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Alaska Highway & Canol Bibliography



Alaska Highway Index

    A good indication of the spirit of adventure that the Alaska Highway embodies is the number of books written about it. The list below contains most of them (almost 100 non-fiction alone, not counting travel guides!), though there are undoubtedly some I've missed. The listed titles are not all solely about the Alaska Highway or Canol, but all at least make significant commentary about the projects. The ones with cover images are the ones in our permanent collection here at ExploreNorth. Many of these publications are now out of print, but virtually all can be found through the dealer networks at AbeBooks.com or AbeBooks.co.uk.

The publications are divided ino the following sections:
Books, Non-Fiction
Books, Fiction
Travel Guides
Magazine Articles
Newspaper Articles
Films/Videos/DVDs
Ephemera


Books, Non-Fiction

Anderson, Barry C.
Lifeline to the Yukon: A History of Yukon River Navigation
Superior Publishing Company, 1983.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 152 pages, 285x220mm.
Heavy emphasis on the Alaska section of the Yukon River. The "Alcan Highway" is mentioned on pages 82-83.

Anderson, Roy
Alaska's Recreational Riches
Juneau, AK: Alaska Development Board, July 1946.
Hardcover, 71 pages, 260x210mm.
An assessment of tourism-related facilities along highway corridors.

Atwood, George H.
Along the Alcan
New York: Pageant Press, 1960.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 212 pages, 210x140mm.
Cover price: $3.50 US
"...a true account of the daily work and experiences I encountered on my two ventures into the north country while working in conjunction with the Alcan highway... from the late fall of 1942 to mid-winter of 1944..."

Baltzell, Dent
The Alcan Journal of Dent Baltzell
Rockford, OH: Dent Baltzell, 1967.
Softcover, 64 pages, 150x225mm.
A brief look at the author's drive to Fairbanks in about 1966, with sections on fishing and a sheep hunt. Includes 33 photographs.

Baskine, Gertrude
Hitch-Hiking the Alaska Highway
Toronto: MacMillan, 1944, 1946.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 317 pages, 215x145mm.
"Although hitch-hiking is actually impossible on the Alaska Military Highway, Mrs. Baskine, an intrepid globe-trotter, made her way up the whole length of that famous Highway by any conveyance upon which she could commandeer a ride, including trucks, jeeps, horses and planes. Armed with a hard-to-get Military Permit, the necessary credentials and a bona fide purpose, she set out from Dawson Creek while the Highway was still under construction and travelled mile after hazardous mile to Fairbanks, Alaska, the end of the road." (from dustjacket)

Bauer, Erwin A. and Peggy
The Alaska Highway: A Portrait of the Ultimate Road Trip
Sasquatch Books, April, 2003
Softcover, 78 pages.
ISBN: 1570612854
"In their entertaining book, Erwin and Peggy Bauer - two of the world's preeminent photographers - showcase the beauty of this vast wilderness in words and pictures. With 75 color photographs, The Alaska Highway is a lively tour and true celebration of the lure of the open road." (Amazon.com promo)

Bennett, Gordon
Yukon Transportation: A History
Ottawa: Parks Canada, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, 1978.

Boyd, Robert Platt, Jr.
Me and Company "C"
Self published, 1992.
Hardcover, dust jacket, 124 pages
The author was a Colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers, based in Carcross in 1942.

Brebner, Elizabeth
Sovereignty and the North: Canadian-American Co-operation, 1939-1945
In: Three Northern Wartime Projects: Alaska Highway, Northwest Staging Route, Canol, pp. 47-63.
Edmonton: Canadian Circumpolar Institute, 1996.

Brebner, Phyllis Lee
The Alaska Highway: A Personal and Historical Account of the Building of the Alaska Highway
Erin, Ontario: Boston Mills Press, 1985
Softcover, 80 pages.
Appears to have also been published as The Alaska Highway: The Road Through the Land of the New Totems

Brown, Earl L. (photographer) and Lyn Hancock
Alaska Highway: Road to Adventure
Fort Nelson, BC: Autumn Images, 1988.
Softcover, 32 pages, colour photographs.

Brown, Earl L. (editor)
Alcan Trail Blazers: Alaska Highway's Forgotten Heroes
Fort Nelson, BC: Autumn Images, 2005.
Softcover, 191 pages, photographs.
"This book is dedicated to the men and families of Company 'A' 648th Topographical Battalion United States Army 1942-1943." An expanded version of John K. Lloyd's 1992 book of the same title.

Brown, Tricia
The World-Famous Alaska Highway: A Guide to the Alcan and Other Wilderness Roads of the North
Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2000

Canada. Dept. of Public Works, Development Engineering Branch
Engineering study, Alaska highway
Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1966

Christy, Jim
Rough Road to the North: Travels Along the Alaska Highway
Toronto: Doubleday, 1980.
"The author has lived and worked on the highway first called the 'Alcan' or the 'Road to Toyko'. He tells of the highway and the land that it passes through, bringing the world, unknown riches and an end to a way of life. A brief history from the early trading posts to the army and then the highway of the seventies. (Ch. 1) "
Hardcover, dust jacket, 197 pages, 23 photos, 215x145mm.
ISBN: 0-385-15224-8
Cover price: $9.95

Cloe, John Haile
The Aleutian Warriors: A History of the 11th Air Force & Fleet Air Wing 4, Part I
Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories and the Anchorage Chapter, Air Force Association. 1990.
Softcover, 344 pages, illus.

