Deep Dive | America 250
1930s America
April 2026
Eager to learn more about U.S. History and the America 250 celebration? Carefully curated by local historians and academics, these modules (one for each month of the America 250 celebration) will offer a deep dive into various periods of U.S. History. These recommendations are offered as a free and optional resource with a corresponding list of books, podcast episodes, documentaries, and more that explore themes and specific timeframes within the history of our nation.
Please note: These resources are offered as an optional learning opportunity and are not a required part of any America 250 programs. All reading and viewing materials are optional and meant to enrich your personal learning experience. Some topics may be thought-provoking or sensitive, but all have been curated with care and respect. We invite you to engage with what interests you and explore at your own pace as we commemorate our nation's past.
These Deep Dives begin with a look at life in the United States in the 1930s.
Thank you for joining us!

GENERAL INTEREST BOOKS
- The Man Who Walked Backwards: An American Dreamer’s Search for Meaning in the Great Depression - Ben Montgomery
- The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression - Amity Shlaes
- The American People in The Great Depression- David M. Kennedy
- Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression - Studs Terkel
- The Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times - Susan Quinn
DEEP DIVE
- The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of those who Survived the Great American Dustbowl - Timothy Egan
- Bullfrogs, Bingo, and The Little House on the Prairie: How Innovators of the Great Depression Made the Best of the Worst of Times - Jason Voiovich
- A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression - Jane Ziegelman & Andrew Coe
- Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World - Liaquat Ahamed
- Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and the Great Depression - Alan Brinkley
- Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression - Morris Dickstein
- Nothing to Fear: FDR's Inner Circle and the Hundred Days That Created Modern America - Adam Cohen
- Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time - Ira Katznelson
- Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt - H.W. Brands
- Colossus: The Turbulent, Thrilling Saga of the Building of the Hoover Dam - Michael Hiltzik
- Dead Air: The Night That Orson Welles Terrified America - William Elliott Hazelgrove
- Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941 - Lynne Olsen
KIDS & YOUNG ADULTS
- When the World Turned Gray: The History of the Great Depression for Kids - James Smith
- Bud, Not Buddy - Christopher Paul Curtis
- Out of the Dust - Karen Hesse
- The Gardener - Sarah Stewart
- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred D.Taylor
- Al Capone Does My Shirts - Gennifer Choldenko
- A Long Way From Chicago - Richard Peck
- Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
LITERATURE & HISTORICAL FICTION
- The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
- To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
- The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah
- The Boxcar Librarian - Brianna Labuskes
- Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
- The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek -Kim Michele Richardson
- Go Tell it On the Mountain by James Baldwin
- Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flag
- Native Son by Richard Wright
- They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - Horace McCoy

- Cinderella Man (2005) PG-13
- Seabiscuit (2003) PG-13
- Of Mice and Men (1992) PG-13
- Public Enemies (2009) R
- Annie (1982) PG
- Road to Perdition (2002) R
- The Public Enemy (1931) 13+
- The Sting (1973) PG
- Bonnie and Clyde (1967) R
- It Happened One Night (1934) 7+
- Duck Soup (1933) NR
- Paper Moon (1973) PG
- Miller’s Crossing (1990) R
- The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) PG-13
- The Grapes of Wrath (1940) NR
- Places In the Heart (1984) PG
- The Aviator (2004) PG-13
- Cradle Will Rock (2000) R
- The Rocketeer (1991) PG
- The Journey of Natty Gann (1985) PG
- To Kill A Mockingbird (1963) NR
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) NR
- Boardwalk Empire (2010-14) TV-MA
- The Waltons (1972-80)
- The Untouchables (1987) R
- History That Doesn’t Suck - Episodes 170-180
- American History Tellers - Season 10: The Great Depression
- American History Hit - President FDR & the New Deal
- American History Hit - President Herbert Hoover: Did He Cause the Great Depression?
- Hope, Through History: Episode 1 - FDR and The Great Depression
- The River (1938 Archival Film)
- The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936 Archival Film)
- Herbert Hoover on the New Deal (1932)
- Huey P. Long, “Every Man a King” and “Share our Wealth” (1934)
- Second Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1937)
- Dorothy West, “Amateur Night in Harlem” (1938)
- Voices from the Dust Bowl
- WPA Posters
- National Archives - Great Depression Primary Sources
- Studs Terkel Radio Archive
- Old Time Radio Shows
- Orson Welles - War Of The Worlds - Radio Broadcast 1938
- The Hurricane of '38
- The Mormon’s War on Poverty, Garth L. Mangum
- The Great Depression - Utah History to Go
- Here's how Utah celebrated the New Year in the 30s
- In Those Days: A Look at the Wasatch Front of the 1930's
- The Face of Utah During the Great Depression
- The Economics of Ambivalence: Utah's Depression Experience
- A Look Back • Utahns in the National Guard in the 1930s
- A Peoples' History of Utah: Episode 18: War, Depression, and War 1917-1945
- Utah During The Great Depression
- The Marriner Doctrine: How a Utah Banker Tackled the Great Depression
- Great Depression in Weber County
- Main Street Minutes | The Bank of Southern Utah



