The TVA Regional Planning and Development Program ― The Transformation of an Institution and Its Mission

The Tennessee Valley Authority was intended to pull one of the poorest regions of American into the mainstream through flood control, improved navigation, and hydroelectric power, but it was also supposed to serve as inspiration for other regions mired in the Great Depression of the 1930s. This was deferred in the war years when its power made aircraft and atom bombs possible, but afterwards the TVA began to fulfill its potential as an instrument of development. Johnson (U. of Tennessee) worked from the memoirs of Gray, whose professional career consisted of service in the TVA from its inception in 1933 to his retirement in 1973. They describe how the agency changed from a pragmatic solution to an immediate problem to a force for community and local development. Particularly interesting are Gray's views of the agency's direction and progress from after his retirement in 1973 to 1994. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

David A. Johnson is Professor Emeritus at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.