Bob Underwood’s grandfather was “a dam engineer and proud of it,” and from their interactions sprang the idea for his captivating retrospective on the history of hydropower, Dam It! Electrifying America and Taming Her Waterways.
“Hydropower is not just something of the past. It is hot again today as America goes to renewable energy in the age of climate change,” Underwood said. “Hydropower acts as a water battery to store excess energy generated when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, and then to power the grid when those sources are not generating enough power.”
As told in Underwood’s crisp narrative and enhanced by his unique personal remembrances, Dam It! offers a spellbinding account of how dams restructured America’s landscape, powered the country, and became symbols of Americans’ resourcefulness and mastery over nature.
Thomas Edison’s invention of the practical incandescent light bulb in 1879 fundamentally altered American life, and for the next 50 years electrification drove the nation’s economy, Underwood explains. Where rivers, America’s lifeblood, could be tapped, they were the cheapest energy source. In the early 1900s, waterpower accounted for nearly half of the country’s electric supply.
In addition to Edison, Underwood’s cast of characters includes J.P. Morgan, Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse, Henry Ford, Samuel Insull and, of course, his grandfather. Along the way, Dam It! winds its way through natural and manmade disasters, wars, cutthroat politics, financial wheeling and dealing, and bitter power struggles.
With 165 breathtaking photographs — including the original Niagara Falls Power Station, immense hydroelectric projects under construction, and rare photos of notable historical figures — Dam It! immerses readers in the evolution of hydroelectric power, where they can witness astounding engineering and construction feats and marvel at how technological innovation shaped the world.
About the Author
Bob Underwood has lived around dam people his entire life. A venture capital/private equity veteran, he has a doctorate in engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He built his career developing technology-based businesses. Both a technology and business expert, he has extensive experience with climate change and renewable energy matters. He is a long-time past member of the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee on Industrial Innovation. Underwood and his wife live in the Chicago area and summer on eastern Long Island in the same house where his dam-builder grandfather grew up.
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