Review of “The History of Large Federal Dams: Planning, Design, and Construction,” Published by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

This isn’t my usual reading fare, but I couldn’t pass it up because dams are fascinating to me personally. This book is a collection of essays written by engineering historians. They are all well written and easy to comprehend, even the chapter on dam design criteria.

Let the reader be warned, however; this is definitely a historical book, not a book about dams. The authors carefully describe the complex political, economic, and technological problems associated with the construction of hundreds of dams — that’s right, hundreds of dams were constructed by the Reclamation Bureau and the Army Corps of Engineers between 1930 and 1970. This is often referred to as the big dam era, really getting started with the commissioning of Hoover Dam in 1935. But it was far from an easy time for mega projects, and environmental and other considerations finally created enough pressure to end the epoch.

The big dam era was characterized by multipurpose dams, i.e., dams that provided hydroelectric power, flood control, irrigation, and/or river navigation. This collection of essays does a great job covering the entire period.

I never intended to read this book but I was fascinated; however, I skipped a lot of detailed historical facts. If you’re interested in American technological history, this book’s for you — if you can find it …