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9780292754911

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Shallat's memorable book is for anyone interested in US rivers... It is intriguing to learn that the social-economic-political battles of 150-200 years ago are still being fought today... Individuals concerned with water resources, engineering, or the politics of pork barrell projects will find the book fascinating. Good introductory reading for students of engineering, science, and public policy.The United States Army Corps of Engineers is the preeminent public construction institution in the United States. How did a military organization reach this position? The answer demonstrates the connection among science, technology, and political power. Shallat skillfully weaves these themes together as he traces corps history from Jeffersonian times to post-Civil War water projects... Shallat provides a thoroughly researched, well-documented history of the rise of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It will become a standard reference in its area.This is an important study of the United States in the nineteenth century... Thorough, nuanced, and vividly written, its primary concern is with the ongoing conflict between an entrenched bureaucracy committed to state planning and to its own view of science and those who have, over the years, criticized the Corps of Engineers for its elitism, failed systems, and monumental arrogance and extravagance. A true merit of this book is its ability to trace the dual nature of the corps - seen both as an efficient agency capable of transforming the nation's waterways and as an arrogant, mismanaged threat to the ecology... An excellent and readable book that deserves a wide audience.

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Todd Shallat directs the Center for Idaho History and Politics at Boise State University.

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