Whiskey Riley (Signed!) [B1345]

2000 signed PB in nice clean condition. An historical fiction novel from Southwest Washington/Oregon author Jim McGee, based on his experience working on five major Pacific Northwest dam projects in the 1950s.

An illiterate master tunnel-builder and the ragtag crew of inexperienced young men he assembled to build some of the largest dams in Southwest Washington are the unlikely heroes of the novel Whiskey Riley, a new book about a hazardous and unusual profession - the underground diversion of rivers. "There is a mystique surrounding the men who work underground where trust and loyalty, honor and death are not abstract and where humor often compensates for fear. The tunnels have vanished under hundreds of feet of water, and the men to the next job-neither to be seen again. The novel Whiskey Riley recaptures this subculture in a factually based story of the drilling of the tunnels at Yale Dam."-Jerry McGee.

For a fuller appreciation of the hazards of river diversion tunneling work, you can watch this 3-minute PBS video clip showing tunnelers working during the construction of the Hoover Dam.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "One of the best books I've read. Had to buy the next one as well to see how the boy's character developed. Have since bought several copies for friends! I live on the Lewis River and it was fun knowing the spots mentioned in the story."; "This is the third book of Jerry McGee's I have read. I am enjoying all of them. What I like the most is they are from real life experiences. "Follow the River" and "A Long Way to Oregon" are also wonderful!. I will purchase more of his books soon."; "This is the third book I have read by Jerry McGee and he has another winner! Great story line and history of how dams are started in the Pacific NW. The book moves right along and hard to put down. All the characters fit together so well and the storyline flows with ease! Highly recommend picking up this book and getting lost in some entertaining history!"