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In December 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and seemed to be poised for their most audacious attack yet - the invasion of North America via its least populated region, the Far Northwest. No one doubted that this threat was real, certainly not the U.S. military command. In an act of speedy co-operation, unmatched before or since, the governments of Canada and the U.S.A. agreed to the military's request to build a road, post-haste, across the vast wilderness of the North, so that troops and armaments could be moved rapidly from the continent's heartland to its vulnerable edge in Alaska.
Ten thousand soldiers under the command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rushed north to push a pioneer road 1,500 miles long through the forests and mountains and over the muskeg, the permafrost, and the many icy rivers of the Far Northwest. Fast on their heels came an equally large "army" of civilians - eager to do their bit for the war effort and to earn the colossal wages offered - to build a permanent highway in the pioneer road's muddy tracks. Seven and a half months later the highway was ready for war duty, just as the threat that initiated it collapsed.
But their effort was not wasted. The Alaska Highway gave the towns of Fairbanks, Big Delta, Whitehorse, and Fort St. John road access to the South for the first time, and many smaller communities sprang up along its path to service the truckers and tourists who plied the highway. For immediately after the war, driving the highway became a popular vacation for intrepid tourists. Despite the great improvements to the road that have been made over the years, the highway has lost none of its appeal nor any of the romance that surrounded its beginnings.
In 1992 the Alaska Highway turns fifty, and Ken Coates has written North to Alaska to commemorate the work of those men and women, soldiers and civilians, who endured the bitter cold, the blackflies, the mud, and the murderous mosquitoes to build the road and defend their homeland.
The Alaska Highway remains the world's most remarkable highway - remarkable for the speed in which it was built, its military origins, the binational co-operation it symbolizes, and for the spectacular natural beauty and rich history of the land through which it passes. Today it still offers the unique adventure of a 1,500-mile drive through the mysterious North into the land where men once moiled for gold.
Ten thousand soldiers under the command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rushed north to push a pioneer road 1,500 miles long through the forests and mountains and over the muskeg, the permafrost, and the many icy rivers of the Far Northwest. Fast on their heels came an equally large "army" of civilians - eager to do their bit for the war effort and to earn the colossal wages offered - to build a permanent highway in the pioneer road's muddy tracks. Seven and a half months later the highway was ready for war duty, just as the threat that initiated it collapsed.
But their effort was not wasted. The Alaska Highway gave the towns of Fairbanks, Big Delta, Whitehorse, and Fort St. John road access to the South for the first time, and many smaller communities sprang up along its path to service the truckers and tourists who plied the highway. For immediately after the war, driving the highway became a popular vacation for intrepid tourists. Despite the great improvements to the road that have been made over the years, the highway has lost none of its appeal nor any of the romance that surrounded its beginnings.
In 1992 the Alaska Highway turns fifty, and Ken Coates has written North to Alaska to commemorate the work of those men and women, soldiers and civilians, who endured the bitter cold, the blackflies, the mud, and the murderous mosquitoes to build the road and defend their homeland.
The Alaska Highway remains the world's most remarkable highway - remarkable for the speed in which it was built, its military origins, the binational co-operation it symbolizes, and for the spectacular natural beauty and rich history of the land through which it passes. Today it still offers the unique adventure of a 1,500-mile drive through the mysterious North into the land where men once moiled for gold.
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Review:
"Coates weaves a story rich in human interest and anecdote . . . " -- Polar Record
"Coates' book is the one to read." -- Alaska History
"Coates' book is the one to read." -- Alaska History
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- PublisherUniv of Alaska Pr
- Publication date1992
- ISBN 10 0912006552
- ISBN 13 9780912006550
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages304
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North to Alaska: Fifty Years on the Wworld's most Rremarkable Highway
Published by
Univ of Alaska Press, Fairbanks
(1992)
ISBN 10: 0912006552
ISBN 13: 9780912006550
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Quantity: 1
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Book Description Cloth. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: About Fine. First Edition. Illustrated history of construction and use of highway built during World War 2 for strategic purposes by US Army Corps of Engineers. Highway runs from Dawson Creek in British Columbia, through Whitehorse in Yukon Territory, to Fairbanks in Interior Alaska - 1939-1945. 304 pages : illustrations, map ; 26 cm. A bright, clean, unmarked copy. Tight, square binding, no wear to the cloth. Similar, unclipped dustjacket. We ship Worldwide, use both Canada Post and the United States Postal Service, and offer postal charges based on our actual costs, without overcharging. This item weighs 1.05kg unpacked. Canadian domestic postal rates rise with weight, size and distance; Rates to the USA calculated by weight alone as per the USPS. World rates are based on specific destination and weight. Online estimates by the Listing Site may not be correct and either additional, or reduced postage may be required, particularly for Canadian and Overseas shipments, but not usually to the USA. In case of doubt please email. Size: 26cm Tall. Book. Seller Inventory # 2218
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North to Alaskan the woble highway
Published by
Fairbanks, Alaska: Univesity Of Alaska Press
(1992)
ISBN 10: 0912006552
ISBN 13: 9780912006550
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. First edition. "Published by arrangement with McClelland & Stewart Inc, Toronto, Canada." stated. No additional date, edition or printing indicated. Near fine plus, if not fine hardback in fine dust jacket. Book has light, if not very light 3/8 inch by 3/8 inch bumps to lower fore-edge corners. Only trivial, if any additional signs of age/wear/previous use to book and dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 106494
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