The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Timothy Egan's 2006 National Book Award winner for Nonfiction came in my favorite form of non-fiction.  His history of the great American Dust Bowl didn't read like a history, but like a disturbing and homey narrative. 

Egan artfully marries oral histories collected from survivors with his non-fiction factual text to bring the subject alive.  Knowing only surface information about the Dust Bowl (mostly from Grapes of Wrath), I knew little of what to expect of this history.

The text outlines most expertly the lead up to one of the greatest man-made natural disasters of all time.  Egan does not attempt to sugar coat or protect any of the agencies or groups involved in the destruction of the natural prairie of the high plains.  Yet, the personal histories of the ranchers and the settlers of the area keep the book from becoming overly preachy or accusatory.  There is a human face to both the conservators and the destructors in the book. 

I also enjoyed that he provided insightful looks into adjacent and supplementary veins of history that bring a richness to the history  he tells without bogging down his central subject with too much extra information.

I would recommend this well balanced (if frightening) history to anyone, whether or not they enjoy non-fiction writing.