Timothy Egan: Worst Hard Time (2006, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company)
352 pages
English language
Published Feb. 21, 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Too focused on individuals for my tastes, although I guess it sort of highlights the degree to which Texans are the stupidest and most venal Americans.
The Worst Hard time is an ecological warning in retrospective. The current climate crisis is not the only disaster the United States has had to face: the Great Dust Bowl of the early 20th century provides an object lesson on how wideswept the effects of irresponsible practices and unresponsive government can be. The book is entirely historical. However, the parallels to the contemporary crisis are easy to see. A solid, enjoyable read on a deeply troubling time in American history.
Very good descriptions of the experience of the huge dust storms of the 1930's in the high plains, with thorough explanations of the history and economic causes of the phenomenon.
