Russian spies. Sabotaged pipelines. Undersea communications severed in the dead of night.

Tensions are building at the top of the world and the Arctic - the fastest-warming place on Earth - stands at the crossroads of geopolitical ambition and environmental catastrophe. As thawing ice opens up new trade routes, untapped natural resources and long-frozen biological weapons, award-winning commentator Kenneth R. Rosen draws on first-hand reportage and testimony to document the race to control this strategically crucial territory. Can America, which since the 1990s has lagged behind on infrastructure, reimpose its might against the superior technology and strategic engagement of Russia and China? Above the Arctic Circle, the world's superpowers stand on the brink of a new cold war - and every day it grows hotter.

Timely and incisive, Polar War is an indispensable account of the interests, landscapes and people that define the world's most extreme frontier.