No doubt Erika Bolstad, the author, did painstaking research for too many hours and years to count, from various sources on the ground and in archives, and although few in number, her own family's records; however, to be frank, this memoir was really not for me. The idea about searching back through records about ones' ancestor, IS appealing but all the in depth "facts and figures" about oil, and all that entails and attaches itself onto that industry, certainly does not. No doubt, I probably should be interested due to the affect of this industry's "don't really care" attitudes on the environment, which Bolstad unveils, that are evident even in today's world but sorry to say, I found it rather dry reading.
The connection to the two (Anna and Erika) though, was through the hopeful Anna-the-homesteader's claim to mineral rights that produced sporadic, minimal "windfall" for her descendants two to three generations down line (Erika is one of them), from an oil company paying out for the lease thereof. Those who do like to watch North Dakota crude oil prices fluctuate per barrel, from month-to-month and year after year, (in this book from December 2009 to June 2021) and talk about oil boom and bust cycles and major politicians who get involved, may find the book interesting.
~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~
July 2022
Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy sent by NetGalley and Source Books (publisher).
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