P. O’Connell Pearson

When FDR was inaugurated president, the country was mired in the Great Depression with unemployment at 25%. The dire state of the country is what enabled FDR’s proposal for a Civilian Conservation Corps to be planned and passed by Congress with bipartisan support in four weeks. Young men across the country applied for jobs that would support and conserve the country’s dwindling natural resources. This included building roads, bridges and fire lookout towers, planting trees, improving state and national parks, and restoring the barren soil of the Dust Bowl. The CCC legacy lives on today in the popularity of national parks, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the foundation of organizations such as the Wilderness Society and the National Wildlife Federation. Presents a holistic and diverse history of the CCC: Author well establishes the Great Depression and Dust Bowl as the backdrop and impetus: high unemployment, homelessness, malnutrition. Pulls together varied aspects of the program and its impact. Looks at social perspective: POC workers and the discrimination they faced; workers of different backgrounds meeting and working together; young, untrained men learning discipline and gaining self-worth; impact of traditional gender roles on seeking help (prideful men). After laying out the state of things, author shows how the CCC helped turn around the workers’ lives and self-worth, gaining important work skills, making contributions with their work. Addresses the state of the environment at the time: clear-cutting of forests, drought… (mehr)

I saw this mentioned on Ms. Yingling Reads and immediately put it on my to read pile and then... forgot about it. When I finally picked it up, I was sucked in and it is just so good!

Pearson tells the story of the CCC, Civilian Conservation Corps, during the Great Depression, but this is so much more than a dry-as-dust (ha ha) account of a government program. She weaves in environmental concerns, racism, and economic issues in a seamless story that keeps the reader fascinated - and does it in less than 200 pages!

In vivid language, Pearson describes the causes of the Great Depression, the physical and psychological toll on people, and uses several real-life people in her examples. She explains how FDR started the idea of the CCC and the problems and challenges they faced. Kids who have vaguely pictured the Great Depression will see it in grim detail, from the aimless, hungry young men to the devastated land. As the CCC got underway, Pearson branches out to discuss segregation, racism, the history and use of public lands, and the effects of the program. When it finally ends at the start of WW2, she reflects on the difference it made, not only to the nation but in individual peoples' lives. She looks at the good and the bad; the young men who died or were injured in forest fires and accidents, the starving and sickly men who got a new chance at a better life. At the positive and negative effects of the conservation projects, like draining wetlands and preventing natural forest fires but also improving soil. She looks at the economic effects; was it wise to spend so much money on one program? How did this affect the government's deficit? The final paragraphs talk about the legacy of the CCC today and how administrations, from Nixon to Trump, have chosen to address conservation and public lands.

There is one typo on page 156, the caption for a photograph says "Shenanandoah National Park." Back matter includes sources, endnotes, a timeline, and index.

Verdict: There are so many excellent things about this book; Pearson includes the prejudice against Latinx populations, the effect of public land reclamation on local populations, including indigenous peoples. She gives a stark picture of the grim effects of the Great Depression and talks thoughtfully about the how it affected gender stereotypes, immigrants, and how it was shaped by politicians. All of this and more is packed into an extremely readable volume that will be accessible to a wide variety of readers. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781534429321; Published October 2019 by Simon and Schuster; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library… (mehr)