The wild river and the great dam by Simon Boughton

The introduction begins with the dangerous work of high scaling, shaping the cliff face for the building of a massive engineering project - the Hoover Dam. This section gives readers an idea of the huge scope of the project and the dangerous work of the men who built it.

The story begins years before the building of the dam, with catastrophic floods at the turn of the century. Along with these floods, Boughton explores the indigenous history of the area, how the colonists viewed this largely desert area, and the ways these interlopers saw conservation and reclamation of the Colorado river. The first chapter ends with the selection of a conglomerate of companies to build the dam, a massive engineering project that would not only provide the area with consistent water but also jobs during the Great Depression.

The following chapters weave a smooth narrative of a complex story, combining the engineering of the dam, early technology used to build it, and physics of restraining and controlling a powerful river with the human story of people involved. Boughton looks at the attitudes of the families who came to live in the desert, the failed attempts to force the Six Companies conglomerate into acknowledging or compensating deaths and injuries on the work site, and the different perspectives of the people involved at all levels.

The story concludes with the successful completion of the dam and then explores the immediate and long-range consequences of such a massive change in the landscape, from the building of additional dams, political arguments over who owns the water rights, up to today's changing climate and potential water crisis. Extensive back matter gives readers an opportunity to learn more as well as follow up particular points of interest.

Verdict: This was a fascinating combination of history and engineering. I don't know how many kids will be willing to read it, but it's definitely something that adults could recommend, especially in the context of growing discussions about climate change and our local water supplies in the Great Lakes.

ISBN: 9780316380744; Published March 2024 by Christy Ottaviano Books/Little Brown; Added to library order list