Colossus

Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century

By: Michael Hiltzik

Narrated by: Norman Dietz

As breathtaking today as when it was completed, Hoover Dam ranks among America's greatest achievements. The story of its conception, design, and construction is the story of the United States at a unique moment in history: when facing both a global economic crisis and the implacable elements of nature, we prevailed.

The United States after Hoover Dam was a different country from the one that began to build it, going from the glorification of individual effort to the value of shared enterprise and communal support. The dam became the physical embodiment of this change. A remote regional construction project was transformed from a Republican afterthought into a New Deal symbol of national pride. Hoover Dam went on to shape not only the American West but the American century.

Michael Hiltzik populates the epic tale of the dam's construction with larger-than-life characters, such as Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, William Mulholland, and the dam's egomaniacal architect, Frank Crowe. Shedding real light on a one-of-a-kind moment in 20th-century American history, Hiltzik combines exhaustive research, trenchant observation, and a gift for unforgettable storytelling in a book that is bound to become a classic in its genre.

©2010 Michael Hiltzik (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Astutely conveying the characters of its creators, Hiltzik marvelously captures the times of the Hoover Dam." ( Booklist)

A Political Biography of the Dam

"Colossus" is Michael Hiltzik's contribution to the public works literature including - for example - David McCullough's "The Great Bridge" and "The Path Between the Seas" along with "Golden Gate" by Kevin Star. In this volume Hiltzik details the history of the taming of the Colorado River during the Western Expansion to the building of the Hoover Dam. The political horse trading, engineering, labor problems, and more other surprises than can be listed here are presented. The book offers an amazing window onto the sacrifices made by those who physically built the dam with their sweat, muscle, and sometimes their lives. Desperate men in desperate economic times. This book focuses on the political economic issues to the exclusion of engineering details. So readers expecting another "The Path Between the Seas" might be a little disappointed. This is more a political biography than an engineering biography of the dam. Otherwise, the prose keeps the listener's attention and the reading of Norman Dietz is excellent.

A History of Western Water

This book describes the transformation of the Colorado River from agricultural use to the engine of urban greatness. It describes the creation of the Salton Sea, the Imperial Irrigation District and Las Vegas. The role of Teddy, Hoover and FDR are chronicled. Recommended for those who truly wish to understand the West.

details

extremely informative on details also a good narrator. it seems a lot of people suffered during the building of this dam.

Good, but far from great

Mr. Hiltzik could have used a really aggressive editor on this one. I love a good backstory, but I have a limit when it comes to running down so many rabbit trails. Also, Norman Dietz's narration is--and I hate to be harsh, but this is the truth--somewhat grandfatherly sounding. A subject matter this interesting should have made for a real "page-turner." As it is, I literally have to listen in short bursts to keep from becoming too frustrated.

Was expecting more.

After visiting the dam last year, I looked forward to learning more. While I did learn more, I didn't really enjoy this book. If you haven't already read it, check out "The Great Bridge" instead.

Long but excellent

I loved this book. It's a bit long winded with lots of political information on how it came about but a fascinating account of the Hoover Dam. If you've seen the dam in person you owe it to yourself to understand the effort made in making it happen and the building process. A true feat of engineering of the early 20th century.

Detialed but interesting. a good listen.

I had this in my wish list for almost a year before downloading it, I should have done it sooner. This was a detailed account of not only the building of the dam but of the reasons for it. A history of the imperial valley of California starts the book out and then the appropriation of money that took years in Congress. the story also talks about president Hover, who had little to do with the dams creation but whose name was put on it. Stories of how Hover rewrote the way events transpired in his memoirs to make himself look better was a little surprising.

The story of the construction was well don and you could picture the men at work and almost feel the heat. There is even a story of a dog who became the dams mascot that was very touching.

This was a vary detailed book and I think you need a real interest in the subject to enjoy it fully.

It was a good listen, the narration was good and fit the subject. The next time I visit the dam I shall listen to this again.

Great book

The politics was a great background of an engineering feat of monumental proportions. To me it was amazing that such an accomplishment could occur during the depths of the depression when Mom was a little girl.

FDR, Hoover and The New Deal ...

Using the story of the Hoover Dam as a back drop this book chronicles the early 20th century and places a number of events leading up to and after construction in perspective.
Hiltzik followed this book with a second volume titled "The New Deal" ... the two books fit together perfectly.
Note: The Owyhee Dam & Reservoir is located west of Boise, Idaho but over the Oregon state-line in Eastern Oregon and not in Idaho. The text mistakenly places this project in Idaho.

Fast-moving account

Hiltzik is a (brilliant) newspaper columnist and this book reads like a series of well-written newspaper features on linked subjects. It begins with the early history of irrigation in the Imperial Valley and takes its time before reaching the story of the dam itself, but much of that early history, and particularly the catastrophic accidental diversion of the Colorado into the Mojave Desert, the origin of the Salton Sea, is interesting in its own right. It would have been even more interesting to hear from Mexican farmers and ranchers but Hiltzik’s focus remain on the northern side of the border.