Coates, Ken S.
Best Left as Indians: Native-White Relations in the Yukon Territory, 1840-1973
Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991
Among many other issues, discusses the impact of the Alaska Highway on the native population.

Coates, Ken
North to Alaska! Fifty Years on the World's Most Remarkable Highway
Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1992.
softcover, 304 pages, illus.
"The author introduces the subject with 'the Alaska Highway stands alone among the famous routes, trails and early wagon roads that played such a historic role in the expansion and development of the continent.' From the building of the highway to the modern highway, a mute testament to American resolve and Canadian co-operation, a link between the past and present. Great pictures, easy to read, accurate account of events. (p 9 Introduction) "

Coates, Kenneth, ed.
The Alaska Highway: Papers of the 40th Anniversary Symposium
Vancouver: University of BC, 1985. xvii, 208 p. illus. maps.
"A collection of essays that had been presented at the 40th anniversary conference on the building of the highway. The presenters were an interdisciplinary and international gathering of scholars from the Canadian and American north. The conference reflected on the issues, personalities, and effects of the building of the highway. Construction of the Alaska Highway was dependent upon Southern priorities, not northern realities." (Introduction)

Coates, K. S. and W. R. Morrison
The Alaska Highway in World War II: The U.S. Army of Occupation in Canada's Northwest
Toronto: University of Toronto, 1992. xv, 309 p. illus.
"A description of the 'friendly invasion' made into the Peace River country in 1942 by the US Military and the construction companies needed to build the highway. The project is covered from all angles, including the whys and hows, to the impact on the environment, natives, social and sexual relations, law enforcement, and race relations. An insight into the events that had a major impact on the area from the perspective of fifty years later. (Table of contents and Introduction) "

Coe, Douglas
Road to Alaska: The Story of the Alaska Highway
New York: Julian Messner, 1943.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 175 pages, drawings by Winfield Scott Hoskins.
"A story of a great road and of the men who built it. Simply written in the style of the time."

Cohen, Stan
The Forgotten War: Volume I
Missoula, Montana: Pictorical Histories, 1981.
Softcover, 260 pages, hundreds of photographs.
The first of four volumes is an overview of the history of Alaska defence, of the Northwest Staging Route, the Alaska Highway, the Aleutians war and the Canol Project.

Cohen, Stan
The Forgotten War: Volume II
Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories, 1988. x, 254 p. illus.
"Part of a four book series on the war from the viewpoint of the West Coast of British Columbia to the Alaskan Islands. A background into why the Alaska Highway was considered so important to the Americans and Canadians. A view of how the Peace River area fit into the scheme of things. (Introduction p.5) "

Cohen, Stan
The Forgotten War: Volume Three
Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories, 1992. viii, 256 p. illus.
"In this volume, Chapter 4 deals with "Communities at War". this is a pictorial look at the communities, including Ft St John, Dawson Creek, and Pouce Coupe. (p 69) "

Cohen, Stan
The Forgotten War: Volume Four
Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories, 1993. viii, 234 p. illus.

Cohen, Stan
Alcan and Canol: A Pictorial History of Two Great World War II Construction Projects
Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories, 1992. viii, 262 p. illus.
"I have tried to include images of every possible facet of life during the construction process and views of the highway as it appears today. Many of these photos also appear in my book The Trail of '42 but many, many photos are printed here for the first time."

Cohen, Stan
Rails Across the Tundra: A Historical Album of the Alaska Railroad
Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories, July 1984.
Softcover, 144 pages, hundreds of photographs and maps.

Cohen, Stan
The Trail of 42: A Pictorial History of the Alaska Highway
Missoula, Montana: Pictorial Histories, June 1979.
Softcover, 112 pages, illus, maps.
"The photographs were selected from various archives in the United States and Canada to show not only the road construction, but something of the way the soldiers and construction men lived." (from Introduction)

Conn, Stetson; Rose C. Engelman; and Byron Fairchild
Guarding the United States and Its Outposts
Washington, DC: Center of Military History, US Army, 2000
564 pages.
Complete text online at
http://www.army.mil/

Connor, Cathy and O'Haire, Daniel
Roadside Geology of Alaska
Roadside Geology Series
Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1988.
Softcover, 251 pages, photographs, maps and diagrams, 225x150mm.
ISBN: 0-87842-213-7
Cover price: $12.95 US

Correll, Donovan S.
Alaska Highway Adventure
Self published, 1981.
170 pp, hc, dj
"In 1943, Dr. Correll was a member of the botanical-geological party from Harvard University that made a survey of the environs of the newly created Alcan (Alaska) Highway. This group of scientists was the first of its kind to travel over the highway. The present narrative is an account of that exploration trip." (from jacket notes)

Crandall, Alissa and Gloria J. Maschmeyer
Along the Alaska Highway
Bothell, WA: Alaska Northwest Books, 1991; 94 p
Photojournal.

Creighton, Donald G.
The Forked Road: Canada 1939-1957
Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1976.
319 pages.

Cruikshank, Julie
"Alaska Highway Construction, A Preliminary Evaluation of Social Impacts on Yukon Indians" (42 pages)
in Yukon Case Studies: Alaska Highway and Ross River
Whitehorse, YT: University of Canada North (Yukon), June 1977.
Paperback, 89 pages, 260x205mm.

Dalby, Ron
The Alaska Highway: An Insider's Guide
Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1991;  202 p.
Lots of good tips on how to prepare and what to see.

