"The project that could change the world."
- James A. Oliver, Editor
The Bering Strait Project: Symposium provides a tantalising set of perspectives - from an eclectic gathering of authors - on an endeavour that remains among the greatest challenges in history: uniting the continents across the Bering Stait.
This is where the 53-mile wide strait, named for Danish explorer Vitus Bering (c.1681-1741), separates four continents across the Europe-Asia landmass and the Americas.
Often a subject of ridicule in our own era, the engineers of the late 19th century and mid-20th century had no such qualms about creating a rail-link across the Bering Strait - and without today's technology.
The archives reveal a surprise - or two: the project, proposed in the mid-19th century, was seriously considered in 1904 and again in 1942. These windows in time opened, and closed. When, then, will the next window open across this same vista?
In the early 21st century, the self-induced amnesia of the long Cold War years is gradually giving way to a fresh outlook between East and West across this ancient waterway.
In a world thirsty for energy resources and trade, the potential for US-Russian cooperation across the northern Pacific Rim remains vast.
