The Worst Hard Time

“Ike Osteen’s life spans the flu epidemic of 1918, the worst depression in American history, and a world war that ripped apart the globe. Nothing compares to the black dusters of the 1930’s, he says, a time when the simplest thing in life – taking a breath – was a threat.”

Timothy Egan’s The Worst Hard Time is the story of those who survived The Great American Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. Starting in the late 1800’s and continuing throughout the early 20th century, farmers ripped apart the land leaving the topsoil exposed. This slow destruction of the native grassland and the severe droughts that followed resulted in the land taking flight and depositing dust throughout the Great Plains, affecting the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, parts of Colorado and Nebraska, and much of Kansas, for nearly a decade. I have to admit it’s an event in our nation’s history that I knew little about and one I don’t remember covering in any of my history classes. Mrs. and I saw a special (I think on The History Channel) about The Dust Bowl, also known as the “Dirty Thirties”, a few years back that was made at the same time this book was published and it intrigued me. So when I saw this book at a Borders end of existence blow out sale I scooped it up.

The best part of the book is that Egan tells stories. He traveled to the Great Plains in the early 2000’s to sit down with survivors of the environmental disaster and it's their stories that he relates. Ike Osteen, from the quote above, is one of those survivors who was just a child at the time, but will never forget the difficult life that followed the start of the dust storms. The dusters, as they were known, destroyed crops and made earning a living almost impossible, and because it was during The Great Depression, leaving their home to find work elsewhere wasn’t an option for most people. It was fascinating to read how daily life was affected. People had to sweep dust several times a day to keep it from piling up in the house. They had to keep damp sheets over their windows and doors, wear masks to keep the dust out of their lungs, and take extraordinary measures just to protect the few small crops they needed to provide food for the family. And this lasted for years! One story that stuck with me was how one woman described how she couldn’t set the table or put food out at dinner until everyone was ready and seated because even it that small window of time dust could contaminate everything. And I think our house is dusty now! I don’t think I would have survived. I would have been sweeping until I passed out from exhaustion.

My one critique is that because Egan tells the stories of several different people in various parts of the country, it was occasionally difficult to keep track of everyone and where the story was taking place. In the end it really didn’t matter because it’s more about the stories then who the people specifically are, but it was something I noted. And although I’m sure this is more because of their scarcity than anything, I would have liked to see more of the pictures. There are some good pictures throughout the book of the dark dust clouds rolling in, and dust burying cars and houses.

The Worst Hard Time was a really good read overall and it was an event that I got to learn more about. I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Next Up: Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo

Editor's Note: Book challenge book:  A weather event is central to the story