Another irregular book review

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan is a real eye opener.   Through mainly biographical information, Egan tells the story of the Dust Bowl through the eyes of the people who lived it.    

I learned the main causes of the Dust Bowl (land mismanagement) and some of the things the country, namely FDR's government, tried fix the situation.    Lots of people died of the dust related conditions.   The dust storms sound like hell on earth.   Not only are they so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face, they also come with terrrible static electricity.   You can't touch someone else during a storm, the charge will literally knock you down.   Cattle would drop dead and when they were cut open their bodies were filled with dust.

Among the interesting facts I learned were that Russian-German immigrants brought winter wheat over from Russia.   The russian thistle, more commonly known as tumbleweed, came along for the ride.    FDR tried to plant a tree belt to combat the fierce winds.   Unfortunately he ignored some of the advice of "Big Hugh" Bennett, founding head of the Soil Conservation Service.  Trees just can't grow in some sections of the plains.   However, many of Bennett's suggestions help to combat the rapid loss of topsoil in our nation.  And many of the trees planted have survived.

So true, so true

more animals