How rivers have shaped American politics, economics, and society from the beginnings of the Republic to today. Martin Doyle tells the epic story of America and its rivers—from the Constitution’s roots in interstate river navigation and the Army Corps of Engineers to gold rushes, New Deal projects like Hoover Dam and the TVA, levee failures in Hurricane Katrina, and western water wars—showing how rivers have been central to federalism, property rights, regulation, conservation, development, and the nation's future. (Includes 20 illustrations.)