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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Ascutney Mill Dam, Brownington Village Historic District, Arlington Village Historic District (Arlington, Vermont), West Haven Baptist Church, Cambridge Meetinghouse, Manchester Village Historic District (Manchester, Vermont). Not illustrated. Excerpt: Ascutney Mill Dam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia As early as 1767 there were several operating sawmills and gristmills along the banks of Mill Brook in Windsor, Virginia. Sawmills were facilities where logs were cut into boards and gristmills in which grain is ground into flour. These mills were around since B.C. times and were generally water powered, with a few being wind powered or having other sources. In post-colonial Virginia, these mills were essential for building and food needs of the growing cities. However, during periods of low flow the mills stood idle. The Ascutney Milldam Company was formed in 1833 to build the dam. The company was the owner of the dam and was responsible for its maintenance and operation. Due to the financial panic of 1837, the company had problems but continued to operate the dam throughout the 19th century. Ithamar A. Beard was the engineer who surveyed the area and made the suggestion for the site. Construction of the dam was from mid-April 1834 to mid-November 1834. It was built of cut granite and was one of the first built in the United States. It is also possibly the oldest masonry dam of any significant size. The original dam had a near-vertical downstream face built in an arch form. Water filled up behind the dam each winter and was allowed to flow over the spillway the following spring. Water and ice falling over the crest and 40 feet to the ledge below caused noise and vibrations throughout the village which concerned citizens. Inspections found... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=19051495 ... Read more

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Chapters: Hoover Dam. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 349. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Hoover Dam -The Hoover dam from the air over Lake MeadA commission was formed in 1922 with a representative from each of the Basin states and one from the Federal Government. The federal representative was Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce under President Warren Harding. In January 1922, Hoover met with the state governors of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming to work out an equitable arrangement for apportioning the waters of the Colorado River for their states' use. The resulting Colorado River Compact, signed on November 24, 1922, split the river basin into upper and lower halves with the states within each region deciding how the water would be divided. This agreement, known as the Hoover Compromise, paved the way for the Boulder Dam Project. This huge dam was built to provide irrigation water flow, for flood control, and for hydroelectric-power generation. Herbert HooverThe first attempt to gain Congressional approval for construction of Boulder Dam came in 1922 with the introduction of two bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The bills were introduced by Congressman Phil D. Swing and Senator Hiram W. Johnson and were known as the Swing-Johnson bills. The bills failed to come up for a vote and were subsequently reintroduced several times. In December 1928, both the House and the Senate finally approved the bill and sent it to the President for approval. On December 21, 1928, President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill approving the Boulder Canyon Project. The initial appropriation for construction was made in July 1930, by which time Herbert Hoover had become President. Early plans called for the dam to be built in Boulder Cany...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=14308 ... Read more

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Chapters: Taharqa, Kingdom of Makuria, Nobiin Language, Aswan Dam, Nubian Architecture, Kingdom of Kerma, Dar Al-Manasir, Nubians, Nubian Languages, Alodia, Napata, Medjay, Nubian Pyramids, Temple of Dendur, Hamza El Din, Bakt, Nobatia, Qasr Ibrim, Haggag Oddoul, C-Group, Georgios I of Makuria, Historical Names of Nubia, List of Rulers of Makuria, Faras, Lower Nubia, Semna, Dotawo, Abraham of Makuria, A-Group, Kyriakos of Makuria, Zacharias I of Makuria, Merkurios of Makuria, Zacharias Iii of Makuria, Georgios Ii of Makuria, List of Monarchs of Kerma, Kissar, Markos of Makuria, Joel of Dotawo, Simon of Makuria, Salomo of Makuria, Saï, Rafael of Makuria, Ali Baba of Makuria, Nubiology, Batn-El-Hajar. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 176. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Kingdom of Makuria (Old Nubian: , Makouria; Arabic: , al-Muqurra) was a kingdom located in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. It was one of a group of Nubian kingdoms that emerged during the decline of the Aksumite Empire, which it had been part of from approximately 4BC to AD 950. Makuria originally covered the area along the Nile River from the Third Cataract to somewhere between the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts. It also had control over the trade routes, mines, and oases to the east and west. Its capital was Dongola (Arabic: Dunqulah), and the kingdom is sometimes known by the name of its capital. By the end of the 6th century it had converted to Christianity, but in the 7th century Egypt was conquered by the Islamic armies, and Nubia was cut off from the rest of Christendom. In 651 an Arab army invaded, but it was repulsed and a treaty known as the baqt was signed creating a relative peace between the two sides that lasted until the 13th century. Makuria expanded, annexing its northern neighbour N...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1073722 ... Read more

