“Staggering photographs! And what a captivating story. Thanks so much for sharing it with me.”
--Troy Meeder, Founder & Owner Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch
Bend, Oregon
“Disaster always breeds stories that transcend the fears, tears, and triumphs they recall. The pictures in this book (The Devastator of 1997) are profound sentences from epics of courage and heartbreak known only by the people who lived them. Carol Taylor has collected and preserved these visual memories with the eye and heart of an American rancher. And with the very few words written in this book, she reveals the soul of an artist, painting even the landscape of disaster with hues of poetic beauty.”
--Norm Bomer, author of Sons of the River, A Nebraska Memoir
“And we thought our blizzards were bad!”
--a Colorado rancher “The Devastator is a must-read for anyone who cares about animals. Not only that, but I really was impressed with the courage of these people in the midst of their long hard winter.”
–high school senior, Kansas City, KS
“Powerful images…some real tear-jerkers among them. I have never seen such incredible pictures. This will stick in my mind for a long time.”
--a Minnesota dairy farmer
"As a Nebraska cattleman, I sure appreciate the way Mrs. Taylor portrayed us as folks who care deeply about our livestock. She has done a good job with a difficult subject.”
"What an unforgettable photo-journey. I loved it! The Devastator should be in every school library.”
–Idaho teacher |
“Carol, I finished reading HUMBLED. It was…heart-stopping. You captured it.”
--Baxter Black, DVM Humorist, Syndicated Columnist & Cowboy Poet "In words as descriptive and compelling as the photographs in its companion picture book, here in Humbled by the Devastator is where Carol Taylor writes the stories of Dakotans caught in the storms of that epic winter of 1996-97. You will share in the terror of those many blizzards, the heartbreak of devastation left in their aftermath, and be in awe at the tenacity of these ranchers in their efforts to survive. This is a must read for all who endured that long winter, and an eye opener for those who wonder what it really was like.”
--Elizabeth Ebert, South Dakota poet and ranch wife “Carol has done a great service to our rural communities by writing this story. Especially for a nation which in many ways has lost its roots.”
–a Wyoming ranch couple
“I had to literally grab an afghan to sit and read HUMBLED. So well-written that you actually feel cold, like you’re right there with those people slogging through the snow.”
—Montana ranchwife
We are grateful for this important historical record about our terrible winter. Sure hope we never see another one like it.”
–South Dakota school bus driver
“Thank you, Carol, for tackling this project and seeing it through to the end. We now have something to pass down to our children and grandchildren—they’ll know how hard we really worked for them!”
–South Dakota ranch couple
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