The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl in Around the World in 80 Books

Aug 21, 2014 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, disaster, american-history, western, environment

"Living memory" history is one of my favorite sub-genres, because it drives home for me just how much the world can change in the span of a single human lifetime. The Dust Bowl is right at that point in time where it seems both impossibly distant but utterly tangible, and Egan does an excellent job showing the full depth of the calamity. It's particularly harrowing to read in light of the wildfire and drought concerns in my neck of the country. ...more

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Apr 24, 2010 Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, harrowing-tales, commodity_history, nonfiction, american-histry, americana, social-history, environment

I listened to this book as I was working outside on a tedious task, stripping and painting a picket fence. (The last time I'd painted the fence, I listened to Hampton Sides' book on the Bataan Death March.... I see a pattern here!) This is a book that exudes empathy and passion, and I was surprised at how little I knew about this pivotal historical era. Elegant and insightful. ...more

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May 05, 2010 Katie rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, history, male-author

This book was a very good account of the Dust Bowl, and the families that chose to stay in the region during that time. The book was well researched and very readable. I don't think I really had any concept of how horrible the Dust Bowl was, and many of the accounts were very sad to read.

The book became just a bit too much for me. I loved it at the beginning, it was so informative and interesting. Towards the middle of the book, I just felt a little overwhelmed by continually reading different ...more

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Mar 23, 2020 Kristen Iworsky rated it liked it · review of another edition

I skimmed the last hundred pages. The book is well researched and parts are quite interesting, but overall it is incredibly dry (no pun intended).

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Sep 18, 2020 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: to-read-own

Wow! What an expansive, terrifying, heartbreaking slice of history. Humans have been impacting climate change in the US for over a century and we haven’t gotten any more self aware yet. I love it when an author can make history feel so real that you are immersed in the story and this book didn’t disappoint. Highly recommend! #MountTBR

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