The author describes how people were lured to settle in this territory by providing them with irrelevant information. However, the soil in the region already had a poor mineral composition, which, in combination with over-farming, soon led to a drought. High volumes of sales and demand have allowed many farmers to generate significant profits from their land use. During this period, there was a large amount of rainfall, which resulted in a wheat boom and encouraged inhabitants to exploit the soil. The author first tells about the life of farmers who came to this area during the 1920s, when conditions were favorable for agriculture. Egan focuses on describing the most affected regions, including Texas, Oklahoma, western Kansas, parts of Nebraska, and Colorado. The thesis of the book is that the Dust Bowl is both natural and artificial. Thus, the author has a rich writing background and is an acclaimed specialist in the field of historical nonfiction. Additionally, Egan was awarded the National Book Award for The Worst Hard Time in 2006 (“Timothy Egan”). Egan has won several prestigious writing awards, including the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for a series on racial attitudes and experiences in contemporary America. However, he is also an acclaimed nonfiction writer on history.

The author is not a researcher historian but a well-known journalist writing for the New York Times.

Dust bowl the worst hard time