Davignon, Ellen
The Cinnamon Mine: Memories of an Alaska Highway Childhood
Whitehorse, YT: Studio North, 1988.
Softcover, vii, 136 pages, 1 photograph, 230x150mm.
"With her wit, sense of humor and exuberant writing style, Ellen Davignon relives her Yukon childhood. From Denmark and Greenland, through Arctic Canada, she traces the adventures of her family. Writing from Johnson's Crossing Lodge on the Alaska Highway, Ellen recalls the thrill of discovering a "cinnamon mine" on the banks of the Teslin River, remembers the fights and fun of growing up and lovingly recounts the good times and the hard times of constructing and operating one of the first tourist lodges on the highway." (back cover)

Deer, Catherine (illustrations) and St-Jean, Daniel (text)
"...and Where Will You Build this 'Alcan Highway'?"
Whitehorse, Black Horse, 1992.
Softcover, 104 pages, line drawings, 140x210mm
ISBN: 0969611404
Cover price: $9.95 Canadian, $7.95 US
'"A collection of letters from a homesick G.I.' A humourous look at how a GI might have felt building the highway. Far from home, living in rough conditions, with many hazards and difficulties. Illustrated with comical drawings to compliment the subject of the letters. (cover)"

Duesenberg, H. Milton
Alaska Highway Expeditionary Force: A Roadbuilder's Story
Clear Lake, Iowa: H.M. Industries, 1994.
ISBN: 0964095122
$33.95 Cdn
Softcover, 196 pages, illus.
"A tale compiled from the letters written home by road contractors, the diaries they kept, the verses they wrote and the photographs they took. This material along with oral histories obtained from personal interviews is the basis for the book. ( p 2 Introduction) "

Dziuban, Stanley W.
Military Relations Between the United States and Canada, 1939-1945
Washington, DC: Center of Military History, US Army, 1959 (Reprinted 1974, 1990).
432 pages, 14 illustrations.

Finnie, Richard S.
Canol
Bechtel-Price-Callahan, 1945.
Oversized hardcover (355x280mm), 210 pages, hundreds of photos.

Finnie, Richard S.
The Canol Adventure
Unpublished typescript, 1947
National Archives of Canada: MG 31 C6 Vol. 4, f. 7
401 pages.

Garfield, Brian
The Thousand-Mile War
Doubleday, October 1969
Paperback, 357 pages.
Bantam edition, January 1982

Gingrich, Earl
Eastern Passage to the Alaska Highway
Winterburn AB: R.B.W. Inc, 1981.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 754 pages, illus.
"This is a biography of a man who worked on a civilian construction crew, building of the highway. A very personal perspective of the living and working conditions starting at Mile O." Only pages 133-168 are about the Alaska Highway, though.

Godsell, Philip H.
The Romance of the Alaska Highway
Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1944. xv, 235 p. illus.
"A story with a strong American flavour, Simon Fraser was a 'brawny American fur-trade-explorer, from New York State. Peter Pond was from Milford, Connecticut. Canada's Northwest, seems always to have beckoned to the adventurous spirit of Americans, and American settlers help to open the country for settlement. (ix, Foreword)"

Grafe, Willis
An Oregon Boy in the Yukon: An Alaska Highway Story
Woodburn, OR: Chesnimnus Press, 1992

Grant, Shelagh D.
Sovereignty or Security? Government Policy in the Canadian North, 1936-1950
Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1988.
388 pages.

Greenwood, Amy and Lombard Jones
Rolling North: An American Family Pioneers Up the Alcan Highway
New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1955.

Gontard, Lily (text); Kelly, Mark (photographs)
Beyond Mile Zero: The Vanishing Alaska Highway Lodge Community
Madeira Park, BC: Lost Moose, 2017. 239 p. illus.
Yukoners Gontard and Kelly visited the few highway lodges still operating, to record the unique lodge culture before it disappears completely.
Griffin, Harold
Alaska and the Canadian Northwest: Our New Frontier
New York: W. W. Norton, 1944. 221 p. illus.
"A story written when the highway was new, and the area was rapidly changing, transforming the north." (Foreword)

Griffith, Cyril
Trucking the Tote Road to Alaska: 1942-3 Memories of the Early Days of the Alaska Highway
Naicam, Saskatchewan: Cyril Griffith, 1989. 22 p. illus.
"A booklet of a trucker's memories of the year he spent working on the Alaska Highway. A look at the highway from the viewpoint of an American civilian truck driver. The daily problems of food, housing and travelling the highway. (p 1)"
Cover price: $4.00

Griggs, William E. (photographer); Philip J. Merrill (editor)
The World War II Black Regiment That Built the Alaska Military Highway: A Photographic History
Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2002
Hardcover, dustjacket, 112 pages, 95 photographs.

Hage, C. O.
Geology adjacent to the Alaska Highway between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson, British Columbia
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 44-30, 1944.

Haigh. Jane G.
The Alaska Highway: A Historic Photographic Journey
Whitehorse, YT: Wolf Creek Books, May 2000
Softcover, 112 pages.
ISBN: 096819558X
Cover price: $9.95 Canadian.

Haman, Ray C.
Adventure on the Alcan (Alaskan) Highway
Self published, 1945.
Paper cover, 79 pages, illus.
2005 value: $35-60

Harris, Mae Evans
You Can Alcan
Middleburg, VA: Denlinger's, 1959.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 96 pages, 220x145mm.
Cover price $2.95 (US)

Harris, P. A
The Canol Pictorial
Self published, 1944.
Softcover, 32 pages, 40 photographs.

