The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl [B1668]

2006 PB in nice clean condition. National Book Award Winner. In a tour de force of historical reportage, Timothy Egan's National Book Award-winning story rescues an iconic chapter of American history from the shadows. The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Timothy Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, he does equal justice to the human characters who become his heroes, "the stoic, long-suffering men and women whose lives he opens up with urgency and respect" (New York Times). In an era that promises ever-greater natural disasters, The Worst Hard Time is "arguably the best nonfiction book yet" (Austin Statesman Journal) on the greatest environmental disaster ever to be visited upon our land and a powerful reminder about the dangers of trifling with nature.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Gritty and full of heart. Great true story about people's lives and the consequences of the dust bowl years on the Great Plains. Recommended for understanding the dirty thirties."; "I bought this book expecting to learn more about the Dust Bowl period, and I got so much more! Yes, there were a lot of facts, but this book was written in such a way that I did not lose interest. People stories were interwoven at just the right time. The government, equipment salesmen and even Catherine the Great all were involved in this point in history! Human nature, greed, power all included with prices of grain and finances.....what an unfortunate turn of events for this country. So much suffering and loss by ordinary people who tried to stay. Wow, what a story."; "Whew wee. This is a masterclass in research, weaving imagery, and allowing stories to be told by the people who lived them. Such a impactful look at the lives and losses of the folks in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandle and Nebraska during the dust bowl."