Flamingnet Student Book Reviewer  KCampb
The Dust Bowl: possibly one of the United States's greatest tragedies, in which the entire bread basket of the nation ceased to exist. The Dust Bowl: Through the Lens, visually chronicles the lives of the inhabitants of the Great Plains as they try to get back on their feet. Mind-boggling photos of once-fertile lands reduced to dust inhabit each page, along with highly explanatory, well written captions to further explain occurrences. The beginning of each passage contains a quote from a local, some expressing sadness, others hopefulness for the future. The final entries explain the resolution of the nation after the Dust Bowl's end to prevent such an event from occurring again.

The choice to use more pictures than words in the work make it much more of a sensual experience for me. From the photos, I could feel rub of dust on my hands and neck, and imagined the broiling hot sun beating down on my back. Factual and semi-stoic narrations separated the fact from the fiction, however the quotes from inhabitants of the area brought the entire act into perspective. The Dust Bowl is painful for many to remember, but Martin Sandler creates an atmosphere such that the pain is still there, but knowledge still takes the upper hand. Although this was my first "Through the Lens" experience, it will most certainly not be my last; to use the old cliche, "I laughed, I cried." I strongly recommend this book to high school students, as well as adults. Although it is extremely factual, it is certain that no reader will be bored.

Reviewer Age:14

Reviewer City, State and Country: Charleston, West Virginia United States