Harvey, R.G.
Carving the Western Path: By River, Rail and Road Through Central and Northern B.C.
Surrey, BC: Heritage House, 1999.
192 pages, softcover, indexed, illustrations, maps, photographs.
Roads discussed include the Alaska Highway and Hart Highway.

Hays, Otis, Jr.
The Alaska-Siberia Connection: The World War II Air Route
College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1996
184 p, illus., hc, dj

Henning, Robert A. (editor)
Adventure Roads North: Story of the Alaska Highway
Anchorage, AK: Alaska Geographic, 1983.

Hesketh, Bob (editor)
Three Northern Wartime Projects: Alaska Highway, Northwest Staging Route, Canol
Canadian Circumpolar Institute (University of Alberta) and Edmonton & District Historical Society, 1996.
Softcover, 249 pages, 20 photographs, maps, 230x150mm.
Contains 12 articles by different authors.

Hubbard, Sgt. Harold C.
Arctic Issue
Edmonton, AB: Self published, 1944
Hardcover, dustjacket, 142 pages
A collection of cartoons

Huber, Thomas P. and Carole J.
The Alaska Highway: A Geographical Discovery
University Press of Colorado, November 2000.
Softcover, 168 pages.
ISBN: 0870815873

Hunt, William R.
Passage to the North: A Traveler's Companion to the Historic Sites & Frontier Legends Along the Alaska Highway
Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 1992.
Softcover, 183 pages, 225x150mm.
ISBN: 0-8117-2409-3
Cover price: $14.95 US, $19.95 Cdn

Illingworth, Frank
Highway to the North
London: Ernest Been, 1955. xvi, 290 p. illus.
"A record of two journeys into the north. Author made notes to record his travels, of what he saw and took verbatim notes of what men said. Also recorded his reactions to the thoughts and sights and sounds of the North."

Ingram, Rob
The Alaska Highway: A Thematic Overview
Yukon Archives

Kadmon, Jean
Mackenzie Breakup
Whitehorse, YT: Pathfinder, 1998. 252 p.
Historical fiction based on the author's experiences working as a secretary at Camp Canol and Norman Wells in 1943.

Keddell, Georgina Murray
Peace Lovin' Folks: Stories of Alaska Highway Pioneers
Merritt, BC: Margie Graham Publishing, 1992. ii 290 p. illus.
"Personal stories that first appeared as a series of articles in the Alaska Highway News between 1961-1972. True stories of adventure , hardship, of personal tragedy and triumph. (p1)"

Lanks, Herbert C.
Highway to Alaska
New York, NY: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1944.
ix, 200 p., 81 photos, indexed
Former educator Lanks travelled the length of the Alaska Highway in the summer of 1943 as a war correspondent with professional photographer Harry J. Utzy. They started at the Willys-Overland plant in Toledo, ended in New York. As well as the Alaska Highway, they travelled most other roads in Alaska, and Lanks reports on many aspects of life in the North.

Larson, Norman Leonard, comp.
Radio Waves Across Canada and up the Alaska Highway
Lethbridge: Lethbridge Historical Society, 1992. iii, 69 p. illus.
"Our stories herein are a compilation of reminiscences of some of those who manned these remote locations, and of their work with the Canadian Department of Transport through the intervening years."
"A collection of stories written by the men who served as radio operators, with a list of the duties and responsibilities of radio operators (p 22). Photos and information not found in other sources. (iii Foreword)"

Lundberg, Murray
The Alaska Highway: The Road to North America's Last Frontier (Webster's Historical Notes series)
Whitehorse, YT: D. R. Webster Publishing, April 1999
Paper cover, 78 pages, 17 photos, 215x140mm.
ISBN:
Cover price: $7.95 Canadian, $5.95 US.

Lundberg, Murray
The Alaska Highway: The Road to North America's Last Frontier (Revised) (Webster's Historical Notes series)
Whitehorse, YT: D. R. Webster Publishing and PR Services, March 2001
Softcover, 78 pages, 21 photos, 215x140mm.
ISBN: 0968487505
Cover price: $7.95 Canadian, $5.95 US.

Lundberg, Murray
The Alaska Highway: A Photographic History
Unpublished manuscript, April 2006.
256 pages.

Matheson, Shirlee Smith
Flying the Frontiers: A Half-Million Hours of Aviation Adventure
Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1994. x, 213 p. illus.
"All of the people in this book have had some experience in the North - whether flying, servicing, designing, or jumping out of airplanes. The stories are told firsthand by those who lived them. A number of the people in this book were pioneers in every sense of the word. (ix, Preface)"

McAllister, Bruce and Corley-Smith, Peter
Wings Over The Alaska Highway
Roundup Press, April 2001
Softcover, 208 pages.
ISBN: 0963881779
List price: $34.95 US, $44.95 Cdn.

Menzies, Don
The Alaska Highway, A Saga of the North
Stuart Douglas, 1943
Softcover, 40 pages.

Menzies, Don
The Alaska Highway, A Saga of the North (Revised edition)
Stuart Douglas, 1943
Softcover, 48 pages.
Cover price: $1.00

Miduski, Theodore A.
Alcan Trail Blazers: Company 'A', 648th Engineer Topographic Battalion
Pittsburgh: 648th Memorial Fund, 1992.
Softcover, 66 pages, 83 photographs, drawings, maps, 280x215mm.
This unit was assigned the section of the highway from Fort St. John to Lower Post.
ISBN: 0963301802
Cover price: $12.00 US, $14.00 Canada

Mills, Stephen E.
Arctic War Planes: Alaska Aviation of WW II
New York: Bonanza Books, 1978
Hardcover, dustjacket, 191 pages, 420+ photographs.

