The Worst Hard Time- The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

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Product details

Web ID: 15624081

This National Book Award-winning story, a tour de force of historical reportage, rescues an iconic chapter of American history-the Dust Bowl that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression-from the shadows. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, 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, Egan 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 cautionary tale about the dangers of trifling with nature.

  • Product Features

    • Format- Paperback
    • Product dimensions- 5.9" W x 8.9" H x 1.5" D
    • Genre- Social sciences
    • Publisher- HarperCollins Publishers, Publication date- 09-27-2022
    • Page count- 848
    • ISBN- 9780063017603
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8/5

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1 year ago
from Mandeville, LA

Fascinating

I didn’t know much about this period in history as it was not covered in school. I have done some research but nothing really drives the point home about how trying it was then actual accounts of what life was like at that time. I found this fascinating and terrifying at the same time. I enjoyed the stories as much as you can enjoy stories about hardship because despite that, there’s also stories about resilience and perseverance and those are heartwarming.

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from Earth

Best Nonfiction Book I've Read in Quite Some Time

This is the best nonfiction book I've read in quite some time. It takes a historical event/tragedy with which everyone is generally familiar and provides heartbreaking detail. The descriptions of the sheer size and power of the dust storms that roiled the plains are staggering. The descriptions of the resulting harm to the land, towns, and people are devastating. The individual facts like the static electricity generated by the dusters, the grasslands that evolved over thousands of years before being plowed under, and the rabbit drives held by the people once nature fell out of balance make for truly compelling reading. For better or worse, many of the ways people responded to the crisis still ring true today, including the resistance to the scientific explanation of the manmade cause of the problem; the newspaper man who spread propaganda to encourage people to stay in place, frequently against their own best interests; the resilience of the residents of the dustbowl; and the government, in the form of FDR and his administration, developing a response to hold down the land and save the region. Ultimately, among the most impactful parts of the book is the direct quotations from the diary of Don Hartwell, who kept the diary of his life in the dustbowl, including the loss of hope, the irreversible despair, and the continuous struggle for dignity and survival. Overall, this book is a very strong, enlightening, and compelling read.

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from Fairview Heights, IL

An inspiration!

An inspirational story of life during the dust bowl Midwest. Written with style for lovers of history and non-lovers as well. I couldn't recommend it more!

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

4 years ago
from knoxville,tn.

great book

This is a great book on a time in US history that has been forgotten. It is very accurate and interesting about what happened at that time.

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com

5 years ago
from California

Great book!

This book shows how difficult it was for people living during the Dust Bowl. I like how it goes through different perspectives of survivors. It shows exactly what challenges they faced. It also tells the story of each person in a different way and what they went through. I like how this book tells the story from the begging then to present day. It shows their journey from begging to end. This book is a good example of how to learn from history and make sure it doesn’t repeat itself. It also shows the reality of living through the Dust Bowl was. Finally i would recommend d this book because it reminds us to be greatful that we even have a roof over our head

Recommends this product

Customer review from barnesandnoble.com