2009: Years of Dust: The Story of The Dust Bowl
Starred Review. Marrin, Albert YEARS OF DUST: The Story of The Dust Bowl Marrin's approach to the story of the Dust Bowl is unique in its focus on ecology, arguing that the ignorant and exploitive practices of farmers, hunters and ranchers made the catastrophe worse than it needed to be. Hunting indigenous species such as the buffalo and prairie dog to near extinction, killing off predators of smaller animals, introducing cattle grazing and destroying the natural landscape for farms and settlements all set the stage for the disaster to co
me. The author does not neglect the miseries suffered by families living in the afflicted areas, however, placing the story in the context of the Great Depression and explaining how what was happening in the Great Plains was yet another sign to Americans of the country's downward spiral. The author concludes with a discussion of modern ecological disasters in the making. The engaging narrative includes quotes from a variety of primary sources, and it is abundantly illustrated throughout with photographs and other archival material, making this a reader-friendly, insightful work of history. (Nonfiction. 10-16)
Al Kirkus
From "School Library Journal"
Starred Review. Gr 5-9-Marrin begins with an overview of the natural history of the Great Plains, describing its unique geography and delicate ecological balance. Next, he discusses how the American ranchers and farmers who migrated into the region "invited disaster" by "changing the ecology" of the area, destroying native plants and animals and using farming techniques that left the soil vulnerable to the heat and droughts of the 1930s. The Dust Bowl and the human suffering it caused are put into the larger context of the Great Depression. New Deal efforts to change farming practices and the implementation of conservation measures are also explained. The book closes with a warning about the worldwide dangers of overuse of land and expanding desertification. Numerous sidebars provide more information about topics mentioned in the main text. The author writes with his usual clarity and flair and uses excerpts from primary-source accounts and literature to give voice to the people who explored and settled the plains as well as those who suffered through this environmental disaster. The narrative is supplemented with several maps and large, riveting reproductions of period photos and illustrations. This title covers much of the same ground as Diane Yancey's Life During the Dust Bowl (Gale, 2004), but Marrin's outstanding writing and the high-quality illustrations make this cautionary tale a worthy addition.
Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From "Booklist"
Beginning with the cover photograph of a town dwarfed by the thousand-foot-high clouds of a "black blizzard," this exceptional overview brings close the terrifying, bleak realities of the Dust Bowl. With his usual clear and thorough approach, veteran author Marrin puts the era into both historical and environmental context, starting with the ecology of the Great Plains and moving on to the human behavior that contributed to the catastrophe. Marrin's narrative drama occasionally feels overwrought: "It seemed like an evil spirit had splashed an immense bucket of black paint across the sky." Throughout, though, the lively prose delivers a strong sense of how the Dust Bowl occurred and what its survivors endured. Numerous well-integrated first-person accounts bring even more immediacy, and readers won't forget the heartbreaking details of daily survival, both for those who stayed on the Plains and for the refugees who fled to become migrant workers. Among the riveting images that fill the well-designed pages are archival posters, news clippings, maps, and photographs, including Dorothea Lange's indelible portraits. In a final cautionary chapter, Marrin discusses global trouble spots that could lead to even more cataclysmic Dust Bowls in the future. A time line, glossary, and chapter notes round out this exemplary cross-curricular title that encourages students to find the urgent connections between the "Dirty Thirties" and our current environmental crisis.
Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
Book Description
Before global warming, there was dust. In the 1930s, dangerous black storms swept through the Great Plains. Created by drought and reckless farming, these lethal storms were part of an environmental, economic, and human catastrophe that changed the course of American history. In riveting, accessible prose, an acclaimed historian explains the causes behind the disaster and explores the Dust Bowl's impact, from a rich cultural legacy to the visionary conservation that would finally offer hope to the Plains.
2005: Oh Rats!: The Story of Rats and People Illustrated by C. B. Mordan. Dutton.
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 4-6. Rats and humans have had a very long love/hate relationship as readers discover in this lively and informative overview of the history and behavior of the widely encountered rodent. Emphasizing the animal's capabilities for survival, Marrin offers both anecdotal accounts of human/rat encounters and impressive statistics. Rats have occupied the Earth far longer than humans, and they compete prodigiously for the world's food supply, earning their reputation as major pests to humankind. On the other hand, they provide an important source of protein for the many humans who eat them worldwide. (Not a pleasing bit of information for readers who have loved them as pets.) The nine short chapters are set in a handsome slim book with striking black-and-white scratchboard illustrations and muted red framing on many pages. Marrin touches briefly on physical characteristics as he explains the veneration of rats in some cultures, attempts to eradicate them in others, and rats as both carriers of disease and valued subjects of medical research. It's a different sort of discussion and format for this well-known historian and biographer and one that he has clearly enjoyed, as will a wide variety of nonfiction readers and animal fans. There's a bibliography of adult sources and children's nonfiction as well as a listing of literary works featuring rats.
Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 3-5. Children fond of nonfiction that is laced with discomfiting--or downright revolting--information will happily fall upon this anecdotal look at the shared history of the animal kingdom's greatest survivors. Along with portraying rats in many roles, from pests to pets, Marrin (best known for his histories for older readers) introduces rodent relatives and provides glimpses of rats' habits and innate intelligence, as well as their history as disease carriers, lab animals, predators, and ("Grilled Rat, Bordeaux Style," anyone?) even entrees. Red highlights (including red eyes on the rats and red borders on some of the pages) add an ominous tone to Mordan's many naturalistic, deeply shadowed illustrations, which have the look of wood engravings. Although there are no source notes, Marrin closes with short lists of relevant fiction and nonfiction. Richard Conniff's Rats! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (2002) offers sometimes-arresting photographs and more specific information, but this book makes a pleasantly icky additional purchase.
John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
Book Description
Able to claw straight up a brick wall, squeeze through a pipe the width of a quarter, and gnaw through iron and concrete, rats are also revealed in this fascinating book to be incredibly intelligent and capable of great compassion. Weaving science, history, culture, and folklore, awardwinning writer Albert Marrin offers a look at rats that goes from curious to repulsive, horrifying to comic, fearsome to inspiring. Arresting blackand- white scratchboard illustrations with bold red accents add visual punch to this study of a creature that has annoyed, disgusted, nourished, and intrigued its human neighbors throughout the centuries.
2002: Secrets From the Rocks: Dinosaur Hunting with Roy Chapman Andrews Dutton.
From "School Library Journal"
Grade 4-8-This excellent biography tells what little is known of Andrews's childhood and youth, then focuses on the adventure and science of his explorations and dinosaur discoveries in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The fossils unearthed on his trips had an impact on our understanding of prehistoric life and cemented the stature of the Museum of Natural History in New York City. Marrin does an admirable job of recognizing the esteem due to such a robust and successful explorer without ignoring our contemporary views on excluding women, shooting rare animals, and plundering the national treasures of other countries. He includes compelling details of danger and triumph and offers scientific and political background. Many full-page, black-and-white photographs illustrate this oversized volume. Many of the archival photographs are identical to those in Ann Bausum's Dragon Bones and Dinosaur Eggs (National Geographic, 2000), which also includes some of the same details from the expeditions but does not offer the depth of explanation of important topics such as how fossils are formed or the role of women in scientific exploration at that time. Brian Floca's Dinosaurs at the Ends of the Earth (DK Ink, 2000) is a fictionalized picture-book version of the Gobi explorations illustrated with watercolors. Secrets will inspire and enlighten students who love dinosaurs or biographies or both.
Ellen Heath, Orchard School, Ridgewood, NJ
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From "Booklist"
Gr. 4-8. Andrews is best known for his famous 1920s Mongolian expeditions, during which he and his team unearthed rare dinosaur fossils, including the first dinosaur eggs known to Western science. In this photo-biography cum adventure story, Marrin gives brief mention of Andrews' early years, but focuses mostly on the Mongolian work, providing plenty of stories about the rigors of organizing such an ambitious expedition and of the scientific work itself, and folding in definitions of basic terms (for example, Mesozoic and warm-blooded). Marrin often sensationalizes his anecdotes, particularly when describing Mongolian life (there's a graphic story about Andrews being offered sheep eyeballs at a local feast). But the treatment of Andrews himself is more evenhanded, discussing both accomplishments and flaws (chauvinistic treatment of women; shirking of family responsibilities). The result is a colorful portrait that offers thought-provoking insight into the constantly shifting nature of scientific discovery. A spotty resource section concludes.
Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
Book Description
"I was born to be an explorer. I couldn't do anything else and be happy." Starting in 1922, Roy Chapman Andrews, working for the American Museum of Natural History, conceived a whole new "team" way of searching for fossils and led five car-and-camel expeditions to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. His team's discoveries-of dinosaur eggs, new dinosaur species, and the earliest mammals-changed the way we think about the great Age of Dinosaurs. In deft, vivid strokes, master storyteller and historian Albert Marrin captures the excitement and the science of the expedition's encounters not only with fossils but with suffocating sandstorms, snakes, bandits, a strange culture, political turmoil, and more.