Mobley, George (photographer)
Alaska: High Roads to Adventure
Washington, DC: National Geographic, 1976
"Alaska Highway: Winding Link to the North" by Noel Grove, pages 10-44
Hardcover, dustjacket, 200 pages.

Morritt, Hope
Land of the Fireweed: A Young Woman's Story of Alaska Highway Construction Days
Edmonds, Wash.: Alaska Northwest Pub, 1985.
iv, 191 pages, illus.
"A journalist' personal account of working on the highway post WWII - an account of the coming of age of a young woman in a unique time and place. (Jacket)"

Myers, C. Vernon
Oil to Alaska: Canol Unveiled
Edmonton, AB: Provincial News Co., 1944
Magazine format, 40 pages.

Overend, Howard
Book Guy: A Librarian in the Peace
Victoria, BC: TouchWood Editions, 2001.
Softcover, 288 pages.
ISBN: 0-920663-82-6
Cover price: $18.95 Canadian
"...a librarian's story of getting books into the hands of rural school children and people in isolated places in the Peace River country and up the Alaska Highway. The story also tells how the mobile service began 50 years ago and traces - not without humour - the remarkable efforts of successive "true-grit" librarians to overcome the obstacles of poor working conditions, severe cold and the hazards of dust and ice and muddy roads." (publisher's promo)

Plaxton, John & Liz
RVing Into Canada's Arctic
Travel 'n' Write, 1998.
Softcover, 470 pages, b&w and colour photographs, 215x140mm.
ISBN: 0-9680314-2-0
Cover price: $24.95 Canadian, $19.95 US.
"The authors' second travelogue "RVing into Canada's Arctic" describes a five month adventure in Canada's beautiful British Columbia, magical Yukon, untamed Northwest Territories and unique, paved Alaska Highway. Another five writers provide different and balanced viewpoints." (from back cover)

Puhr, Conrad
Modern Alaska and the Alcan
Anchorage, AK: Conrad Puhr, ca. 1954 (a copy is known signed Dec 1954 by author)
Spiral bound softover, 108 pages, 185 photographs, 210x275mm.

Rand, A. L.
The Southern Half of the Alaska Highway and Its Mammals
Ottawa, ON: National Museum of Canada, 1944. 50 pp., illus.

Readicker-Henderson. Lynn and Ed
Adventure Guide to the Alaska Highway (Third Edition)
Hunter Publishing, 2001
Softcover, 462 pages.
ISBN: 1588431177

Remley, David A.
Crooked Road: The Story of the Alaska Highway
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.
x, 253 pages, 19 photographs, map, 240x160mm.
"A book of many memories. The people who lived here before the highway and the truckers, soldiers, tourists, and migrants to both east and west. Often the people tell their stories in their own voices. Preserving their language, their phrasing and their images, all of which express the fabric, the texture , of their thoughts and feelings. (vii, Preface)"

Richardson, Harold W.
Bulldozers Come First: The Story of U.S. War Construction in Foreign Lands
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1944.
Hardcover, 278 pages, photographs.
Harold W. Richardson wrote the 84-page Alaska section, other sections are by Waldo G. Bowman (Britain, North Africa and the Middle East), Nathan A. Bowers (Pacific Ocean Areas), Edward J. Cleary (South America) and Archie N. Carter (Central America).

Russell, Chester L.
Tales of a Catskinner: A Personal Account of Building the Alaska Highway, The Winter Trail, and Canol Pipeline Road in 1942-43
Coos Bay, OR: Self published, September 1999
Softcover, 128 pages, 85 photographs, maps, 210x135mm.
ISBN: 0937861537
Cover price: $14.95 US. $18.95 Canadian

Russell, Chester L.
Tales of a Catskinner: A Personal Account of Building the Alaska Highway, The Winter Trail, and Canol Pipeline Road in 1942-43
Fort Nelson, BC: Autumn Images, 2003.
Softcover, 130 pages, 85 photographs, maps, 210x135mm.
ISBN:
Cover price:

Sabina, Ann P.
Rocks and Minerals for the Collector: The Alaska Highway, Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Yukon/Alaska Border
Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 1973.
GSC Paper 72-32.
Softcover, viii, 146 pages, illus, map in pocket, indexed.
Cover price: $2.50 Canadian.

Selkregg, Fred M., Jr.
The Intrepid Selkreggs Beat the AlCan (October 1958)
Self published, 1987.
Paper cover, spiral bound, 56 pages, 220x280mm.
The story of a 1958 trip up the highway, from Illinois to Anchorage, with a huge trailer behind the Buick Roadmaster.

Silver, Connie
Alaska Highway Sketches: Souvenir and Travel Guide
Anchorage: Self published, 1963.
Softcover, 208 p., illus.
Ink sketches of various lodges and other businesses up the Alaska Highway and throughout the state.

Schmidt, John T.
Atomic Bombshell
Standard, AB: Self published, 2002.
Softcover, 119 pages.
Describes the use of the Canol Road to access a uranium mine.

