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contexts in which these families lived and into which the droughts intruded. As Jones remarks, she has narrated ‘life stories because the whole context of a person’s life, their family, environment, economic situation, community, personality and gender, as well as the period in which they farmed, creates the circumstances for adaptation [to drought]’ (xxiii). The effects of the drought periods are familiar and often severe, causing financial and emotional rises and falls, a mixture of survival and failure for the families, and lessons learned about adaptation to climatic conditions. These last included improved farming practices and harvesting of water. However, some farms were lost and failures (at least temporary) were not uncommon. Nevertheless, a fortunate few such as the McCanns of Gippsland had the opportunity and entrepreneurial capacity to benefit from drought conditions. Jones also provides broader insights into a variety of other rural experiences besides wavering fortunes and suffering from dry and dust. Social networks (such as those of the Pearse family in the Victorian Mallee) were important, and manifested in visiting and assisting family and friends, exchanges of goods and services, and entertainments in the local community especially centred upon churches. These were a fundamental part of community life and at times were key to survival. In north-central Victoria, Charles Coote took this further and became deeply involved in community organisations and in local, agricultural and party politics. The second part of Slow Catastrophes examines in more detail some of the themes and experiences raised in Jones’ family stories, and analyses aspects of the lived experiences of her subjects and their communities. Of particular interest is the chapter on attempts to understand the conundrum of drought. Jones recognises that in colonial Australia the conventional wisdom was that drought was an aberration. Even well into the twentieth century some stuck stubbornly to this view, and denial was virtually a national pastime. However, over time those with a more sophisticated understanding of Australian conditions came to recognise that drought was recurrent, an inherent part of climate that needed to be endured and allowed for. Adaptation and the shaping of farming practices was a challenge and for the more perspicacious, ‘Drought became a business risk, not a natural disaster’ (181). Jones provides an interesting chapter on wild harvesting, the supplementing of farm incomes by extracting directly from the environment, including hunting native species and rabbits for human consumption, mulching prickly pear or cutting native scrub for stock food, grazing the long paddock and timber cutting. These practices were common in Australian agriculture until well into the twentieth century, and not only during times of drought. Much of this book is about survival, resilience and adaptation, not always catastrophes. Nevertheless, farm failure through drought contributed to the mobility of many families. While farming is often seen as essentially stationary, with farmers occupying the same land over generations, in reality many became internal migrants, abandoning farms or moving to areas that were more likely to provide better country and more consistent climate. Jones also captures other elements of rural culture and lifestyle such as the emphasis given to self-sufficiency and frugality, and community sharing, and she discusses more intangible subjects such as psychological despair and uncertainty, the sensual experiences of drought and emotional responses. The effective use of farm diaries and the complex portrait of drought experiences and impacts in rural Australia make this a valuable addition to the library of Australian environmental history.