When Roosevelt signed the act that created the TVA, “Malaria remained rampant in some 30 percent of the population,” Glass writes. “Household incomes averaged $640 a year. Much of the land had been farmed too hard for too long, which eroded and depleted the soil." 

But the TVA brought new life to the region. “TVA-generated electricity attracted industries, which in turn created jobs,” he writes. “Light and modern appliances made life easier and farms more productive.” The TVA also worked with farmers to develop fertilizers and improve their land as well as the natural environment.

The TVA remains the largest national public power company, Glass writes, serving nearly 8.5 million customers.