Prisoners of Myth
Prisoners of Myth

Author: Erwin C. Hargrove

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 1994-08-08

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 1400821533

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Prisoners of Myth is the first comprehensive history of the Tennessee Valley Authority from its creation to the present day. It is also a telling case study of organizational evolution and decline. Building on Philip Selznick's classic work TVA and the Grass Roots (1949), a seminal text in the theoretical study of bureaucracy, Erwin Hargrove analyzes the organizational culture of the TVA by looking at the actions of its leaders over six decades--from the heroic years of the New Deal and World War II through the postwar period of consolidation and growth to the time of troubles from 1970 onward, when the TVA ran afoul of environmental legislation, built a massive nuclear power program that it could not control, and sought new missions for which there were no constituencies. The founding myth of multipurpose regional development was inappropriately pursued in the 1970s and '80s by leaders who became "prisoners of myth" in their attempt to keep the TVA heroic. A decentralized organization, which had worked well at the grass roots, was difficult to redirect as the nuclear genii spun out of control. TVA autonomy from Washington, once a virtue, obscured political accountability. This study develops an important new theory about institutional performance in the face of historical change.

TVA
TVA

Author: North Callahan

Publisher:

Published: 1980

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13:

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The Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority

Author: Alanson A. Van Fleet

Publisher: Chelsea House Publications

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 9781555461232

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Discusses the history, purposes, and future of the multifaceted TVA.

Tennessee Valley Authority in Vintage Postcards
Tennessee Valley Authority in Vintage Postcards

Author: Mark Allen Stevenson

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 9780738541525

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Created by the federal government in 1933 to revitalize a region twice the size of New England, the Tennessee Valley Authority began as an experiment of unprecedented proportions. Seen here through picture postcards, the dramatic achievements of the TVA take on a personal aspect, as individuals visit the hydroelectric projects and enjoy the newly created recreational opportunities. Tangible benefits are also documented, such as improved navigation, new roads and bridges, and abundant and inexpensive electricity. Influenced by such visionaries as Gifford Pinchot, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Norris, the agency also dealt with regional issues, including river commerce, soil conservation, and flood control.

TVA Photography
TVA Photography

Author: Patricia Bernard Ezzell

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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Given in memory of James C. Ross, Jr. by the Staff of the Bryan/College Station Library System.

TVA Archaeology
TVA Archaeology

Author: Erin E. Pritchard

Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 1572336501

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Since its inception in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority has played a dual role as federal agency and steward of the Tennessee River Valley. While known to most people today as an energy provider, the agency is also charged with managing and protecting the nation's fifth-largest river system, the Tennessee River, and vast tracts of land and resources encompassing Tennessee and portions of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. Included in TVA's mandate is the preservation of the archaeological record of the valley's prehistoric peoples-a record that would have been forever lost beneath floodwaters had TVA not demonstrated a commitment to minimize its impact on the valley and sought to protect its archaeological resources. In TVA Archaeology, fourteen contributors who have worked with TVA in its conservation effort discuss prehistoric excavations conducted at Tellico, Normandy, Jonathan's Creek, and many other sites. They explore TVA's role in the excavations and how the agency facilitated prehistoric investigations along proposed dam sites. They also delve into the history of TVA as it grew from a New Deal program to a federal corporation and reveal how, during the agency's formative years, the TVA board responded to prodding from archaeologists David DeJarnette and William Webb and molded TVA into the steward of a region it is today. TVA remains a mainstay of progress and conservation within an important region of the United States, and its safeguarding of the valley's prehistory cements its legacy as more than just an energy supplier. Students and researchers interested in prehistoric archaeology, the Tennessee Valley, and the history of TVA will find this volume an invaluable contribution to the study of the region. Erin E. Pritchard is an archaeologist with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Her work includes multiple archaeological site investigations, most notably Dust Cave in northern Alabama, and she has authored and coauthored numerous site reports for TVA.

White Collar Radicals
White Collar Radicals

Author: Aaron D. Purcell

Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press

Published: 2011-03-02

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1572336838

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They came from all corners of the country--fifteen young, idealistic, educated men and women drawn to Knoxville, Tennessee, to work for the Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the first of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal projects. Mostly holding entry-level jobs, these young people became friends and lovers, connecting to one another at work and through other social and political networks. What the fifteen failed to realize was that these activities--union organizing and, for most, membership in the Communist Party--would plunge them into a maelstrom that would endanger, and for some, destroy their livelihoods, social standing, and careers. White Collar Radicals follows their lives from New Deal activism in the 1930s through the 1940s and 1950s government investigations into what were perceived as subversive deeds. Aaron D. Purcell shows how this small group of TVA idealists was unwillingly thrust from obscurity into the national spotlight, victims and participants of the second Red Scare in the years after World War II. The author brings into sharp focus the determination of the government to target and expose alleged radicals of the 1930s during the early Cold War period. The book also demonstrates how the national hysteria affected individual lives. White Collar Radicals is both a historical study and a cautionary tale. The Knoxville Fifteen, who endured the dark days of the McCarthy Era, now have their story told for the first time--a story that offers modern-day lessons on freedom, civil liberties, and the authority of the government.

Watershed
Watershed

Author: Mark Barr

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9781938235597

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Set in 1937 in rural Tennessee, with the construction of a monumental dam serving as background--a cinematically biblical effort to harness elemental forces and bring power to the people--Watershed delivers a gripping story of characters whose ambitions and yearnings threaten to overflow the banks of their time and place. Nathan, an engineer hiding from his past, and Claire, a small-town housewife, struggle to find their footing in the newly-electrified, job-hungry, post-Depression South. As Nathan wrestles with the burdens of a secret guilt and tangled love, Claire struggles to balance motherhood and a newfound freedom that awakens ambitions and a sexuality she hadn't known she possessed. The arrival of electricity in the rural community--where violence, prostitution, and dog-fighting are commonplace--thrusts together the federal and local worlds, in an evocative feat of storytelling in the vein of Kent Haruf's Plainsong, and Ron Rash's Serena.