The Whole Dam Story: The Drowning and Rising of a River City in the West [Paperback]

Ella Rast (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 2004

The primary focus of the book is the happenings during the past two hundred years at the water fall on the Snake River, the American Falls. This includes the European influence on the natural Western wilderness by explorers, fur trappers, gold miners, pioneers, cattle barons, sheep men, farmers, engineers and politicians.Southern Idaho's story is about mountains, rivers, the Snake River Plain and the harsh reality of drought in the desert. The natives had learned it was essential to preserve the fragile environment for their own survival. The newcomers lacked this awareness.Speculators and promoters found no value in the sagebrush forest. However, the soil was exceptionally fertile; all it needed was water. Water represented economic potential and that possibility encouraged entrepreneurs to descend with irrigation schemes. Few succeeded. Settlers found themselves caught in a web of broken promises, promoters, speculators, and failed banks.Probably the most publicized town in the nation in the twenties is American Falls! This is the story of hydroelectricity, railroad, a city, a dam and includes greed, power, intrigue, determination and commitment. It is a story our nation should know and not forget.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

I am a member of the Idaho Writer's league, participate in writing groups through Idaho State University and hold membership in the Power County Historical Society.My writing instructor, Dee Lopez of Portland, Oregon, taught at Mt. Hood Community College. Without her stern encouragement and insistence that I keep writing, I might not have finished my father's story and my first book, I Remember That Good Yet . . ., how a 1922 Russian immigrant to Idaho who found life on the desert harder than in Russia.I attended a one-room country school, Mt. Hope School, where we were taught learning skills. It was stressed that 'graduation is not the end of your education, it means you are finally ready to begin learning for the rest of your life'.After graduation from American Falls High School, I entered Emanuel Nursing School in Portland, Oregon. Some years later, a B.S. Degree was granted by Linfield College. I continued to pursue a career in nursing until 1993. With my children grown, I left Oregon to retire in Idaho with time to write and paint.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (March 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403337322
• ISBN-13: 978-1403337320
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,639,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Quaint, but questionable, January 18, 2009

By 

K.M. Orgill "NW_historian" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Whole Dam Story: The Drowning and Rising of a River City in the West (Paperback)

This is a local's account of the relocation of the American Falls residents to accomodate the construction of the American Falls Dam. While it includes some quaint (honestly enjoyable) commentary from area old-timers, it includes largely paraphrased hoopla from Idaho Power's commissioned work (which casts Idaho Power as the Savior of Western American Civilization) and reads very much like century-old Bureau of Reclamation literature promising every man paradise for the price of a shovel and a hard day's work. Phrases like "this torturous desert needed only water to be transformed into green gold!" ignore the realities of impoverished generations of farm families, salinated soils, polluted aquifers, and endangered anandromous fish. Citations are sporadic, absent, or downright false. It serves as a genuine good example of how powerful the pioneer-settlement myth has been in the region, and is a fun read if you're from the area (it's like being told a story by a favorite great-aunt), but has no substantial environmental, historical, or academic potential (if you're looking for research materials). Books more suitable for research:The Snake River: Window To The West Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West We Sagebrush Folks