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A lavishly illustrated exploration of these landscape-defining structures across the United States.Dams are a monumental presence on the American landscape. This newest book in the Norton/Library of Congress series shows that the history of dam development is characterized by invention and innovation, and parallels that of the United States. It emphasizes the unique design and engineering complexities of these impressive structures.
800 black-and-white photographs ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Broad Overview of the History of Dams
Christine Macy, dean of the faculty of Architecture and Planning at Dalhousie University, has collected a wealth of information and photographs detailing the history and technology behind the many dams built in the United States. The book is broken down into regional chapters (Atlantic, Great Lakes-Appalachia, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas-Texas-Rio Grande, Colorado-Great Basin, Columbia, California) and shows the diversity of designs and construction techniques. Mill and navigation dams are common on the East Coast, while irrigation dams are singular to the West. Macy also gets into the changing role and perception of dams as a benefit to society and a harm to nature. The copious illustrations art range from photographs to woodcuts, maps, and architectural drawings. While probably aimed at the architecture or engineering student or professional, the text is clear and engaging enough for the armchair enthusiast. An included CD provides even more images and records.

Surveying the structural diversity of dams and their changing role in American society
Any college-level collection strong in architecture and engineering will find DAMS a key acquisition. It organizes a range of projects by watershed, profiling over 800 historical and modern photos and providing not only a wide range of visuals from ads, drawings, and photos, but also surveying the structural diversity of dams and their changing role in American society. Designers and students will find this a powerful history with an accompanying CD-ROM offering downloadable TIFF files of all illustrations.

Dams and What They Wrought
"Dams (Library of Congress Visual Sourcebooks)" is an important work that examines the impact of the behemoth structures on the human and geographical landscape throughout the United States.

Author Christine Macy weaves an account of how some of the more than 2.5 million dams have been built, accompanied by hundreds of photos, maps and charts detailing their construction.The black and white photos show changing landscapes, men and machines at work on the structures and the resulting changes in water flow and supply. The geological, political, engineeringand humanto build and then adjust to the dams are all part of the story as new projects created or denied development to huge areas of the country. Among the major projects are those of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Hoover Dam and those in the Northwest. As the book notes, dams are both welcomed and rejected, sometimes condemned as destroyers of nature, other times desired for their provision of irrigation for agriculture and human life.

Their importance in the development of the country cannot be overstated, especially in areas that either experienced disastrous flooding or droughts that prevented the growth of the human population.

The book is divided into eight geographical areas or watersheds, with explanations of how hydroelectric, mill, reservoir and other dams operate, and is part of the Norton/Library of Congress series. Included in the book is a CD containing hundreds of images, including many in color, data files and records.
... Read more

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Now in paperback!

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.

Wonders of the World series

The winner of numerous awards, this series is renowned for Elizabeth Mann's ability to convey adventure and excitement while revealing technical information in engaging and easily understood language. The illustrations are lavishly realistic and accurate in detail but do not ignore the human element. Outstanding in the genre, these books are sure to bring even the most indifferent young reader into the worlds of history, geography, and architecture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

(Mechanically Fatal Sounds) Oh, nooo! -Cause of a Hoover vacuum
(A person walking downs a construction tunnel dressed in scrappy, grimy clothes, walks past two workers; one stooping down and drinking cool water, who glanced warily upward; the other was coughing uproariously: both workers in the dam, both in the Great Depression. The man continues to walk past till he stops and looks up at you with his rugged, exhausted face and uttered, "Do you know the story?")

Timeline
Planning and preparation (1922-1931) Construction (1931-1936)
The Great Depression (1929-1936)

The Hoover Dam was moored and built in Black canyon, at the southern tip of Nevada (another canyon was optioned and is known as Boulder canyon, but the mineral stone that held it together would have been weak under the strain of the dam's weight, so it was decided against it). Before the plans to build a dam of such magnitude were ever conceptualized, the notion to gain control of the wild and unpredictable Colorado river was in the minds of many people, but especially in the minds of certain businessmen who had their eyes on the river and on a stretch of organically rich yet mostly arid land known as Paradise Valley. This time period was between the late 1800Th and the beginning years of the 1900th. These men saw this as sellable farm land, but there was the Colorado they had to contend with. The river had a tendency to be of near-drought water levels to flooding levels with little warning whatsoever. So to remedy the situation, they built earthen mounds to redirect and irrigate the land, which worked well, for a time, which they probably knew would not hold. Even so, the land became lush, and they able sell the land to farmers and make a handsome profit. Years later, when the Colorado flooded and the earthen mounds failed, the land the farmers had grown to love, would, out of financial distress, be sold to the state, and became something of a nightmarish situation.

The earthen mounds were not built to withstand the Colorado, but the Hoover Dam was.

The illustrator of the book did a great job of making the pictures colorful and photographs convey the hardships of, not only the dam workers, but also the people who lived during the Great Depression. With them, the background writing and segments of personal accounts, which also was done very well, had added gravity to it, making it a very good book. All this being said, I would recommend it as a book taken out of the library instead of being purchased, unless you are absolutely want to buy it.

One of my greatest complaints is not against this book, but against the publisher. This book, contrary to where the subject of the book is located, was printed in China. This might not bother others, but it did me. I suppose, unfortunately, that there is little loyalty for the betterment of one's people and nation these days.

