Land of the Midnight Sun: A History of the Yukon

This completely revised edition of Land of the Midnight Sun, first published in 1988, is a comprehensive overview of Yukon history. This book places the Klondike Gold Rush within the broader sweep of the past, giving particular emphasis to the role of First Nations people and Aboriginal-white relations and to the lengthy struggle of Yukoners to find their place in the Canadian confederation. This broader story incorporates the mammoth dredges that scoured the Klondike creeks, the impressive silver mines in the Elsa-Keno Hill area, the sinking of the Princess Sophia, the Yukon's remarkable contributions to the war effort in World War I, and the sweeping transformations associated with the American "occupation" during World War II.

"Sudden miracles, quick turns of fortune, and deeds of endurance and courage and of mind-numbing folly have characterized most of the less-celebrated periods of the Yukon's past. In their carefully researched and well-written Land of the Midnight Sun, Ken Coates and William Morrison have managed to salvage most of the story." -The Globe and Mail

Ken S. Coates is provost and dean of academics at Sea to Sky University in Squamish, British Columbia, and an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan. William R. Morrison is professor of history at the University of Northern British Columbia. In addition to independent publications, they have published ten books together, including Strange Things Done: A History of Murder in the Yukon.