We see the decade of the Great Depression entirely through the eyes of young men and women growing up on a landscape of ruin. We ride the rails with them, setting out from homes shattered by unemployment and poverty and hitting the road. We learn of their struggle to survive on the streets of America and know their bitter disappointments, their sense of loss of childhood, their frustrations at the lack of opportunity. The story of the boxcar boys and girls reveals nothing less than the spirit of America youthful optimism, the will to make the best of things, the love of freedom. The Great Depression was a heinous time that left deep scars.
Letter writers express life-long fears of going broke again.
When they left the rails and got a hold on their lives, they never let go. Many tell of keeping the jobs they found for 30 or 40 years. None speak of the pluck and courage they showed in going to seek a better life. They are the forgotten heroes of our century. I wrote my first book at 10.