The Dust Bowl: An Illustrated History

This illustrated companion to the PBS documentary presents an account of the American Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The book combines photographs of dust storms with firsthand accounts from more than two dozen eyewitnesses to document this ecological disaster. During this period, a combination of drought, wind, and poor farming practices transformed millions of acres of the Great Plains into wasteland, destroying crops and livestock, endangering lives, and prompting a large-scale migration across the nation. Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns assembled over three hundred photographs for this work, including previously unpublished images. They also drew from private letters, government reports, newspaper articles, and in-depth interviews. The book captures testimony from people who experienced this defining decade of American history.