Dryland Lament
The Rise and Decline of High Plains America
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $3.99
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- $3.99
Publisher Description
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, America’s High Plains witnessed a startling onrush of settlers. But these lands are unforgiving, dreams failed, and a great dwindling followed.
A dying land shapes its residents, how they think, how they live, and where they place their faith. But while the High Plains are dry, flat, and mostly treeless, the region is not yet lifeless. Many persist and even thrive.
Peter R. Sandberg meditates on a region and its people, drawing on memories of ordinary yet remarkable individuals striving to flourish in a place that just might not want them. He melds compelling narratives about the people he knew with insights into prairie life and humanity itself, drawing out joy, tragedy, faith, hope, and meaning.
Throughout the book, the author reflects on how his dry, windy, isolated upbringing shaped who he is and how he views people and the world. He draws on his childhood in Northwest Kansas, followed by decades spent across much of the rest of America, to examine life on the High Plains and how it compares with the rest of the country.
Ultimately this book provides a message of perseverance from the heartland for a nation seeking to find its way.
Customer Reviews
A well-written glimpse into life on the High Plains
This is not normally a book I would have read (or discovered), but it was brought to my attention and I was intrigued. It's more of a niche book, though I could argue that it's applicability is to a far broader audience than those who grew up or lived on the High Plains. The book is easy to read and I often found myself affected emotionally by the author's stories (e.g. family relationships, drought, death, near death). His description of the juxtaposition between tight-knit communities and loneliness was striking -- something I've often experienced as my family tends to move frequently. There's much from the author's experiences that resonated with me, despite being a lifelong suburbanite.
While this is probably closer to a 4.5 star review, my criticism is grounded in the author's connection to the idea of "lament." In his words, "I return continually to the word 'lament.' Too strong? At its most basic, a lament is an expression of sorrow or grief, so perhaps sorrow is warranted, but grief? Really? That seems a bit much. I humbly ask the reader to bear with me, for lament is both biblical and purpose-filled. And yes, I do feel a sense of lingering grief about what America, the Great Plains, and even my family have lost over the previous one-hundred-plus years. We plains folk reserve the right to use that word." I struggled to see the connection flow throughout the book -- this could simply be a factor of reading it spread out over several months. A tighter link from the chapters back to the theme of lament would have been helpful.
We often take for granted this segment of our society (I've never really thought much about it) and I appreciated, in the author's own words, his "small voice, somewhere over in the back row of the tenor section, singing about the contributions of the plains..." I believe this will "be a useful addition to our choir of national self-consideration." I'm thankful for the time invested in reading this -- to the point where, if given the opportunity, I'd like to pull the threads on some of these experiences with the author.