Schmidt, John
This was no ≤YXNH Picnic: 2.3 Years of Wild and Woolly Mayhem in Dawson Creek
Hanna, AB: Gorman and Gorman, 1991.
Softcover, 355 pages.
"This short, irreverent and hilarious docu-drama of a war on Canadian soil. There are some contradictions and repetitions as each person interviewed had a different perception. (Introduction P8)"

Souvenir Views of Alaska Highway, Canada
A Dominion Series View Book
Designed and published by Photogravure Engraving Co., Ottawa (ca. 1945).
Stapled, 18 pages.
We have scanned our copy and posted it here.

Stacey, Col. Charles P.
Arms, Men and Governments: The War Policies of Canada, 1939-1945
Ottawa, ON: Queen's Printer, 1970.
681 pages.
Also published in French under the title: Armes, hommes et gouvernements: les politiques de guerre du Canada, 1939-1945

Stanford Research Institute
Improvement program for the Alaska Highway: an analysis of economic benefits
Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1966

Stewart, George R.
N. A. 1: Looking North
Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press, 1957.
173 pages, illus., hc, dj
2005 value: $3-5

Tomikel, John
Alaska Highway Journal
California, PA: Allegheny Press, 1982.
160 pages, illus., softcover
"Journey with naturalist John Tomikel and his wife over the Alaska Highway in a refurbished pickup truck. Travel through the Yukon, Mt. McKinley Park, Potter Point Wildlife Refuge, and the Kenai Peninsula. Fly to Point Barrow and sail the inland waterway. Experience the adventure and hardship of America's last frontier while following the author's expert tips on camping and wilderness survival." (back cover)

Twichell, Heath.
Northwest Epic: The Building of the Alaska Highway
New York: St Martin's Press, 1992. xiv, 368 p. illus.
"A story about 1,500 miles of gravel road, in terms of human effort, resourcefulness and gritty endurance, they were awesome achievements. A story about people: about individual explorers, adventurers, aviators, soldiers, and construction workers; citizens of the United States and Canada - white, blacks and native Americans. Strong American flavour. (xiii, Introduction)."

U. S. Army
About Face!
140th QM Truck Company, ca. 1944
106 pages, screw-bound boards
A light-hearted look at the 140th Quartermaster Truck Company's history as it related to the Alaska Highway. Hundreds of photos, including photos and bio notes about each member.

Available to read or download here.

U. S. Army
The Last Bulldozer
"For the Men of the United States Army who were stationed at Dawson Creek, 1942-1944"
Dawson Creek, BC: US Army, October 1944.
35 pp, illus.
"The Bulldozer" was published as a weekly newspaper - this was the final edition.
2005 value: $100-150

U. S. Army
The Long Trail: 341st Engineers on the Alaska Military Highway, 1942-1943
Charlotte, NC: The Herald Press, ca. 1944.
112 pages, illus.
"It is being distributed free to every man who was in the north country with the Regiment. All costs are paid from the profits made in the operation of the Regimental PX in Canada."
2005 value: $150-300

U. S. Army
Lower Post or Freeze: 340th Engineer Regiment on the Alaska Military Highway, 1942-1943
Charlotte, NC: The Herald Press, 1944. ca.
90 pages, illus.
2005 value: $500-700

U. S. Army
Truck Tracks: Special Souvenir Edition
16 February, 1944. 128 pp, illus.
2005 value: $50-100

U. S. Department of State
Report of the Commission to Study the Proposed Route to Alaska
Conference Series No. 14
1933.
Paper cover, 116 pages, 15 photographs fold-out map, 230x145mm.
2005 value: $150-250

U. S. Senate
Alaska Highway: An Interim Report from the Committee on Roads, House of Representatives
House Report 1705
March 13, 1946
Hardcover, 323 pages, many fold-out maps and diagrams.
2005 value: $75-150

Warner, Iris
Out in Front: The Story of Company "D", 29th Engineers Battalion Topographic
Unpublished typescript, April 1996.
286 pages.

Whishaw, Lorna
As Far As You'll Take Me: Hitchhiking to Alaska
New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1958.
Hardcover, dustjacket, 216 pages, 215x140mm.
" 'Highways ain't no place for dames on the loose,' said the first truck driver who gave her a lift. But Mrs. Whishaw, who became known to the truck drivers of the Trans-Canada and Alaska Highways as Ingrid, proved to be an intrepid and devastatingly resourceful female hitchhiker. And since she has a naturalist's eye for the splendors of the North and an offhand knack for bringing out the unexpected best in even the thorniest specimens of humanity, her adventures hitchhiking in Alaska and the Yukon make no ordinary book." (from dustjacket)

Wonders, William C.
Alaska Highway Explorers: Place Names Along the Adventure Road.
Victoria: Horsdal & Schubart, 1994. xv, 78 p. illus.
"The booklet is divided into three sections, with section one on British Columbia. The material is presented starting at Dawson Creek and moving up the highway. Places named along the way serve as reminders of that earlier era for the curious passer-by. Short histories of each place with ideas of why the places are so named. (ix, Acknowledgements)"

Woodward, Caroline
Alaska Highway Two-Step
Winlaw, BC: Polestar Book Publishers, 1993
Softcover, 176 pages.

Woolcock, Iris
The Road North: One Woman's Adventure Driving the Alaska Highway, 1947-1948
Anchorage, AK: Greatland Graphics, 1990.

