The New Deal and the South Book

A good book...a thorough history...but dry as a throat full of sawdust in the middle of the desert. That about sums it up, but of course I will continue to babble on for a few more paragraphs.

Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about the Dust Bowl and the cataclysmic storms that occurred in the 1930's, primarily in the area of the U.S. known as the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma (see map):

If you're like me in this respect, than this book is a very worthwhile read, assuming you have at least a slight interest in the history of this period. Looking at the photos above and reading descriptions of the sky appearing as if a black curtain had been draped over the sky, an effect that could last days at a time, was a serious jaw falling with concomitant eye-bulge experience.

As the book chronicles, the dust storms were caused by decades of massive over-farming in the panhandles and surrounding areas without the use of wind erosion prevention techniques (e.g., crop rotation, cover crops and use of fallow fields). Add to this man-made component mother nature's contribution of a severe and prolonged drought and you have all the makings of a seriously horrific dust up.

The over-farming was the result of the momentous drop in commodity prices that followed the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The price of wheat, corn and other crops grown in the panhandles plummeted, forcing farmers to farm more and more land, more and more often, just to try and make ends meet. Unfortunately, this increased in the volume of these commodities, along with a sharp decrease in demand resulting from the Great Depression, caused the plummeting prices to move into crash mode, where they free fell further and faster than Brittany Spears reputation and self esteem.

It was the disastrous, crushing economic conditions facing these farmers that made the onset, the fierceness, and the prolonged nature of the "Dust Bowl" truly worthy of the title "The Worst Hard Time." The author does a good job of laying out the facts in a very readable manner.  

Thus, as a history book, this novel is excellent. It cogently lays out the history of the region, going back to its settlement by mostly German-Russian immigrants. It also gives a decent background of the situation in the rest of the U.S., and provides a good step by step progression of the events leading up to the beginning of the dust storms in the early 1930s.

So why only 3 stars? Mostly because I've been seriously spoiled by historical writers like David McCullough, Barbara Tuchman and Gordon Wood. These three (and several others that I am sure I am forgetting right now) write amazingly detailed histories, while at the same time providing such rich and engaging background and individual anecdotes that their histories come alive and you feel immersed in the period.

Odd as it sounds, I guess you could say that I was disappointed that I didn't feel sacks of dust pouring into my mouth or the blinding sting of the storm ripping into my skin. I wanted Mr. Egan to throw me in the middle of Black Sunday and tell me to hold on for dear life.

Instead, I mostly got dryness (no pun). I got less than compelling personal stories and no real emotional evocation or dramatic tension. It was the story of the dust storms as done by CNN when what I really wanted was a stellar, kick-ass miniseries by HBO.

Granted, these criticisms are mostly the result of McCullough, Tuchman and Wood being such saucy bitches that they make everyone else look bad by comparison. That is probably unfair to Mr. Egan, but in the cut throat, sink or swim world of competitive history writing, I say tough mammaries, Mr. Egan. Sack up and step up your drama.

Still, a good, well-researched history about an intriguing and previously mysterious period, but a little too dry and textbook like to earn a 4th star from me.

3 0 stars. Recommended.