The Wild River and the Great Dam: The Construction of Hoover Dam and the Vanishing Colorado River

Discover the fascinating history behind the construction of Hoover Dam, and its lasting political and environmental effects on the Colorado River and the American West. The concrete monolith was a symbol of American ingenuity but its history is laden with contradiction. It provided work for thousands but exploited desperate workers during the Depression. It helped secure the settlement and economies of the Southwest but at the expense of Indigenous peoples and the environment.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 14 March 2024
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Discover the captivating history behind the construction of Hoover Dam, and its enduring political and environmental effects on the Colorado River and the American West, in this exhilarating nonfiction exploration of one of the country's most recognizable and far-reaching landmarks.

At the time of its completion in 1936, Hoover Dam was the largest dam in the world and the greatest feat of architecture and engineering in the country—a statement of national ambition and technical achievement. It transformed the wild Colorado River into a tamed and securely managed water source, transforming millions of acres of desert into farmland while also providing water and power to the fast-growing population of the Southwest. The concrete monolith quickly became a symbol of American ingenuity; however, its history is laden with contradiction. It provided work for thousands, but it was a dangerous project that exploited desperate workers during the Depression. It helped secure the settlement and economies of the Southwest, but at the expense of Indigenous peoples and the environment; and it created a dependency on the Colorado River's water, which is under threat from overuse and climate change.

Weaving together elements of engineering, geography, political and socioeconomic history, and drawing heavily from unpublished oral histories taken from dam workers and their families, Simon Boughton's thoughtful and propulsive debut—featuring historical photographs throughout—follows the construction and impact of Hoover Dam, and how its promise of abundance ultimately created a river in crisis today.

Weight: 560g
Dimension: 184 x 235 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780316380744