The American Guide Series: The New Deal’s Travel Books of the 1930s

Instructor: Jim Craft

The Federal Writer’s Project was a New Deal attempt to find work for unemployed writers during the Depression. In the words of John Steinbeck, it was “the most comprehensive account of the United States ever got together, and nothing has approached it since.” In addition to describing the evolution of a considerable literary achievement, this is also a story of the complicated social, economic and political world of the 1930s.

About the Presenter: Mr. Craft has a B.A. in history from Oakland University and an M.A. in history from Wayne State University. His varied career has included in equal measures teaching, career consulting, operations management and historical consulting. Since retiring from the main game several years ago, his focus has been on developing a series of history books and lectures focused on important but under appreciated aspects of American history and doing so from a local history perspective.