A groundbreaking and sweeping exploration of the Arctic—and how it’s being transformed by climate change—that blends natural history, anthropology, and travel writing, from National Geographic writer Neil Shea

As warming reshapes our planet, the Arctic—a region that once seemed unchangeable and immutable, beyond the reach of modern problems—is quickly coming undone. While the old cold world can still be glimpsed in the movements of caribou, the hidden lives of wolves, or the hunting skill of an Inupiat elder, look closer and you’ll find a new Arctic emerging in its place.

In Frostlines, Neil Shea reveals how the beauty, chaos, and power of change in the far north are reflected in the individual lives of people and animals. Structured as a revolution around the pole from east to west, Shea sojourns with a wolf pack on Canada’s Ellesmere Island and travels among the Indigenous Netsilingmiut and Tlicho peoples of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. He tracks dwindling caribou herds across Alaska and measures the potential of oil and gas developments along North America’s wildest edge. And in the European Arctic, he explores the new Cold War rising between Russia, China, Europe, and the United States over who controls the pole and will reap its riches as the ice melts. What Shea finds is not one Arctic but many—all still linked by shattering cold, seasons of darkness, and a pure, inimitable light.

Written with masterful prose and a spark of adventure, Frostlines is an expansive yet intimate revelation of the Arctic during a time of transformation, and a journey along the threshold of this stunning and sometimes frightening world that’s emerging right before our eyes.

SILVER WINNER OF THE 2026 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS

Recommended Read from Yale Climate Connections

';[Frostlines weaves] together natural history, indigenous perspective, and environmental transformation in the Arctic. The book helps bring a human story to the science of climate change.'Parade

A sweeping exploration of the Arcticand how it's being transformed by climate changefrom National Geographic writer Neil Shea

As warming reshapes our planet, the Arctica region that once seemed unchangeable, beyond the reach of modern problemsis quickly coming undone. While the old cold world can still be glimpsed in the movements of caribou, the hidden lives of wolves, and the hunting skill of an Inupiaq elder, look closer and you'll find a new Arctic appearing in its place.

In Frostlines, Neil Shea blends natural history, anthropology, and travel writing to explore how the beauty, chaos, and power of change in the far north are reflected in the lives of people and animals. He sojourns with a wolf pack on Canada's Ellesmere Island and travels with Indigenous hunters in Alaska, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. He tracks dwindling caribou herds across the top of North America, searches for vanished Vikings in Greenland, and visits the front line of the new Cold War rising between Russia and Europe. What Shea finds is not one Arctic but manyall still linked by shattering cold, seasons of darkness, and a pure, inimitable light.

Frostlines illuminates:

Written with masterful prose and a spark of adventure, Frostlines is an expansive yet intimate revelation of the Arctic during a time of transformation, and a journey along the threshold of a stunning and sometimes frightening world that's emerging right before our eyes.

A groundbreaking and sweeping exploration of the Arctic—and how it’s being transformed by climate change—that blends natural history, anthropology, and travel writing, from National Geographic writer Neil Shea

As warming reshapes our planet, the Arctic—a region that once seemed unchangeable and immutable, beyond the reach of modern problems—is quickly coming undone. While the old cold world can still be glimpsed in the movements of caribou, the hidden lives of wolves, or the hunting skill of an Inupiat elder, look closer and you’ll find a new Arctic emerging in its place.

In Frostlines, Neil Shea reveals how the beauty, chaos, and power of change in the far north are reflected in the individual lives of people and animals. Structured as a revolution around the pole from east to west, Shea sojourns with a wolf pack on Canada’s Ellesmere Island and travels among the Indigenous Netsilingmiut and Tlicho peoples of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. He tracks dwindling caribou herds across Alaska and measures the potential of oil and gas developments along North America’s wildest edge. And in the European Arctic, he explores the new Cold War rising between Russia, China, Europe, and the United States over who controls the pole and will reap its riches as the ice melts. What Shea finds is not one Arctic but many—all still linked by shattering cold, seasons of darkness, and a pure, inimitable light.

Written with masterful prose and a spark of adventure, Frostlines is an expansive yet intimate revelation of the Arctic during a time of transformation, and a journey along the threshold of this stunning and sometimes frightening world that’s emerging right before our eyes.

SILVER WINNER OF THE 2026 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS

Recommended Read from Yale Climate Connections

';[Frostlines weaves] together natural history, indigenous perspective, and environmental transformation in the Arctic. The book helps bring a human story to the science of climate change.'Parade

A sweeping exploration of the Arcticand how it's being transformed by climate changefrom National Geographic writer Neil Shea

As warming reshapes our planet, the Arctica region that once seemed unchangeable, beyond the reach of modern problemsis quickly coming undone. While the old cold world can still be glimpsed in the movements of caribou, the hidden lives of wolves, and the hunting skill of an Inupiaq elder, look closer and you'll find a new Arctic appearing in its place.

In Frostlines, Neil Shea blends natural history, anthropology, and travel writing to explore how the beauty, chaos, and power of change in the far north are reflected in the lives of people and animals. He sojourns with a wolf pack on Canada's Ellesmere Island and travels with Indigenous hunters in Alaska, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. He tracks dwindling caribou herds across the top of North America, searches for vanished Vikings in Greenland, and visits the front line of the new Cold War rising between Russia and Europe. What Shea finds is not one Arctic but manyall still linked by shattering cold, seasons of darkness, and a pure, inimitable light.

Frostlines illuminates:

Written with masterful prose and a spark of adventure, Frostlines is an expansive yet intimate revelation of the Arctic during a time of transformation, and a journey along the threshold of a stunning and sometimes frightening world that's emerging right before our eyes.