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

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.