"The Farm Security Administration (FSA) undertook a documentary photographic project (1935-43), directed by Roy Stryker, to create images that would document the life and times of Americans during the Depression and early WW II. More than 165,000 black-and-white photographs were taken and housed at the Library of Congress (LC) since 1944. Mora (a French author, image historian, and chronicler of Walker Evans) and Brannan (LC curator of photography and in charge of the FSA archives for three decades) have selected 470 images for this coffee-table sampler of extraordinary images created by 14 renowned photographers, among them Lange, Shahn, Evans, Rothstein, the Rosskams, Delano, Collier, Parks, and Bubley. The images, presented chronologically (1935-37, 1937-42, 1942-43), emphasize topical themes such as drought, ordinary people, minorities, and coal mines. They are accompanied by Brannan's essay on the project's history component, image styles, and periods; Mora's salient discussion of types of photography (documentary, sociological, etc.); photo documentation; and a 131-item bibliography. The photographs are stunning, evocative, compelling, and clear and detailed, and the compelling narratives follow suit. Highly recommended. All levels." (C. C. Kolb National Endowment for the Humanities)