The Worst Hard Time

gave as gift, along with other items. this book was especially appreciated.

Tells it like it was..Dark days in our history about very hardy and determined people.

I grew up learning that the Dust Bowl was a difficult time for our country. Little did I realize just how much suffering and sacrifice the people in the region experienced. This book relates the true stories of the tremendous struggles of individuals and families that lived and died during this time. What true tenacity and grit these people had. The book educates the reader as to the hows and whys the Dust Bowl occurred. The author explains how the destruction of land, weather conditions and economic failure lead to this horrific time in the 1930's. If you read it, you will undoubtedly come away with a new understanding of the time and a great appreciation for those people. It's well written and a great book to own.

I loved reading about this dark period in this country's history--something I knew little about. I'd read about the Joad family's struggle in The Grapes of Wrath (which was made during the "final" year of this tragic event), but didn't know how they and their countrymen came to be in such predicament. Today when people blame their government for all ills that befall them, reading "The Worst Hard Time" might give them an insight into what their lives could be like if it really did betray them out of greed. The personal accounts by actual people who survived the period--and the dust!--are gut-wrenching. Timothy Egans has done a masterful job of blending facts and the experiences of the survivors. Great read!