The Harvest Gypsies: Suggestions for Further Reading

Farm Security Administration photo of a dust storm in Oklahoma, circa 1935.

Fensch, Thomas. "John Steinbeck: The Journalistic Background of 'The Grapes of Wrath'." The Eye of the Reporter: Literature's Heritage in the Press. Essays in Literature. Macomb: Western Illinois UP, 1996. 69-80.

Houston, James D. "Steinbeck's Obsession: A Novel Born in Pain." Rev. of The Harvest Gypsies; Working Days: The Journals of 'The Grapes of Wrath', ed. Robert DeMott. San Francisco Review of Books Spring 1989: 25-26.

Shillinglaw, Susan. [untitled]. Rev. of The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to The Grapes of Wrath. Introduction by Charles Wollenberg. Steinbeck Newsletter 2.1 (Fall 1988): 11.

Agricultural industry in Imperial Valley, California.

History of farm labor in California in the 1930s.

Information on the Arvin Government Camp.

Steinbeck and Collins.

Dorothea Lange's study on "Migrant Mother."

A series of Depression-era photos by Dorothea Lange with their original captions.

"A Photo Essay on the Great Depression" from Modern American Poetry.

Information on the Dust Bowl with reference to Steinbeck and links to a dust storm video from the 30s and other resources.

The Dust Bowl with maps, photographs and timeline.

Report on migrant labor camps in California written during the 1930s.

Timeline of key events associated with the Dust Bowl.

Teacher's guide for viewing and discussing PBS's documentary on "Surviving the Dust Bowl." 

Farming in the 1930s and an overview of New Deal programs developed to assist farmers and farm laborers.

Comparing Steinbeck's journalistic observations in The Harvest Gypsies to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.