So You Want to Own Greenland?: Lessons from the Vikings to Trump

Summary

Why do despots over the centuries keep wanting to own Greenland? The fascinating, calamitous story of the many who’ve tried . . . and uniformly failed . . .

An indispensable guide to Greenland—why it matters, and how it could become the next global flashpoint.

Ever since its discovery Greenland has been a frontier for human exploration, empire and geostrategic competition. This book delves into that rich history and complex politics, revealing how a country of just 56,000 inhabitants, 80% of which is above the Arctic Circle, has shaped—and been shaped by—the world.

Elizabeth Buchanan’s short history begins with Erik the Red and the Vikings, Greenland’s first colonizers—whose settlement of over 2,000 people mysteriously disappeared. She explores the island’s evolution from a Danish possession into an autonomous territory, and its role in the World War II, when soldiers from the US helped Greenland’s 15-man army, operating on dogsleds, capture Nazis trying to set up secret, remote surveillance outposts. She details how Greenland became a strategic hot spot in the Cold War arms race between the U.S. and Russia — when the US built a nuclear-powered base under the Greenland icesheet, and President Kennedy devised Project Iceworm, a plan to deploy 600 ballistic ice-hidden missiles there.

Finally, she dissects Greenland’s position today at the center of a new “great game,” featuring Cold War belligerents the U.S. and Russia and now China, and the mounting domestic pressures for independence—not to mention President Trump’s agenda to acquire the landmass.

Buchanan poses provocative yet compelling scenarios for Greenland’s future, providing an essential listen for anyone curious about this frozen frontier and its place on the world stage.