The Dust Bowl, a Film by Ken Burns, Premieres January 3

The Dust Bowl, a Film by Ken Burns, 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 Film by Ken Burns premieres on Rhode Island PBS on Thursday, January 3 at 8 p.m., and concludes the following week, January 10 at 8 p.m. For more information about The Dust Bowl, visit the PBS Web site. 

Click here to see a dramatic photo gallery of a collection of images from the era.