The Dust Bowl chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the "Great Plow-Up," followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews with twenty-six survivors of those hard times, combined with dramatic photographs and seldom seen movie footage, bring to life stories of incredible human suffering and equally incredible human perseverance. It is also a morality tale about our relationship to the land that sustains us—a lesson we ignore at our peril.
The Dust Bowl, a two-part, four-hour documentary series by Ken Burns, will premiere November 18 and 19, 2012 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET on PBS. The Dust Bowl was produced with a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.