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What Members Thought
"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.
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Horrifying ecological disaster in an area of the country that never really recovered.
I'm really glad I read this book, and came to an entirely new appreciation for the harrowing years of the dust bowl. The author did a great job of bringing the people and their struggle to life. I've long wondered about the dust bowl, what caused it, and whether or not something like that might happen again. [Spoiler Alert: It could.] I wanted to give the book 4 out of 5 stars. However, I went a notch less only because I felt the content was unnecessarily redundant in places. It's nonetheless a
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From an historical perspective, I give this book a four. The story it tells needs to be told. In the end, I was left with quite a few questions unanswered so that was frustrating but overall, an eye-opening read. It makes me realize that the times WE call tough aren't really all that tough after all.
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An amazing story and read to the last page. What a story of the "Dirty Thirties"-- the greatest man-made American disaster and its devastating impact on so many families and such a vast territory. Them that stayed were some tough nuts...
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Overall this was an interesting but depressing book. I could only read a few chapters at a time before I had to take a break. The first few chapters were slow reading but it got easier to read once the dust started blowing. Good if you are interested in history or this period in time.
Jun 15, 2008
Jenny
marked it as to-read
Dec 11, 2009
Kathy Jo
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Feb 12, 2010
Shannon Wallner
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Jul 16, 2010
Christi
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Mar 16, 2012
Ginger
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Jun 02, 2012
Kirsten Barber
marked it as to-read-soon
Dec 30, 2012
Megan
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Apr 30, 2015
Megan
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Jun 06, 2015
Mariana
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Jul 26, 2016
Susan
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Sep 26, 2017
Kara
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Jul 14, 2018
Brenda
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