Floodpath: The Deadliest Man-Made Disaster of 20th-Century America and the Making of Modern Los Angeles | 
so-soIt was good. It was pretty slow to start, as the building of the dam wasn‘t all that interesting to me. But it got better (that is, more interesting) once the flood actually happened. Even the follow-up in trying to figure out what happened kept my interest more than the initial building of it
pickThis is the story of the collapse of the St. Francis Dam located at San Francisquito canyon (near LA) on March 12, 1928, the tragedy caused by the flood path, and its aftermath in terms of its victims and the future of hydrology. This book goes beyond the actual man made disaster and delves into the history of how LA was able to grow via aggressive tactics, especially by William Mullholland, to obtain necessary water. Fascinating read.
"We are convinced that the claimant sustained damages, but we do not feel the damages amounted to the sum demanded. . . The lady bears investigation, that she is a good dresser, etc. and that her moral reputation is not perfect. We also know she needs money and desires a speedy settlement...I am convinced that if someone could go to the claimant and offer her $500 cash that she would sign a full release."
"The anti-L.A. Press had taken to calling William Mullholland "Aqua-Duck Bill." #nonfiction #losangeles
