I really enjoyed this book. It taught me a lot of history about my country during those years. Growing up you are told about this period of time in history but the schools never go into the hardships and headaches that people had to suffer. It’s heartbreaking to think about what the folks had to endure. Kids should have to read this book as part of their history studies. I can’t see the younger generation even being able to make it in today’s world if something like that was to come about.

I have read this book, gifted this book, bought the audiobook and still listen to it time and again. The best research of the Dust Bowl years that I've ever read, including personal histories of survivors of the Dust Bowl (my grandparents). As always, Timothy Egan is both a great researcher and storyteller.

I think I can taste dirt when he describes the cars dying from the black blizzard. I will dream of static lightening on the fences and tumbleweeds.

Ever wondered about the Dust Bowl and why people from Oklahoma were given derogatory names like "Oakies"? Why did people see them as people who would rather live in the dust collecting welfare? Why did we call them uneducated and think of them as dirty and invading states with hard working people looking for a handout. Worse, why were they coming here trying to take jobs already scarce? By the end of the book you think you may have taken another road were it you. If you are hopeful and optimistic, you may have stayed too long in Oklahoma or the Texas Panhandle like they did. You come away knowing you could have been one of them looking for a future. You also come away wondering how people could endure such conditions and be so optimistic about the future.You may also decide these had to be some of the toughest people on earth.

This audiobook is slow and I couldn't get into it. Never finished it. I tried to, but I just couldn't do it.

I enjoyed the first half of this book. The second half got repetitive, especially the part when the narrator reads entries from a journal. Every day the same thing, dust storms, dead crops, hopelessness, and despair. A couple of entries would have been ok to make a point, however, too many entries with the same descriptions were definitely unnecessary. By this time, I was hoping the book would end but it still dragged on. Sometimes authors get so involved with their subject, they don't know when to stop and bring things to a close. Sadly, for this book, less would have been better.

Yes

I have read and listened to this book. This a powerful account of the effect Nature can have on people. This was a period in history that few ecologists talk about. But, it did occur, little precipitation and unusually high temperatures. It had little to do with pollution and a lot to do with the way Nature works. It is a book that should be mandatory in school reading lists.

This story of the great dust bowl years and the devastation to the land and people's lives is an important part of American history. It is beautifully detailed and brought to life in a remarkable way that makes a gripping tale. It should also be seen as a cautionary note for our times as we lay waste to parts of the earth.

This was a great listen! Very well narrated. The history and statistics of this region of the US were personalized by following the stories of various families or individuals throughout this era. I could feel the hunger pangs and the grit of the dust storms while I was listening to this compelling tale. When these folks thought it couldn't get any worse, it did, time after time. So interesting to hear why these folks stayed and how they coped.

I approached this book with some previous knowledge of the Dust Bowl. My mother and many of my relatives grew up in the middle of the dust bowl. I was familiar with some of the families mentioned in the book. I think it is excellent and teaches us a part of history that many have forgotton and many more never learned. Very good look at how hard things really were in the '30s.

The parts about how and why the high plains was settled is interesting and how turning the land to growing crops, particularly wheat, was informative. However, most of the book is a chronicle of the various dust storms and the effects on the settlers. It's an appalling story but from one dust storm to another, from one choking lung to another, from one suffocated animal to another, it's all the same and becomes tiresome fast. I also found the reading not to my liking but that's very subjective. I can't say exactly what it is in his presentation or voice that grated on me but it did. It's very seldom I can't finish but this is one I couldn't make it to the end.