Hoover Dam: The Story of Hard Times, Tough People, and the Taming of a Wild River by Elizabeth Mann

They called the river the Red Bull. Desert silt gave the Colorado its distinctive color, but it was its power and unpredictability that made its fierce reputation. Speeding down from the high Rockies, the Colorado would flood without warning, wiping out any farmer foolish enough to settle near its banks.

But what if the Red Bull could be tamed? Farmlands irrigated by the Colorado’s waters could bloom in the desert. Cities electrified by the Colorado’s power could grow and prosper. The Hoover Dam grew from this dream and with it much of the modern American west.

Built in the middle of The Great Depression, the Hoover Dam was set in an unforgiving landscape whose climate defied habitation much less intense, backbreaking physical labor. Yet, during those hard times and in that desolate place, there rose an extraordinarily sophisticated feat of modern engineering.

The Hoover Dam is the dramatic story of the danger, suffering, courage and genius that went into the building of one of America’s most famous landmarks.

Visit the Grade 4 Career Connection Module of the TMA BlueTech Curriculum to see curriculum connections.