The Way People Live - Life During the Dust Bowl [Hardcover]

Diane Yancey (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Way People Live | Publication Date: January 23, 2004

In the 1930s, farmers in the South struggled to survive one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The story of the Dust Bowl is one of desperation and shattered lives, but also emphasizes the courage and determination that characterizes the American spirit. (20020101)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-10–Yancey describes how hundreds of catastrophic dust storms struck the Great Plains between 1932 and 1938. The statistics are mind-boggling, but so too were the experiences of the people who survived the "black blizzards" year after year, always believing that rain would set everything right again. In seven accessible chapters, readers learn the why and how of the conditions that created the dust bowl. The text emphasizes the day-to-day experiences of the farm families who saw their crops and livestock destroyed and their homes filled with seeping dirt. The author also discusses how Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs assisted farmers and details the new tillage techniques and conservation methods that allowed agriculture to return to the Great Plains. An epilogue considers whether or not another dust bowl could occur. Boxed sections provide supplemental information and quotes from primary sources. Well-chosen, black-and-white photographs, including one by Dorothea Lange, illustrate the text. A readable and informative resource.–Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. More dense and detailed than Michael Cooper's photo-essay Dust to Eat [BKL Jl 04], this title in the Way People Live series draws heavily on oral histories of the time as it weaves together a clear, general overview with lengthy personal quotes from individuals who lived through 1930s dust storms in the Great Plains. There are brief profiles of the famous, such as Woody Guthrie (with a quote from a song) and Dorothea Lange (with some of her photos). But most valuable are the stories of ordinary people, including those who stayed and those who left for the West "grim, hungry, and broke." Also covered are what the uprooted found in California; government aid; conservation; and finally, whether it could all happen again. As in other titles in the series, the documentation here is meticulous. Student researchers will especially want to explore the archival oral history Web sites. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Lucent Books; 1 edition (January 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590182650
• ISBN-13: 978-1590182659
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #526,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)