As he did for frontier children in his enormously popular Children of the Wild West, Russell Freedman illuminates the lives of the American children affected by the economic and social changes of the Great Depression. Middle-class urban youth, migrant farm laborers, boxcar kids, children whose families found themselves struggling for survival . . . all Depression-era young people faced challenges like unemployed and demoralized parents, inadequate food and shelter, schools they couldn’t attend because they had to go to work, schools that simply closed their doors. Even so, life had its bright spots—like favorite games and radio shows—and many young people remained upbeat and optimistic about the future.


羅素．傅里曼透過本書，讓世人一窺當年在經濟大蕭條的影響下美國孩童的生活，就如同他在暢銷書《Children of the Wild West》中以美國舊西部孩子為題材一樣。經濟大蕭條的年代，不論是都市的中產階級青年、外籍農工、流浪兒童、或家裡三餐不繼的孩童，都面臨了許多挑戰，像是父母失業而灰心喪志、吃住簡陋、工作賺錢而無法求學、或學校拒他們於門外。儘管如此，生命還是有光亮的一面，例如大眾喜愛的遊戲和廣播節目，許多年輕人對未來仍抱持樂觀，內心充滿希望。