Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic

by Kenneth R. Rosen

A gripping blend of travelogue and frontline reporting that reveals how climate change, military ambition, and economic opportunity are transforming the Arctic into the epicenter of a new cold war, where a struggle for dominance between the planet’s great powers heralds the next global conflict.

Russian spies. Nuclear submarines. Sabotaged pipelines. Undersea communications severed in the dark of night. The fastest-warming place on earth—where apartment buildings, hospitals, and homes crumble daily as permafrost melts and villages get washed away by rising seas—the Arctic stands at the crossroads of geopolitical ambition and environmental catastrophe. As climate change thaws the northern latitudes, opening once ice-bound shipping lanes and access to natural resources, the world’s military powers are rushing to stake their claims in this increasingly strategic region. We’ve entered a new cold war—and every day it grows hotter.

In Polar War, Kenneth R. Rosen takes readers on an extraordinary journey across the changing face of the far north. Through intimate portraits of scientists, soldiers, and Indigenous community leaders representing the interests of twenty-one countries across four continents, he witnesses firsthand how rising temperatures and growing tensions are reshaping life above and below the Arctic Circle. He finds himself on the trail of Navy SEALs training for arctic warfare, embarks on Coast Guard patrols monitoring Russian incursions, participates in close-quarter-combat training aboard foreign icebreakers in the Arctic sea ice, and visits remote research stations where international cooperation is giving way to espionage and the search for long-frozen biological weapons.

Drawing on hundreds of interviews and three years of reporting from the frontlines of climate change and great power competition, Rosen blends incisive analysis with the vivid immediacy of a travelogue. His deeply researched and personal accounts capture the diverse landscapes, people, and conflicted interests that define this complex northern region. The result is both an elegy for a vanishing landscape and an urgent warning about how the race for Arctic dominance could spark the next global conflict.

Genres: Politics

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication January 6, 2026

About the author

Kenneth R. Rosen has written for the New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, VQR, and the Atlantic. He spent seven years at the New York Times, his hometown newspaper, and now divides his time between northern Italy and Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Nancy Yager · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the title Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting Arctic, I went in expecting something closer to a narrative-style nonfiction book: real-life stories, vivid scenes, maybe a blend of history and almost thriller-like storytelling set in a fascinating, remote region. Instead, what I found felt much more like a heavily political and critical overview of the Arctic as a contested space.

The book does cover important topics—geopolitics, climate change, military strategy, and the race for influence in a rapidly changing environment. But for me, the tone came across as consistently negative in how it framed the region and its future. I wasn’t bothered by the climate change discussion itself; that’s obviously central to any serious examination of the Arctic. What didn’t work for me was the way the overall narrative seemed to lean so hard into the bleakness and political angle that it drowned out the sense of place and the human stories I was hoping for.

Based on the description, I expected more of a “story” about submarines, spies, and specific people on the ground (and under the water), maybe through case studies or narrative arcs I could follow.
Instead, the book felt more like a broad, somewhat pessimistic survey. I kept waiting to be pulled into something more personal or immersive—local communities, historical moments, individuals whose lives intersect with this conflict—but those kinds of elements felt limited or overshadowed by the big-picture commentary.

Because of that, the book felt like a missed opportunity. The Arctic is an incredibly interesting and complex region, rich with culture, history, and real human stakes behind the politics. I believe there are so many stories waiting to be told there—stories that could have balanced the necessary warnings about climate and power struggles with nuance, complexity, and maybe even some hope or curiosity. Instead, the focus stayed so firmly on the darker, geopolitical aspects that it became a bit of a slog for me as a reader.

Readers who primarily want a political and strategic overview of the Arctic might get more out of this than I did. But if you’re looking for a narrative-driven exploration of submarines, espionage, and life in a changing polar world, this may not scratch that itch. For me, the tone and approach just didn’t match what I was expecting, and I came away more disappointed than informed or inspired. However, Rosen has peeked my curiosity about the region, I will seek further information about the Arctic. There has to be something good to say.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy.

[Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC

I'd like to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read "Polar War" early in return for an honest review.

Finding the intersections between climate change and global tensions within the arctic is a vastly interesting topic. This book takes an examination at the relations between the two, highlighting the author's personal experiences and historic examples of tensions in the area. As intriguing as this topic is, Rosen, unfortunately, tells it in a very dry, matter-of-fact way, which makes it quite difficult to sit down and enjoy. His personal anecdotes make the read feel like it has life, but the second he begins to dive into any other related topic, it becomes quite difficult to commit to finishing. Each chapter has a very broad topic of discussion, which leads to a lot of jumping around within the chapters, and as someone who doesn't have the biggest background within these topics, I found it difficult to follow along with where he was going. As I said, this is a very interesting topic, I just found this to be a bit of a difficult read, as it read more as a textbook, which did teach me new things, it just took a while to actually get to the meat of the topics.

Be sure to check this book out when it is published on January 5, 2026.

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently, we hear so much about the strategic importance of the Arctic, with Greenland as the most famous example. But what does it mean in practice, and what are particular countries doing about it? Kennet R. Rosen decided to find out.

“The consequences of militarization and a warming planet were barely a footnote in many nations’ global ambitions until about 2010 or so. Russia is leading the charge, with more military bases in the arctic, greater competency in cold-weather operations, and a fleet of icebreakers that dwarfs the maritime arctic fleets of every other nation. America and its allies have played catchup” - he summarized his observations at the end of this book. His opinions are based not only on extensive travels to all polar regions but also countless meetings and conversations with experts, scientists, military representatives and local people.

A very timely and informative book, must-read to anyone interested in geopolitics.

Thanks to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Yvonne Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was quite a journey. The author spares no details in his account of what's happening in the Arctic as a result of climate change, not least because the world's most powerful countries are jostling to take advantage of the warming planet and all the minerals and other resources that will become accessible as the permafrost melts. Everywhere you turn, Russia, China, and the USA are facing off against each other to the point where a hot war in this cold place is looking more and more likely. The contrast between the beauty and inaccessibility of the Arctic as we know it and the future where it's very likely to become ground zero in the next global conflict is heartbreaking. The amount of information in the book is almost overwhelming, but it's something that people really need to know.