The Worst Hard Times by Timothy Egan tells the story of farmers who decided to prosper on the plains during the 1800s, in places like Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma. They decided to make a living and some stayed during the worst droughts of the 1930s in the United States. High temperatures and dust storms destroyed the region, killing animals and humans. This book competently reveals the prosperity of many, later revealing the lean times. The story is based on the testimonies of survivors or through their diaries and on historical research. The author describes the struggles of the colonists, in which Egan clearly attributes these catastrophic events to the hubris of the colonists. Egan brings us the settlers' stories based on primary evidence, such as interviews with survivors, diaries, photographs, and historical research. . Thus, we can observe the cause and effects of the Dust Bowl. It all started when Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862; the government cleared the land of native Indians and bison in the late 1800s. When the nests began to reside, they believed in opportunity, thinking that rain would fall every time there was a plow. At first, the rain was heavy and wheat prices increased. The settlers decided to plow up every little space on their land, tearing out the fertile topsoil that had for centuries been home to bison and many other migratory animals. But suddenly the rains stopped and wheat prices fell due to the Great Depression. » By the early 1930s, wheat was selling for one-eighth of the high price of ten years earlier. At forty cents a bushel, the price could barely cover the costs, let alone service, of a bank note. The man's pride appeared in middle of paper......and he clearly shows his respect for the Native Americans and cowboys who valued the land as pasture. They believed that upsetting the Great Plains would destroy them. Egan proves his thesis to my critical satisfaction, the testimonies allowed me to get closer to their feelings and the experiences they lived. At first I wasn't excited to read this book, but I live by the saying "don't judge a book by its cover." I only enjoyed the book in the later chapters in which the families started doing their best to survive. Their stories were heartbreaking, including the death of a loved one. Nevertheless, I found this book well written, interesting and it taught me to appreciate rain. Works Cited Egan, Timothy. Hard Times at their Worst: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived America's Great Dust Bowl. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co..., 2006.