Yukon Archives
The Alaska Highway: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Material Available in the Yukon Archives and MacBride Museum
Whitehorse, YT: Yukon Archives, 1993.
Stapled, paper covers, 286 pages, 280x215mm.
ISBN: 1550185586

Zaslow, Morris
The Northward Expansion of Canada, 1914-1967
Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1988
Hardcover, dustjacket, 423 pages, photographs, maps.


Books, Fiction

Skidd, David
The Gladstone Lakes Mystery
#1 in Alaska Highway Adventure series.
Palm Desert, CA: Midnight Ink, 1993.
Softcover, 130 pages
Cover price: $5.95
ISBN 0-963-214-0-8.
While on a vacation in the Yukon, Ashley, Jonathan and Matthew Adams "encounter drug smugglers, survive a plane crash caused by a bomb, and hike miles unaccompanied in the wilderness with seemingly little effort." (from a negative review by University of Alberta librarian Ila D. Scott)

Skidd, David
The Great Inukin Mystery
#2 in Alaska Highway Adventure series.
Palm Desert, CA: Midnight Ink, 1993.
Softcover, 142 pages
Cover price: $5.95
ISBN 0-9636214-1-6.
The twins, Ashley and Jonathan, with their younger brother Matthew and a native boy named Jim, work to solve a bear-poaching mystery in the Yukon.

Skidd, David
The Elfin Cove Mystery
#3 in Alaska Highway Adventure series.
Palm Desert, CA: Midnight Ink, December 1994.
Softcover, 148 pages.
Cover price: $4.95
ISBN: 0963621424
"During a summer exchange visit, Ashley, Jonathan, and Matthew discover all is not well in Alaska's Southeast. Using clues found at a mysterious high-tech building in Elfin Cove, they begin to suspect Highway Phil was right when he said: "Big trouble on the salmon highway."



Travel Guides

(listed by year of publication, with the oldest first)

The Milepost
Began publishing in 1949, still published annually.

Alaska and the Alaska Highway
Washington, DC: American Automobile Association, 1950
Paper, 23 pages, 5 photographs, 12 maps, 235x140mm.

Alaska Travel Guide
Began publishing in 1961. As of 1979, Larry Lake was Editor & Publisher and Tim Bell was in charge of Advertising & Circulation. Became the ever-smaller "Bell's Alaska, Yukon & British Columbia Travel Guide" with Timothy J. Bell as Editor & Publisher and Larry Lake as Consulting Editor (as of the 1992 edition).
The cover is from the 19th Edition, 1979; softcover, 576 pages, foldout map, 225x150mm.

Alaska and the Alaska Highway
Washington, DC: American Automobile Association, 1969
Paper, 80 pages, photographs and maps, 235x140mm.

Miller, Mike and Marilyn
Camping Alaska and Canada's Yukon: the Motorist's Handbook of North Country Campgrounds and Roadways
Seattle, WA: Pacific Search Press, 1987.

Bell's Alaska, Yukon & British Columbia Travel Guide
Began publishing in 1961 as the "Alaska Travel Guide."
The cover is from the 32nd Edition, 1992; softcover, 432 pages, foldout map, 210x150mm.

Molvar, Erik
Scenic Driving Alaska and the Yukon
Helena, MT: FalconPress, June 1996.
Softcover, 296 pages.

Minshall, Sharlene G.
RVing Alaska and Canada
Gypsy Press, April 2002
Softcover, 220 pages.
ISBN: 0964397048
"...a "How-to" and "Why-not" book completely revised in 2002 with 28 more pages of information, photographs and photo vignettes. It takes you through what to do before you leave; map and information gathering; what to take, when to go, how to go, the real scoop on the road conditions and how much it might cost." (Amazon.com promo)

The Milepost 2019: Alaska Travel Planner
This has been the travel guide to the Alaska Highway for the past 70 years. Now not only a mile-by-mile guide to "the Alcan", but to all of Alaska, the Yukon and western NWT as well as the major access routes through Alberta and British Columbia.

Traveler's Guide to Alaskan Camping: Alaska and Yukon Camping With RV or Tent
by Mike Church and Terri Church
Rolling Homes Press; 6th edition, January 2014
Commonly called "Church's Guide". Detailed routes and advice for heading into the wilds of Alaska and northwestern Canada are provided in this guide for RV and tent campers. This grand tour of Alaska covers in detail the Alaskan Highway, routes throughout the Yukon and Alaskan outback, and the ferry system in southeast Alaska. Campgrounds throughout the region are listed with pictures, descriptions of amenities and recreational opportunities, maps, and contact information for each.

2014 Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory
by Good Sam
Second edition, January 2014
1,994 pages
Bills itself as "The Most Comprehensive RV Resource Ever!" Included in the 2014 edition are brand new special features: A First-Time RV Buyers’ Guide and RV Trips of a Lifetime.

Alaska Off the Beaten Path
by Deb Vanasse and Melissa DeVaughn
Globe Pequot; 6th edition, February 2008
224 pages
In a state where everything is a bit off the beaten path, this guide deliberately includes some of Alaska's most offbeat attractions. Visit the driftwood-covered Arctic Brotherhood Hall in Skagway or the smallest desert in the world in southern Yukon; or try gourmet pickled fiddlehead ferns near Talkeetna.

Alaska For Dummies
By Charles P. Wohlforth
For Dummies: 5th edition, March 2011
456 pages
Like every For Dummies travel guide, Alaska For Dummies, 4th Edition includes:
* Down-to-earth trip-planning advice
* What you shouldn't miss and what you can skip
* The best hotels and restaurants for every budget
* Handy Post-it Flags to mark your favorite pages
Whether you want to get up close and personal (but not too close or too personal!) with bears, explore the native heritage with its great totem poles, clan houses, and Inupiat artwork, enjoy outdoor adventures, or just soak up the magnificent, unspoiled scenery, youíre on your way to a great Alaskan escape.

