In 1941, before the United States entered the war, the State Department called on the Coast Guard to patrol Greenland's coasts…. Before the war was over, the eight-ship American Greenland Patrol captured one German weather ship and sank another.

The Greenland Patrol is the focus of Sloan Wilson's novel, "Ice Brothers."…

"Ice Brothers" is smoothly written and cleverly plotted. Wilson's fictional accounts of two sea and air battles seem plausible and realistic. Set against the frozen adventures of the crew of the converted trawler Arluk is the story of Wilson's hero, 22-year-old college drop-out Paul Schuman. Paul's adventures fighting the Germans are played out against his internal battles….

The Eskimos of Greenland are important characters as well. Wilson portrays them as innocent victims of German aggression, Danish colonialism, and American sailors' enthusiasm. It is the Eskimos who provide the book's title. "The Eskimos have a saying," a Danish official...