Book Review - The Worst Hard Time The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl

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

Author: Timothy Egan
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: Timothy Egan is one of my favorite authors. I've read several of his books and they're all great. This book is one of his best. It tells the tragic story of the 1930s dust bowl and the people who lived through it. This book is especially prescient and shows how easy it is for humans to destroy our environment and how we need to be more aware of how our actions affect the planet. I loved this book. 

Description (Audible): In a tour de force of historical reportage, Timothy Egan’s National Book Award–winning story rescues an iconic chapter of American history from the shadows.

The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Timothy 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, he 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 reminder about the dangers of trifling with nature.

KU Common Books - Timothy Egan speaks at The University of Kansas about his book "The Worst Hard Time The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl"  (1:14:00)

Oklahoma Horizon TV - Timothy Egan discusses his book and the sense of urgency behind capturing these stories before they are lost to history (6:40)

Book Review - The Good Rain Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific Northwest

Title - The Good Rain Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific Northwest
Author: Timothy Egan
My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: This book attracted me for several reasons. Number one, it's about the Pacific Northwest, a place that I love and where I have lived for the past 42 years. It's also about subjects that I love including nature, history and Native Americans and was written by Timothy Egan, who is an excellent writter and has written several other books that I love. I love this book and highly recommend it.

Description (ChatGPT): The Good Rain: Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific Northwest is like taking a road trip through the Pacific Northwest with a poet and a historian who can’t stop talking about rain, the land, and the deep, existential musings of a region that feels both ancient and eerily modern. Author Timothy Egan takes you on a tour through forests, rivers, and the occasional fog bank, blending natural history, human stories, and a healthy dose of environmental angst. It's as if you’re standing on a misty cliff, contemplating the fragility of nature—while also trying to figure out where you left your umbrella. Perfect for anyone who’s ever been drawn to the Pacific Northwest’s moody beauty and complex past... or just wants to understand why it’s always raining.

Book Review - A Fever in the Heartland

Title - A Fever in the Heartland - The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Author: Timothy Egan

My Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
My Review: I really enjoyed this book. It's a perfect example of why it is so important to teach history, good and bad, in schools today. I had no idea how powerful KKK was back in the 1920's and how close it came to taking over the country. What's especially frightning is how close the story describes what's going on in America today.

Description (ChatGPT): A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan is a pulse-pounding, historical thriller that proves the pen is mightier than the hood. Egan masterfully recounts the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s, blending sinister conspiracy with a fight for justice that feels as urgent today as it did nearly a century ago. At the heart of it all is the fearless and often overlooked woman, Madge Oberholtzer, whose courage was the spark that ignited a movement to stop the Klan's insidious plot to seize political power. With Egan's razor-sharp prose and knack for storytelling, the book exposes the raw, dangerous power of hate—and the quiet, steadfast bravery needed to push it back into the shadows. A chilling, compelling read that reminds us all: heroes come in many forms, and some of them wear pearls and a hat.

Northwest Passages - Librarian Nancy Pearl interviews author Tim Egan about his book " A Fever in the Heartland"