An American exodus: a record of human erosion

Dorothea Lange, Paul Schuster Taylor

Jean Michel Place, 1999 - Business & Economics - 158 pages

First published in 1939, An American Exodusis one of the masterpieces of the documentary genre. Produced by incomparable documentary photographer Dorothea Lange with text by her husband, Paul Taylor, An American Exoduswas taken in the early 1930s while the couple were working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) The book documents the rural poverty of the depression-era exodus that brought over 300,000 migrants to California in search of farm work, a westward mass migration driven by economic deprivation as opposed to the Manifest Destiny of 19th century pioneers. This facsimile edition of the original volume reintroduces this sought-after work of art a pioneering book that was among the first to combine photographs with oral testimony to a contemporary audience, providing an insight into the struggles of the Depression as well as offering a profound and timeless look at the human condition.

What people are saying

Review: An American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion - Dorothea Lange & Paul Taylor

User Review  - Liam O'Shiel - Goodreads

Having recently been reading about the American Dust Bowl and the events surrounding it, I had to see this book. Expensive to buy but available in libraries. Lange and Taylor argue the case that a ...

Contents

• Section 1: 4
• Section 2: 16
• Section 3: 29

About the author

Dorothea Lange was born in New Jersey in 1895. She worked as a professional photographer in San Francisco for fifteen years until the early 1930's, when she took her camera out of her studio and into the street, radically changing the nature of her work. When American Exodus was published she was on the photography staff of the Farm Security Administration.

Taylor was a Professor of Economics at the University of California.

Bibliographic information

• Title: An American exodus: a record of human erosion; Histoire figurée
• Authors: Dorothea Lange, Paul Schuster Taylor
• Contributors: Dorothea Lange, Paul Schuster Taylor
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Jean Michel Place, 1999
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Dec 23, 2009
• ISBN: 2858935130, 9782858935130
• Length: 158 pages
• Subjects: Agricultural laborers; Agriculture; Business & Economics / Economic Conditions; Business & Economics / Economic History; Depressions; History / United States / General; Migration, Internal; Photography / Individual Photographers / General; Photography / Photoessays & Documentaries; Photography / Photojournalism; Social Science / Sociology / Rural; United States