We fought the road

McClure, Christine (author.). McClure, Dennis, (author.). Vanderlugt, Russ, (writer of foreword.).

Summary:

This book is a story of the building of the Alaska-Canada Highway during World War II based on various historical documents. The construction required punching through wilderness on a route blocked by the Rocky Mountains and deadly permafrost during the worst winter on record. Unlike most accounts that focus on the road's military planners, the story here is a personal one from the point of view of those soldiers who were actively building the road. The book is based in part on letters the successful courtship by mail discovered in the authors' family papers between Turner "Tim" Timberlake and Helen May Bryan. Racial friction is also discussed, as more than one third of the 10,607 builders were Black during an era of racial tension in the military.

Record details

ISBN: 1935347772
ISBN: 9781935347774
Physical Description: xix, 211 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 23 cm
Edition: [2nd printing with added foreword].
Publisher: [Sausalito, California] : Epicenter Press, 2017.
Copyright: ©2017

Content descriptions

General Note:	Includes reading group discussion guide.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-203).
Formatted Contents Note:	Foreword / by Russ Vanderlugt -- Preface: A note from the author Christine McClure -- Chapter 1. Where they came from -- Chapter 2. Into the army : the first step -- Chapter 3. Land route to Alaska -- Chapter 4. Lead, follow, or get out of the way -- Chapter 5. Bottleneck -- Chapter 6. Reorganization, tragedy and Hoge's plan -- Chapter 7. Into the woods -- Chapter 8. The Japanese attack -- Chapter 9. Drive to the Teslin River -- Chapter 10. The Corps settle in -- Chapter 11. Building road and adjusting the plan for Yukon -- Chapter 12. Doing the job -- Chapter 13. Change of command -- Chapter 14. The extraordinary road -- Afterword -- Timeline -- Military organization chart -- Reading group discussion guide.