May 2006    

The Worst Hard Time Author: Timothy Egan Publisher: Houghton Mifflin $28.00 Cloth (340 p.) ISBN: 061834697X B&T         YBP Reviewed By Marcia Amidon Lusted, Statusing As someone who reads many history books, I have learned to classify them in two ways: those that have good information but are a struggle to get through, and those rare books that are both informative and fascinating and are difficult to put down. Fortunately, Timothy Egan's new book The Worst Hard Time falls into the second category. In this book, Egan approaches the history of the Dust Bowl by looking at a portion of the High Plains, including towns in Texas and Oklahoma, from the boom days of wheat farming to the total destruction of the "black dusters" that covered the land with dust in the 1930s. He follows families that lived in these communities, and by letting us see the time and place through the eyes of those who lived it and survived it, it becomes a gripping and personal narrative of human experience. Entire towns that prospered during the twenties became ghost towns by the end of the Dust Bowl years, and some never recovered. Many people fled their homes, never to return, but there were just as many who refused to leave their farms and their towns, such as the "Last Man Club" in Dalhart, Texas, whose member signed a pledge to be the "last man to leave this county". Egan looks at the causes of the Dust Bowl and how it might have been avoided with better farming practices. Interestingly enough, even those who lived in the area before the 1930s, mainly ranchers grazing huge herds of cattle, warned of the inevitable consequences of plowing up the ancient prairie covering of buffalo grass which held the soil in place during the worst of the wind and weather usually experienced in the High Plains. Unfortunately, these voices of reason were ignored while wheat prices were so high that farmers could become wealthy with just one season's crop. This book is the best kind of history book, not only looking at the conditions and causes of the Dust Bowl, but also how it affected the lives of regular people who came to the Plains with hopes for a better life. It is vivid and engaging and details a part of our history with which we may not be all that familiar. Best of all, it's an excellent read and there's no higher praise than that. Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.