Skip to content

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure Paperback - 2022

by Joseph E. Stevens


From the publisher

In the spring of 1931, in a rugged desert canyon on the Arizona-Nevada border, an army of workmen began one of the most difficult and daring building projects ever undertaken-the construction of Hoover Dam. Through the worst years of the Great Depression as many as five thousand laborers toiled twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to erect the huge structure that would harness the Colorado River and transform the American West.

Construction of the giant dam was a triumph of human ingenuity, yet the full story of this monumental endeavor has never been told. Now, in an engrossing, fast-paced narrative, Joseph E. Stevens recounts the gripping saga of Hoover Dam. Drawing on a wealth of material, including manuscript collections, government documents, contemporary newspaper and magazine accounts, and personal interviews and correspondence with men and women who were involved with the construction, he brings the Hoover Dam adventure to life.

Described here in dramatic detail are the deadly hazards the work crews faced as they hacked and blasted the dam's foundation out of solid rock; the bitter political battles and violent labor unrest that threatened to shut the job down; the deprivation and grinding hardship endured by the workers' families; the dam builders' gambling, drinking, and whoring sprees in nearby Las Vegas; and the stirring triumphs and searing moments of terror as the massive concrete wedge rose inexorably from the canyon floor.

Here, too, is an unforgettable cast of characters: Henry Kaiser, Warren Bechtel, and Harry Morrison, the ambitious, headstrong construction executives who gambled fortune and fame on the Hoover Dam contract; Frank Crowe, the brilliant, obsessed field engineer who relentlessly drove the work force to finish the dam two and a half years ahead of schedule; Sims Ely, the irascible, teetotaling eccentric who ruled Boulder City, the straightlaced company town created for the dam workers by the federal government; and many more men and women whose courage and sacrifice, greed and frailty, made the dam's construction a great human, as well as technological, adventure.

Hoover Dam is a compelling, irresistible account of an extraordinary American epic.


First line

William H. Wattis, seventy-two-year-old president of the Utah Construction Company, builder of railroads, highways, and dams, one of the wealthiest men in the West, was dying of cancer.

Details

  • Title Hoover Dam: An American Adventure
  • Author Joseph E. Stevens
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition 2nd printing
  • Pages 340
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
  • Date 2022-04-06
  • ISBN 9780806122830 / 0806122838
  • Weight 1 lbs (0.45 kg)
  • Dimensions 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 in (22.86 x 14.99 x 1.78 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: Southwest U.S.
    • Cultural Region: Western U.S.
    • Geographic Orientation: Arizona
    • Geographic Orientation: Nevada
  • Library of Congress subjects Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.)
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 87040559
  • Dewey Decimal Code 627.82
Back to Top

More Copies for Sale

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E.

  • Used
  • Fine
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Fine
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Barstow, California, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$3.50
$5.00 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. Fine looks about new with no markings and slightest of wear. . Fine. Soft cover. 1990.
Item Price
$3.50
$5.00 shipping to USA
Hoover Dam
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam

by Stevens

  • Used
Condition
Used - Very Good
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Frederick, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$5.64
$3.99 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
OU Press. Used - Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner’s name, short gifter’s inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Item Price
$5.64
$3.99 shipping to USA
Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E.

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.30
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1990. Paperback. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.30
FREE shipping to USA
Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E.

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
2
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.33
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1990. Paperback. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.33
FREE shipping to USA
Hoover Dam: An American Adventure
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E.

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Vancouver, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.57
$5.75 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.A.: Univ of Oklahoma Pr, 1990. trade paperback in very good+ condition. name inside cover. Soft cover. Very Good.
Item Price
$6.57
$5.75 shipping to USA
Hoover Dam : An American Adventure
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam : An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
2
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$7.24
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Oklahoma Press. Used - Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
$7.24
FREE shipping to USA
Hoover Dam : An American Adventure
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam : An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Reno, Nevada, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$7.24
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Oklahoma Press. Used - Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
$7.24
FREE shipping to USA
Hoover Dam : An American Adventure
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam : An American Adventure

by Joseph E. Stevens

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Santa Maria, California, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$8.00
$3.99 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Univ of Oklahoma Pr , September 1990. Trade Paperback. Used - Very Good.
Item Price
$8.00
$3.99 shipping to USA
Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E.

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Helena, Montana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$8.50
$6.75 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1990. Paperback. Very Good. Very good trade paperback shows light wear to wraps and bending from storage. 336 pages with illustrations. Solid copy of this Hoover Dam history.
Item Price
$8.50
$6.75 shipping to USA
Hoover Dam: An American Adventure
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Hoover Dam: An American Adventure

by Stevens, Joseph E

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 13
9780806122830
ISBN 10
0806122838
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$9.25
$5.50 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1990-09-15. Paperback. Very Good. Contents are tight and clean
Item Price
$9.25
$5.50 shipping to USA