For all the tragedy brought on by the Great Depression, it was also a period of enormous artistic output in this country, in part because of the support provided to artists in a wide range of fields by the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was one of the many reforms for the unemployed brought about under the New Deal. The Federal Arts Project, the Federal Theater Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Writers Project, as well as the Historical Records Survey, all existed under the WPA. Out of these programs came exciting and significant work in many fields, from the Black Theater Project to the American Guides state travel books to murals in public spaces, as well as important documentation of oral histories, American folk art and music, and much more. The scope and volume of work that happened under the WPA is astounding, and Duane Damon provides an introduction to this unparalleled era in the artistic history of our country. Numerous archival photographs add additional interest to the book. Damon and his publisher fail to cite his source material other than web sites listed for the interest of young readers. Nonetheless, this is the most comprehensive overview of the WPA since the publication of Milton Meltzer’s Violins and Shoves: The WPA Arts Project (Delacorte, 1976), a notable volume which is, unfortunately, out of print. (Ages 11-14)

Drawing on the tragedies and struggles that defined the Great Depression era, artists of all genres endeavored through their works to touch the millions of Americans whose lives were abruptly changed in the 1930s. These artists found a freshly American voice, expressing not only the sorrows but also the hopes and joys of a generation. Their works came to define what America was and what it would become.