a large number of others. These are Roald Amundsen's Gjøa expedition of 1903-06 and Henry Larsen's voyages through the passage in St Roch in 1940-42 and 1944. Moreover, and adding to the oddity of the book, these vary greatly in length. On Amundsen we have approximately 100 pages. On Larsen, whose activities were far more related to the putative point of the volume, namely the assertion of Canadian sovereignty, and whose story is a good deal more complex, we have only approximately 55 pages.
The section on the Amundsen expedition is fairly conventional. It starts with a chapter entitled ‘The Silk Road and the Strait of Anian,’ which is self-explanatory, and then continues with an account of the early life of Amundsen, leading up to the Gjøa expedition. This includes, of course, a treatment of the Belgica expedition. The account of Gjøa is also conventional but the author does stress that this was, in part, a scientific expedition, since Amundsen devoted great attention to magnetic studies during the course of it. This was because the expedition spent considerable time in the vicinity of the Magnetic North Pole. He also refers at length to the question of the relations between Amundsen's men and the local Inuit. He quotes (twice) Amundsen's comment that his ‘sincerest wish’ was ‘that civilization may never reach them.’ This was despite the fact that if Amundsen had really meant this, he would have removed himself and Gjøa from the harbour in which the meetings with the Inuit took place as soon as possible and not remained there for a second winter, during which a large group of Inuit settled in the vicinity of the ship. Moreover, he would not have taken Manni, a young Inuit from Gjoa Haven, with the aim of transporting him to Norway ‘to receive an education.’ In the event, the unfortunate Manni drowned in July 1906 while Gjøa was iced in at Herschel Island.
The section on Henry Larsen is informative. This reviewer is always surprised to be reminded that, when Larsen was confirmed as Captain of St Roch, he held the lowly rank of Constable in the RCMP, and was only promoted Corporal on 1 April 1929. The treatment of the great voyages of St Roch through the Northwest Passage under Larsen's command is probably the best part of the book. In particular, the account of the death of ‘Frenchy’ Chartrand and Larsen's great journey to summon Father Henri Pierre to officiate at his funeral is very interesting, and demonstrates, if demonstration were required, the great leadership qualities shown by Larsen during his command of the vessel.
With the death of Larsen at 65 in 1964, then holding the rank of Superintendent, we are pitched straight into the politics of the twenty-first century, and the book descends into being a polemic.
There are four chapters on the threat to Canada posed by global warming and the opening up of a northern sea route through the islands of the north. These are unlikely to convey anything new to readers of Polar Record, but there are some interesting extracts from speeches made by politicians. Revealing the political agenda behind the book, there is also a ‘Suggested Non-Inclusive List of Issues to Be Addressed in a Master Fundamental Plan under the proposed Canadian Northwest Passage Commission.’ These include the development of an ‘ironclad’ legal case for Canadian Arctic sovereignty, the development of plans for the surveillance of the Passage, the procurement of icebreakers, and so forth.
Unfortunately, the book is littered with examples of poor style and proof reading. We have on page 37, for example, the fact that Amundsen ‘lost no time’ in issuing an order and, in the same sentence, that Ristvedt ‘lost no time’ in complying with it. On the next page, a sentence ends in a comma only to continue indented on the next line. On page 49, we have King William Island and Prince William Island in the same paragraph. Spitsbergen is Spitzbergen throughout, and, on page 101, we are informed that it is now Svalbard, except in the index where it becomes Sualberg. On the same page Bjørnøya becomes Bjfrnfya and in the notes on page 196, the Deutsche Seewarte Institute is the German Navel Observatory!
The book is well presented with useful maps and illustrations, and there is a reproduction on the cover of a wonderful painting by Lauritz Haaland entitled ‘Gjøa sailing the Northwest Passage.’ However, in conception it is fundamentally flawed. The connection between Amundsen's voyage and the current and future threats to the Canadian north is tenuous, and, as a result, the book lacks focus. It could be a history of Amundsen's and Larsen's voyages or it could be an analysis of the current political situation with regard to the seaway, but it can hardly be both. One concludes that the editorial process adopted by the publishers is inefficient both with regard to concept and execution. The book should not have been allowed to reach the public in its present state.
