These four interlinked stories encapsulate Martha Gellhorns first-hand observation of the Great Depression. Fiction crafted with documentary accuracy, they vividly render the gradual spiritual collapse of the simple, homely sufficiency of American life in the face of sudden unemployment, desperate poverty and hopelessness. They catch the mood of a generation sucked into indifference and of young men who no longer believe in man or God, let alone private industry. Martha was the youngest of a squad of sixteen handpicked reporters who were paid to file accurate, confidential reports on the human stories behind the statistics of the Depression directly to Roosevelts White House. In these pages, we understand the real cost of sudden destitution on a vast scale.