-Jake Smithers

A Look at the times as well as the accomplishment
Building the Hoover Dam was hard, dangerous work and many people died constructing it. However, times were so tought, there was no shortage of people willing to work on it. Excellent photos and illustrations and interesting quotes from people who helped build the dam. There is a four-page fold-out diagram that shows how the dam was built. There are dam facts, a list of those who died, and an index at the end of the book. Karen Woodworth Roman, Children's Science Book Review

Illustrations are stunning...and well worth my time!
While the information in the book was extremely accurate, it seemed a bit long for this style of a picture book.

As an introduction to our Hoover Dam unit, I opted to focus, instead, on the absolutely stunning illustrations and allow my students to write their own words.

Later in the unit, I made the book available to my students and many found it to be a wonderful reference tool.It was quite complimentary to McBride's: Building Hoover Dam: An Oral History of the Great Depression yet a lot more appropriate for fourth graders.

While Mann's book can be a great classroom reference for a Hoover Dam unit, it is not recommended as a read-aloud. ... Read more

Product Description
This book contains procedures, standards, and instructions for use in the design of small dams. Many of the theoretical concepts presented are applicable to large as well as small structures. This is the best book for 'general dam engineering' with numerous examples of the content applied to actual dams. ... Read more

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This book provides planners with an overview of a number of global water projects and the unexpected ecological consequences which the engineers encountered or caused. The examples stress human health and aquatic ecology. Through historical assessment of well documented case studies, the book also identifies the steps planners took to overcome these problems, and gives guidance for planners of future projects. The book is suitable for use as an introductory text by young engineers exploring the scope of the profession, and for graduate engineers specializing in design of international water projects or environmental engineering ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Junior-high school library book
I had intended the book as a gift to an engineering friend in another country, so I was disappointed to find it was written for a junior-high or high school level reader.It has good information in it but was not what I was looking for.It did contain a reference to a better book for my purpose, but I had run out of time. ... Read more

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Hoover Dam was constructed during one of the most depressed economic climates in American history, in a remote desert canyon where temperatures ranged from single to triple digits.In order to visually document the project, the Bureau of Reclamation assigned employee Ben Glaha to photograph all aspects of the dam's construction.Glaha's photographs were used in press releases, periodicals, books, pamphlets, and slide shows to demonstrate that the dam was structurally sound and that government funds were being used wisely. Hoover Dam: The Photographs of Ben Glaha is the first detailed examination of Glaha's images of the project, some of which have never before been published.Glaha photographed every aspect of the construction process—from details of how the dam was assembled to the overall progress as the dam rose from the bottom of the dry riverbed.Glaha not only provided the Bureau with the photographs it required, he also employed his own artistic abilities to produce images of the dam that were exhibited in museums and galleries as works of art.Because Glaha was able to create a selection of Hoover Dam photographs worthy of exhibition, he was unique among government documentary photographers.Art historian Barbara Vilander's text places Glaha's efforts within the historical context of western landscape exploration and development and reveals how his particular qualifications led to his selection as the project photographer.Vilander then examines the many publications and venues in which the Bureau used Glaha's photographs to create support for the project.She also discusses how Glaha was recognized in his own era as an influential artist and teacher, and compares his work with that of other contemporary landscape photographers addressing western water management.Glaha's Hoover Dam images were widely published, although in accordance with Bureau policy he was not usually given personal credit and therefore his name remains largely unknown.Vilander's book corrects that oversight by giving Glaha the technical and artistic credit he is due within the context of one of the most ambitious projects in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hooverville
The Amazon Editorial Reviews above will give you a good idea of this book's contents but what isn't said is that this is not a photo book of Ben Glaha's work.His fifty shots included are really an adjunct to Barbara Vilander's excellent text.She clearly has done a lot of research into the dam's construction by the Six Companies and how Glaha photographed all aspects of this activity.Her coverage extents to placing the photos in the context of the Machine Aesthetic (chapter four) and use of the photos by the Bureau of Reclamation (chapter five: The Photographs as Propaganda).

Though the text is interesting I was disappointed that the book's production is quite bland.Glaha's photos (and others) are presented on the page with far too much surrounding white space and they have been scanned as ordinary photos as you would see in a picture book so that light areas merge into the whiteness of the paper, dark parts of so many photos nearly turn to black.Overall there is a feeling of grayness as I look through the book's images.

Glaha's work really needs proper scanning, quality paper and printing as duotones in a photo book format to bring out the creative and information aspects that are inherent in his photos.With the existing text such a book could look quite stunning.

If you are interested in all aspects of the dam's construction the best book I've found is The Story of the Hoover Dam, a remarkable record originally published in various issues of Compressed Air Magazine, 1931-1935.It has plenty of maps, diagrams and photos some of which were taken by Glaha.It is quite technical though.Click on the link to the book to see some spreads I've uploaded.


***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover. ... Read more