I read in the landland tenant handbook for the state of Alaska, that a landlord cannot charge for such things as shampooing the carpets when a tenant moves out if no excessive damage has been caused. I read over my lease and it states in there that they will charge for carpet cleaning upon move out and a few friends that lived here got charged for this recently. Is this still an illegal practice? What can I do if my landlord tries to hold part of my deposit to pay for this expense?

Not sure what landlord tenant book you are reading but in every place I have lived yes they can charge for that if you did not do it prior to moving.