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

In this detailed and informative work, Boughton chronicles the construction of the Hoover Dam—whose “purpose was to stop the floods and droughts that plagued the southwestern United States”—and how it would become the largest feat of engineering ever seen in America. In 1921, the Black Canyon in Colorado was chosen as a site for a huge dam that would finally control the flooding of the Colorado River, which ran through seven states and into Mexico, impacting Imperial Valley farms. Via compellingly comprehensive text, the debut author outlines the sheer scale of the project, the engineering innovations that made it possible, the individuals who labored through terrible conditions to build it, and the myriad social, political, financial, and environmental implications of the dam’s construction, and briefly touches on the dam’s impact on Black and Indigenous populations, until the monolith’s completion in 1936. Personal stories from the men who built the dam feature throughout and provide context sur- rounding the consequences of such a drastic change on the natural environment, while maps, b&w photographs, archival advertisements, and construction diagrams paint a vivid picture of the period. A timeline, source notes, and further information conclude. Ages 9–14. (Mar.)