Customer Reviews

American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

James Gregory has put together a outstanding history of the migration and culture of the dust bowl migrants who settled in California. I have probably read Grapes of Wrath four or five times since first reading it in high school, but after reading Gregory's description of the way these poor south-westerners struggled with poverty and at the same time maintained family unity and cultural pride, Steinbeck's book takes on a whole new meaning. Gregory goes step by step to show what motivated many to move, and then what motivated them to stay even though they suffered great privations and predjudice. I especially enjoyed learning about the influences of country music not just upon the migrants, but on the entire nation. A must read to make Grapes more clear!

This book provides an excellent overview of the history of the dust bowl Okies and the culture they (we) have created in central California. Gregory explores the religion, music, and politics well in clear language. The book is short enough to be enjoyable and while goes into some depth on a few issues, it is not so filled with unimportant details as to be muddled. Gregory sprinkles the text with brief excerpts of the many interviews he conducted with the Okies.

I'll admit that I didn't know a lot about the Dust Bowl before reading the historical romance novel, The Happy Immortals, that was set back then and also in 1949. Since falling in love with that book, I've become a voracious reader of anything I can get my hands on relating to the Dust Bowl, the Panhandle, etc.

American Exodus is one of those powerful books that takes you back in time to those years when weather and the storms overshadowed everything throughout the Great Plains.

James Gregory has done a masterful job in not only painting a vivid, unforgettable portrayal of the "dusters," but also in showing the impact of the great exodus to California.

What happened during the 1930s is a very important part of our country's history, and the more we understand about the bittersweet blend of hope, despair, and courage that came from the experiences of those years--all is vital to discovering what led to the 1940s and beyond.

Helps me understand much of my family history. Most of my and my husband's ancestors stayed in Oklahoma/Texas/Colorado despite the Dust Bowl and the Depression. But some left for "greener pastures" and I've heard the stories of how they were treated. I've seen letters from my Grandpa's brother warning him not to bring his own family to California. The folks were confused and at least twice wrote, "We just want to work." Fortunately for my family they had some money and could rent a place (for three families) and one of my great uncles eventually got a job in the shipyards. But my Grandpa told me of hearing it was so hard for them and how the children were treated in school. The war "saved" them, the boys went off into the military and there were plenty of jobs but one of my mom's cousins came back for a visit 20 or 30 years ago and said she never got over being called an "okie" although she was a college graduate and a school administrator. They stuck close to their church and each other and worked hard to educate their kids. Interestingly, many of the descendants of those who left eventually "came back home", either to retire or to find jobs here. But for the most part I never heard any of them criticize the people of California, most just shrugged and said it could have happened to anybody and they thought the citizens were just scared. This book is extremely well researched and I didn't find much editorializing. The first half was very fascinating for me personally but the second half was just a tad boring with all the facts, etc., important but just not my taste.

Overall a good study of the last great westward folk migration in American history. I would add that many of their predecessors in the "classic" frontier period were just as broke and hungry as these migrants, but there was little mass media around to record them. An interesting, well-done slice of folk Americana.

This was a very good book. I hadn't even realized I could get it in paper, as our library only had an old hardcover. Much easier to hold and read. Very good seller

I thought that this was a good book. I read it for a history course on the Great Depression and it was definately worth reading. It can get a little bogged down in detail or a little dull ocassionally, but overall it is a good view of "okie culture". It really helped be to understand the diversity and impact of the migration. And it contains a few interesting personal stories as well!