The Worst Hard Time
Books | History / United States / 20th Century
4
(133)
Timothy Egan
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.This e-book includes a sample chapter of THE IMMORTAL IRISHMAN.
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More Details:
Author
Timothy Egan
Pages
352
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2006-09-01
ISBN
0547347774 9780547347776
Ratings
Google: 3.5
Community ReviewsSee all
"This should be required reading. I learned so much about Great Plains history, effects of climate change in our farming, how our nation as evolved because of the events that took place during the Dust Bowl…in light of all we deal with today, it is easy to feel we have it the worse, but reading this really put things in perspective. "
Danielle Henry
"While the subject is interesting, the writing is a little dry. Fitting, I suppose, for a book about the dust bowl."
Lori Swope
"Great book! I learned so much about a part of our history that I knew nothing about. "
K D
Kristine Dreesen
"This is a great account of how bleak the years of the Dust Bowl actually were. The author does a wonderful job showing how this was an entirely man made disaster and after reading this, it doesn't really look like anyone really learned anything from it. Now they are just depleting one of the biggest underground reservoirs to produce crops no one needs on an area that should never have been tilled for farmland in the first place. It is hard to feel much sympathy though, because ignorance and continued disregard for the land to this day will just continue until they run out of water in the aquifer."
"I loved the Big Burn. Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher was not quite as good"
Thomas Blok
"A surprising amount of Americans are not even aware of the reality of the Dust Bowl. This is available as an audio recording as well. People should realize what our forefathers and foremothers have gone through. And how greed can result in disaster for many people. #dustbowl"
J V
Julie VanZandt
"More than worth the emotional investment. The dust bowl from an angle rarely shown. Likely to infuriate reasonable individuals. Teaches an invaluable ecological lesson: Don’t f**k with nature. "
J T
Jenna Tenaglio