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B. J. Ford

Compelling, poignant, and relevant for modern times

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2016

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After seeing the documentary "Riding the Rails" as an episode of The American Experience series on PBS, I read this companion book authored by the father / father-in-law of the couple who made the film. Using statistics, vignettes, first person narrative accounts, and 54 black and white photos, the book creates a vivid impression of the lives of hundreds of thousands of American teenagers who, looking for work, or seeking adventure, or in an effort to ease the burden on their families, left their homes during the Depression and hopped trains to travel the country, living as hobos in the 1930s.
Surprisingly, the tale contains many lessons that remain relevant today.
This is the story of a generation of Americans for whom growing up meant preparing themselves for the road rather than having the road prepared for them. It's a reminder of how important everything can be in one's youth, when everything is still recent enough to seem important and matter.
There are some heartbeakingly sad accounts of people who blamed themselves personally for the struggles and financial hardships which resulted from the collapse of an economic structure that they had no control over, that was beyond understanding, and which had failed them in so many ways. Those who succeeded were those who managed to cling to hope, or who encountered someone who took an interest at a critical time, or maybe were just lucky that at least a president like Roosevelt was in charge.
After seeing the film, I found this volume to be quite intense and well worth the read.
(Note: I read the 1999 hardcover edition published by TV Books which only had about half a dozen typos -- on pages 58, 60, 189, 199, 232, 243...)

Joe the scholar

Great picture of American youth in the 1930s

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2017

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This is an excellent study of an overlooked bit of US history. Well researched, engagingly written, and well illustrated. For instance it has one of the better descriptions of the CCC program during the Great Depression; and haunting views of what could have gone wrong among American youth. A must read - cogent for our current national situation. However, the book does not acknowledge that the CCC and SHESHESHE lives on through the Job Corps created by JFK and continues to this day (2019). i recently met an impressive, recent graduate of the Job Corps. For readers of this book, they should read further at jobcorps.gov for the the similarities and differences. The Uys book failed on this point, implying the US no longer cares for its youth and I removed a star. Sadly the jobcorps does not advertise its value enough and its effort to reduce unemployment among disadvantaged young men and women.

susan carpenterTop Contributor: Coloring

A Masterful Depiction of Life and Death of Those Who Took to the Rails

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2015

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I am halfway through this book and don't want it to end. It is the story of a dark passage in our history, the Great Depression. It was a time when money and food were so scarce that families asked boys as young as twelve or fourteen to head out to fend for themselves. Others left voluntarily to ease the burden on their parents, and still others left for a chance to see the country. Girls, often dressed as boys, joined their ranks. Uys has done a masterful job of putting this book together so it flows. While narrating, he combines memories of the youths who took to the rails as children growing up all too fast. Interspersed are memoirs of many, now elderly, who put pen to paper to tell their stories. The author paints a clear picture of the reality that was the Great Depression, the hobo jungles that sprang up, the life of the migrant workers, all reminiscent of Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath." Only here it is more searing. These are no fictional characters, these are real life stories depicting great suffering as well as fond memories created. The stories of those to whom the rails still call. Don't miss this memorable book. There is also a documentary film based on the book which is available from Amazon.

Jules

Great Book!!!

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2019

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This book has great writing and is jam packed with amazing stories and details of what the Great Depression was like for teenagers and others.

Richard Harrold

Profoundly moving

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2000

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My interest in this book was sparked by a bit of family history. A great-uncle of mine hoboed on trains before the 1920s. Born in 1900, he was attempting to hop a train in 1919 in Chicago, but lost his grip, fell from the car, and lost a leg beneath the train. All I know about this uncle was from a newspaper clipping from 1919 when a brave reporter interviewed my great-uncle just before he died from the infection in his leg.
The stories in "Riding the Rails" were tremendously moving to me. It gave me a perspecitive of the Depression and of Hoboes I hadn't had before. The personal stories were incredible, and the lucidity of expression by these people looking back on those difficult years was accurately relayed in the book. More than once I had to stop reading because of the tears in my eyes. I know this must sound melodramatic, but this book really moved me. But also, I must say this book reaffirmed my faith in human kindness and the perseverance of the human spirit.

Teri

Informative

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2018

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This book should remind us that life can be so much more difficult than it currently be.
Hard to believe that children had to grow up so early. Sad stories but interesting.

Jonay Kunnap

Absolutely loved this book

Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2019

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This book was great with different stories to tell. It keeps the book fresh and fun to read. I couldn't put it down

No_Spark

Great Book!

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2017

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Great book to read and just imagine the lives of those people.

Very buggy iOS app though. This new app is frustrating.