| Web Site Review | The Journal of American History, 88.2

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| Web Site Review | The Journal of American History, 88.2 | The History Cooperative

Web Site Review

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers, 1936-1940 <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/index.html>. National Digital Library Program, Library of Congress. Reviewed December 2000–March 2001.

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project was among the first of the digital collections to debut on the Library of Congress's American Memory site. These manuscripts were written between 1936 and 1940 by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration ( WPA ), who gathered life stories and living folklore, collected folktales, recollections, songs, sayings, and the like, and recorded ethnic, regional, and occupational folklore and customs. 1

The 2,900 manuscripts in the American Life Histories collection are the combined efforts of 300 writers from 24 states. Texas and New York City have the lion's share of documents, which include carefully crafted narratives, seemingly verbatim interviews or snatches of overheard conversations, perfunctory biographical sketches, and unorganized lists. In addition to the documents themselves, the American Life Histories site includes some contextual information and an introduction by Ann Banks, adapted from her book First Person America (1980). . . .

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