The Dust Bowl - An Illustrated History

In this riveting chronicle, which accompanies a documentary to be broadcast on PBS in the fall, Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns capture the profound drama of the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Terrifying photographs of mile-high dust storms, along with firsthand accounts by more than two dozen eyewitnesses, bring to life this heart-wrenching catastrophe, when a combination of drought, wind, and poor farming practices turned millions of acres of the Great Plains into a wasteland, killing crops and livestock, threatening the lives of small children, burying homesteaders' hopes under huge dunes of dirt. Burns and Duncan collected more than 300 mesmerizing photographs, some never before published, scoured private letters, government reports, and newspaper articles, and conducted in-depth interviews to produce a document that may likely be the last recorded testimony of the generation who lived through this defining decade. For almost a decade, a devastating combination of drought, wind, and poor farming practices turned millions of acres of the Great Plains into a wasteland. Ceaseless "black blizzards," turned night into day, killed crops and livestock, threatened the lives of small children, and buried homesteaders' hopes under huge dunes of dirt. The authors tell the story through private letters, newspaper accounts, and vivid interviews conducted with dozens of survivors -- the last living witnesses of the Dust Bowl, who provide scaring details of their families' ordeals. More than 300 archival photos, some from acclaimed photographers and some -- never before published -- from amateur locals, help bring this critical period to life, when the forces of greed, misinformation, and wishful thinking conspired to nearly sweep away the breadbasket of the nation. Here are stories of incredible hardship: More than 850 million tons of topsoil blew away in a single year; 14 million grasshoppers per square mile descended on parched fields; and one-quarter of the region's inhabitants packed up and left. But the Dust Bowl is also about the courage and resilience of those who remained to save their farms and their families. A larger narrative emerges: A morality tale about our relationship to the land, a study of the role and limits of government, and an affirmation of the human capacity for heroic perseverance through the crucible of drought, Depression, and dust This "riveting" companion to the PBS documentary "clarifies our understanding of the 'worst manmade ecological disaster in American history'" ( Booklist ). In this riveting chronicle, Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns capture the profound drama of the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Terrifying photographs of mile-high dust storms, along with firsthand accounts by more than two dozen eyewitnesses, bring to life this heart-wrenching catastrophe, when a combination of drought, wind, and poor farming practices turned millions of acres of the Great Plains into a wasteland, killing crops and livestock, threatening the lives of small children, burying homesteaders' hopes under huge dunes of dirt#8212;and setting in motion a mass migration the likes of which the nation had never seen. Burns and Duncan collected more than three hundred mesmerizing photographs, some never before published, scoured private letters, government reports, and newspaper articles, and conducted in-depth interviews to produce a document that may likely be the last recorded testimony of the generation who lived through this defining decade In this riveting chronicle (which accompanies the documentary broadcasted on PBS) Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns capture the profound drama of the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Terrifying photographs of mile-high dust storms, along with firsthand accounts by more than two dozen eyewitnesses, bring to life this heart-wrenching catastrophe, when a combination of drought, wind, and poor farming practices turned millions of acres of the Great Plains into a wasteland, killing crops and livestock, threatening the lives of small children, burying homesteaders' hopes under huge dunes of dirt. Burns and Duncan collected more than 300 mesmerizing photographs, some never before published, scoured private letters, government reports, and newspaper articles, and conducted in-depth interviews to produce a document that may likely be the last recorded testimony of the generation who lived through this defining decade Draws on reports, newspaper articles, and interviews to chronicle the American Dust Bowl, providing photographs to illustrate the catastrophe as well as offer a tribute to man's relationship to the land and his ability to persevere. The great plow up Midnight with no stars The crucible Dust to eat The end of the world Reaping the whirlwind Grab a root and growl Canaan land Thou shalt not bear false witness Okies The cruel crisis The western gate.