Murray's Guide to the South Klondike Highway
by Murray Lundberg
ExploreNorth: May 2018
This 34-page, mile-by-mile guide (with 54 photos) will show you the points of interest along the South Klondike Highway and the Dyea Road. The South Klondike Highway runs 98 miles (157.7 km) from Skagway (Alaska) through Fraser (British Columbia) and Carcross (Yukon) to the Alaska Highway at a point 10 miles east of Whitehorse. The guide is a download in pdf format.

Guide to the Alaska Highway
by Ron Dalby
Menasha Ridge Press; 2nd Edition, April 2011
Where to camp, how to prepare your vehicle for the journey, and insightful driving tips including where to spot wildlife, some good fishing holes, and important destination highlights.

Backroad Mapbook: Northern BC Outdoor Recreation Guide
Mussio Ventures, May 2012
The maps in this 181-page book highlight the backroad and logging road networks, trails systems and recreation opportunities in Central and Northern BC. A unique feature of the maps is that all recreation activities are labeled, allowing for quick and easy referencing when researching a specific area. Further, no other source provides as much detail and accuracy on the road and trail networks throughout the north.
Sample map (opens in a new window)

Other volumes cover many other areas across Canada.

Alaska Atlas and Gazetteer
Delorme Mapping Company; 5th edition January 2004
The first choice of outdoors enthusiasts. Beautiful, detailed, large-format maps of every state. Perfect for home and office reference, and a must for all your vehicles.

The World-Famous Alaska Highway: A Guide to the Alcan & Other Wilderness Roads of the North
by Tricia Brown
Fulcrum Publishing: 4th edition, April 2011
Advice on preparing for your trip, as well as providing a guide to everything from events and campgrounds to the best viewpoints along the higways.

Scenic Driving Alaska and the Yukon
by Erik Molvar
Globe Pequot; 2nd edition, August 2005
336 pages
Pack up the car and enjoy thirty-one drives through some of the most spectacular scenery in the North Country. This indispensable highway companion maps out trips for exploring scenic byways and gravel highways, from the majestic beauty of snowcapped Denali in the Alaska Range and the lush coastal forests of British Columbia's Inside Passage in the south, to the vast expanse of the Yukon's Arctic tundra and far into the upper reaches of the Northwest Territories. Inside you'll find itineraries ranging from 41 miles to more than 1,390 miles in length, with route maps for each drive


Magazine Articles

Olsenius, Richard
"Alaska Highway: Wilderness Escape Route""
National Geographic Magazine, November 1991: pages 68-99.
"A World War II military road hacke dout of the frigid wilds of Canada and Alaska has become Main Street to a community of adventurers and dreamers." (Introduction)

Alaska Life
Seattle, WA: Alaska Life Publishing Co., October 1944
Paper, 62 pages, 210x145mm.
"Airway to Russia" by Captain Richard L. Neuberger (pp 3-10)
"The Unfinished Fight For the Highway We Must Build Yet" by Donald MacDonald - describes Route A

Rainey, Froelich
"Alaskan Highway: An Engineering Epic"
National Geographic Magazine February 1943: pages 143-168.
An article with photos of the building of the highway. Mosquitoes, mud and muskeg minor obstacles of 1,671 miles, race to throw the Alcan lifeline through thick forests and uninhabited Wilderness.

Richardson, Harold W.
Alcan: America's Glory Road
An Engineering News-Record Report
Paper, 32 pages, 60 photographs, maps, 280x210mm.
Contains 3 articles by Richardson, from the December 17 and December 31, 1942, and January 14, 1943 editions of the magazine.

Schreiner, John
Highway to Alaska
Canadian Geographic March/April 92 : 80-88.
"An article written to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the building of the highway. Much of the information from trucker Orval Couch, who worked on the highway for 34 years."


Newspaper Articles

Prince George Citizen:
Nov 20, 1930
Nov 13, 1934

The Vancouver Sun:
Monday, October 28, 1991: 2 articles by Larry Pynn, about the construction and about the related death toll in Native communities.


Films/Videos/DVDs

Alaska Highway
1943, b&w, starring Richard Arlen, Jean Parker, Ralph Sanford
67 minutes.

The Trail of 42
Stan Cohen, Pictorial Histories, Missoula Montana. 60 min. VHS 1989.
Traces the history of the highway using contemporary footage, the original U.S. Army Signal Corps movie, rare original footage, interviews and still photos. Not useful for research. (Cover)

Alaska RV Adventure
by John Holod
76 minutes.

The Alaska Highway 1942 - 1992
The Frontier Collection series
Anchorage, AK: KAKM Alaska Public Telecommunications, 1922.
58 minutes.
"This video, narrated by Hoyt Axton, traces the Alcan's construction and history with archival film and photos. Ride on a 1939 motorcycle trip on one of the proposed high routes, attend the opening ceremonies at Soldier's Summit in November 1942, and take a contemporary trip on today's highway fifty years after its completion." (Cover)


Ephemera

In the days before the highway was paved, a trip up the Alaska Highway was often used by manufacturers to prove how tough their product was. Click on the tire ad to the left for a sampling of the ads that have appeared over the years.