Americas : The Worst Hard Time The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man | 
 | 80% Recommended by our customers.
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Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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List Price: $14.95
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- ISBN13: 9780618773473
- Condition: New
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Review of "The Worst Hard Time"
The book was purchased for my wife. It arrived in good condition and in a timely manner. She is enjoying the book
 Every chapter starts sounding like the previous.
Liked: Great writing style, interesting information
Disliked: All the stories sound the same after you read 2 or 3 accounts, and then it keeps going on.
I wanted to like this book, and found the first 60 or so pages very interesting, but then the next chapter seemed to be quite the same, and now 1/2 way though the book, every chapter is the same. It has different people, but then its more of the same.
I will say I learned a lot in the 1/2 of the book (never knew the dust spread all the way to New York and that the digging up of native grass caused much of the problem) and feel for those that lived through it, but I stopped when the stories all began to run together. I think it might have worked better for me had he just chosen 2 or 3 accounts. I'll probably finish it, but every chapter I hope to see it going somewhere, but its just another similar story about a family stuck in the dust bowl.
 Take it from Mom
When wheat prices skyrocketed in the 1920s, my grandfather ignored his father-in-law's exhortation never to farm west of the 100th meridian. He left his job as superintendent of schools of Springfield, Colorado, and bought a farm, in about 1928. My mother, born Ruth Zeigler, lived in Baca County during the Dust Bowl. Growing up, I heard her tell of dust storms so thick that the dust invaded the home even when they stuffed towels in all the windows and doors; how you could not see your hand in front of your face; how a candle's flame would be visible but cast no light; how you could dust the same spot continuously and never get it clean. The dust storms, which usually came on Sundays, gave her dust pneumonia, but the family held on until 1935, when they had no choice but to kill their last cow. In her stomach, they found nothing but dust. This decided them to leave.
Mom refused to go back to Baca County, even to visit, even to pass through. When The Worst Hard Time was published, I had a copy sent to her. She was thrilled that their story had been told, and in many letters said how much she enjoyed reading the book. She had always said that the Grapes of Wrath was about tenant farmers and didn't tell the story of Dust Bowl farmers. This important part of American history has been somewhat neglected, but the story is especially important in an age when we are spoiling the ecosystem as quickly as we can. I hope everybody reads this book.
Mom died in July 2010 at the age of 91. This book was on her nightstand, with her notes and comments in the margins. These included the laconic notation to the statement that the temperature soared above 100 degrees for thirty six consecutive days: "So?" (Apparently the only point Mom questioned in the book was the comment, also on page 7, that car radios clicked off. How many Depression era farmers had car radios?)
I thank Mr Egan for writing this book. I hope to keep Mom's annotated copy of the Worst Hard Time in the family for as many generations as the paper lasts.
Heart-felt history
"The Worst Hard Time" is one of the most moving stories of history I have ever read. It left me with a much clearer understanding of the time and circumstances, but more importantly, I feel I understand the people better. An awesome tale, well told.
 Could've been a great book, but wasn't.
Pun intended.
:)
I'm a reader, I LOVE to read. I was REALLY looking forward to this book and had placed it on my wish list a good 6 months before I ever even got around to buying it.
Sadly, I found this book to be painfully boring majority of the time. My husband is from Oklahoma, and was able to really explain to me the areas that were talked about and even then, it was SO hard for me to get through. I started skimming the pages, which is a sure sign I just want it be over with as I hate not finishing a book.
Laced with interesting information and worth it for that, but chuck full of filler that doesn't really add anything except pages - this book is a pass for me unless you're a die-hard history fan, or someone who's truly invested in the Dust Bowl.
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