This book was about the St. Francis Dam, located in California. I had never heard of this dam or this disaster, and found this book on a suggested list of books about disasters. This happened back in 1928, and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, and resulted in astronomical home and property damages. This book went into the planning and construction of the dam, which I had also never considered before reading this book. Mulholland had a good idea in building the dam and its purposes, but there were several fatal mistakes made in the construction. I think that William Mulholland really felt terrible about each part he played in this disaster, and not just for his reputation and financial implications. It was truly terrible, though hopefully a learning experience for other dam constructions going forward. This was a very enlightening book, which I enjoyed.