An American Exodus: A Record of Human ErosionFirst published in 1939, An American Exodus is one of the masterpieces of the documentary genre. Produced by incomparable documentary photographer Dorothea Lange with text by her husband, Paul Taylor, An American Exodus was 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 artÛa pioneering book that was among the first to combine photographs with oral testimonyÛto 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. |
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acres agriculture AIN'T American Exodus Arizona Arkansas Delta August authors California camps Childress County cities Coldwater crop day labor depression DISPLACED TENANT documentary Dorothea Lange drought Dust Bowl families Farm Security Administration February field gangs goin Grapes of Wrath growers harvest highway HIT'S PICK HUMAN EROSION images Imperial Valley industry irrigated ISSAQUENA COUNTY John Szarkowski June Lange and Paul Lange and Taylor Lange Collection Lange's large-scale LAST WEST live LIVIN machine mechanization migrants Mississippi Missouri mules Negroes NOTHIN Oakland Museum Oklahoma Paul Schuster Taylor Paul Strand Paul Taylor percent photographs pickers plains plantation plowing prairies production publisher RECORD OF HUMAN renters Reynal & Hitchcock Roy Stryker rural San Francisco sections sharecroppers social soil South Steinbeck Stourdzé Survey Graphic Taylor and Lange tenant farmers Texas Therese Thau Heyman tion towns tractors VANCE wages westward workers York