Author Description

"During the Great Depression and spanning the period from 1930 to 1945, the Farm Security Administration hired many talented photographers of the era to record on film the experience of Americans living through hard times. Photographers such as Dorethea Lange, Marion Post Wolcott, Arthur Rothstein, and John Vachon not only documented the era, they artfully captured the spirit of the Americans living through it. Among the thousands of photographs in the FSA Archives are striking images of children at work, at play, at school, and at home coping with hunger, the closing of their schools, the necessity of working, and a loss of the carefree childhood that many of us have since experienced.". "The photos that Kathleen Thompson and Hilary Mac Austin have chosen for this book represent children of diverse social strata and ethnicity located in all regions of the country. At the same time, these photographs communicate sameness in how children approach economic adversity through improvisation and socialization.". "The black and white images are arranged categorically; each chapter depicts a specific element of the daily lives of children of the Great Depression. Although the graphics are the defining feature, quotes transcribed by social workers of the era are interspersed throughout. This book will appeal to lovers of great photography. It will also serve as graphic representation for baby-boomers and their own children of events that shaped a previous generation and clarified their values and aspirations."--BOOK JACKET.