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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American
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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl: A National Book Award Winner Paperback - 2006

by Timothy Egan

Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones in the darkest years of the Depression.


Summary

The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since.
Timothy Egan’s critically acclaimed account rescues this iconic chapter of American history from the shadows in a tour de force of historical reportage. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, 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, Egan 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 cautionary tale about the dangers of trifling with nature.

From the publisher

This National Book Award-winning story, a tour de force of historical reportage, rescues an iconic chapter of American history--the Dust Bowl that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression--from the shadows.

Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, 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, Egan 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 cautionary tale about the dangers of trifling with nature.

Details

  • Title The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl: A National Book Award Winner
  • Author Timothy Egan
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 352
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Mariner Books Classics, Boston
  • Date 2006-09-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Maps, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780618773473 / 0618773479
  • Weight 0.65 lbs (0.29 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 in (20.83 x 13.72 x 2.54 cm)
  • Ages 14 to UP years
  • Grade levels 9 - UP
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1930's
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Cultural Region: Midwest
    • Cultural Region: Plains
  • Library of Congress subjects Dust Bowl Era, 1931-1939, Great Plains - History - 20th century
  • Dewey Decimal Code 978.032

Media reviews

Citations

  • New York Times, 10/08/2006, Page 36
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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

by Egan, Timothy

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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

by Egan, Timothy

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by Egan, Timothy

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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

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The Worst Hard Time : The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl: a National Book Award Winner

by Egan, Timothy

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