As our new administration withdraws from the Paris Climate Agreement, LA is on fire, and snow covers New Orleans, one would think that cautionary tales like Egan’s exhaustive description of the dust bowl and all its causes would make a difference in how we as individuals and the government that guides us care for the land. But no. 
Egan paints a vivid if repetitive picture of the way humans tried to conquer a section of the Midwest and southern US, tearing out native grasses, attempting to farm, and hunkering down as the denuded earth blew up around them. After years of choking dust storms, deaths by dust pneumonia, and an inability to grow even the smallest amounts of food to sustain a family, still some folks and the federal government refused to understand. No amount of scientific evidence or well-researched explanations of what to do next helped. Fast forward 90 years, and we continue to exhibit this pattern of stubborn hubris and willful ignorance. 
This is not a book to make you feel hopeful about the future or even proud of how Americans faced challenges. Readers can admire the strength of people who survived terrible loss and learn about a dark spot in US history. But they may also leave this book wondering if things will ever get better.