MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewThe story of the Dust Bowl is inherently dramatic, and Egan, a national correspondent for The New York Times, vividly brings both his witnesses and the weather to life. The book is, for the most part, thrilling. But Egan trips himself up with redundant outrage and with iterations of superlatives ... The author takes far too many stabs at explaining why anyone opted to stay in the Dust Bowl, instead of following the Joads, and he slips from inventive, wonder-filled descriptions of the landscape to pure bluster.
Hope Jahren
PositiveELLEJahren's writing is precise, as befits a scientist who also loves words. She's an acute observer, prickly, and funny as hell. Lab Girl does have one flaw: Jahren feels perpetually dissed by male scientists, but she offers little empirical evidence of gender bias. Yes, sexism in the field abounds, but without actually showing this, Jahren misses a chance to enlighten readers who may presume those days are long gone. Lab Girl is a totally original work, both fierce and uplifting. And so we indulge in the author's exuberance with botanical metaphors. She's living (and much-lauded) proof that people, like seeds, sometimes need a little help...
