Colossus : Hoover Dam and the making of the American century

The author of "Dealers of Lightning" pens an account of the epic construction of the Hoover Dam, one of the 20th century's most important public works.;Introduction: September 30, 1935: Roosevelt comes to the river -- pt. 1. The sinful river -- The journey of death -- Born of the desert -- Rockwood's gamble -- The Lord's dam site -- pt. 2. The road to Black Canyon -- Hoover steps in -- Battlegrounds -- Hurry-up Crowe -- The silver spike -- The big six -- Ragtown -- Rush job -- The Wobblies' last stand -- Ely's kingdom -- pt. 3. The arch -- The jumbos -- Turning points -- The rising -- The pour -- Reckonings -- The crest -- Legacies. As breathtaking today as the day it was completed, Hoover Dam not only shaped the American West but helped launch the American century. In the depths of the Great Depression it became a symbol of American resilience and ingenuity in the face of crisis, putting thousands of men to work in a remote desert canyon and bringing unruly nature to heel. Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Michael Hiltzik uses the saga of the dam’s conception, design, and construction to tell the broader story of America’s efforts to come to grips with titanic social, economic, and natural forces. For embodied in the dam’s striking machine-age form is the fundamental transformation the Depression wrought in the nation’s very culture—the shift from the concept of rugged individualism rooted in the frontier days of the nineteenth century to the principle of shared enterprise and communal support that would build the America we know today. In the process, the unprecedented effort to corral the raging Colorado River evolved from a regional construction project launched by a Republican president into the New Deal’s outstanding—and enduring—symbol of national pride. Yet the story of Hoover Dam has a darker side. Its construction was a gargantuan engineering feat achieved at great human cost, its progress marred by the abuse of a desperate labor force. The water and power it made available spurred the development of such great western metropolises as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and San Diego, but the vision of unlimited growth held dear by its designers and builders is fast turning into a mirage. In Hiltzik’s hands, the players in this epic historical tale spring vividly to life: President Theodore Roosevelt, who conceived the project; William Mulholland, Southern California’s great builder of water works, who urged the dam upon a reluctant Congress; Herbert Hoover, who gave the dam his name though he initially opposed its construction; Frank Crowe, the dam’s renowned master builder, who pushed his men mercilessly to raise the beautiful concrete rampart in an inhospitable desert gorge. Finally there is Franklin Roosevelt, who presided over the ultimate completion of the project and claimed the credit for it. Hiltzik combines exhaustive research, trenchant observation, and unforgettable storytelling to shed new light on a major turning point of twentieth-century history. The definitive account of the epic construction of the Hoover Dam, one of the the 20th century's most consequential public works. "As breathtaking today as when it was completed, Hoover Dam ranks among America’s most awe-inspiring, if dubious, achievements. This epic story of the dam—from conception to design to construction—by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik exposes the tremendous hardships and accomplishments of the men on the ground—and in the air—who built the dam and the demonic drive of Frank Crowe, the boss who pushed them beyond endurance. It is a tale of the tremendous will exerted from start to finish, detailing the canny backroom dealings by Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the herculean engineering challenges Crowe faced, and the terrific union strikes by the men who daily fought to beat back the Colorado River. Colossus tells an important part of the story of America’s struggle to pull itself out of the Great Depression by harnessing the power of its population and its natural resources."--Back cover. The Author Of Dealers Of Lightning Pens The Definitive Account Of The Epic Construction Of The Hoover Dam, One Of The The 20th Century's Most Consequential Public Works. Introduction: September 30, 1935: Roosevelt Comes To The River -- 1: The Sinful River -- The Journey Of Death -- Born Of The Desert -- Rockwood's Gamble -- The Lord's Dame Site -- 2: The Road To Black Canyon -- Hoover Steps In -- Battlegrounds -- Hurry-up Crowe -- The Silver Spike -- The Big Six -- Ragtown -- Rush Job -- The Wobblies' Last Stand -- Ely's Kingdom -- 3: The Arch -- The Jumbos -- Turning Points -- The Rising -- The Pour -- Reckonings -- The Crest -- Legacies. Michael Hiltzik. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 466-474) And Index.