These compelling accounts of hard times and hard work reveal human courage, dignity, and resilience from a generation that endured the Great Depression.One achievement of the 1930s Federal Writers' Project was its ambitious collection of life histories based on interviews with southern workers and farmers. For Up before Daylight James Seay Brown chose 28 of the more than 100 accounts from throughout Alabama as a rich sampling -- from the Tennessee Valley to the Gulf Coast and from cities as well as rural regions. First published in 1982, Up before Daylight is now available in a reprint edition containing a revised preface by the editor and a new foreword by Alabama historian Wayne Flynt."A much needed slice of life from the past, it is peoples' history -- our history. Suitable for libraries of all types". -- Choice"These 28 stories effectively capture so much about the speech, experiences, world views, and aspirations of their subjects that they leave us with a profound appreciation of the individuals whose words we read and of the harsh realities they faced". -- Humanities in the South"This book is as much a history of the Alabama Writers' Project as it is a collection of life histories, for it expresses the goals of its originators, the hopes of its directors, and the biases of its writers.

Up before Daylight is an important contribution to general knowledge both for the scholar and the interested reader". -- Journal of American Ethnic History"For students, scholars, and lay readers interested in the everyday life of the majority of Alabamians during the late 1930s". -- The Alabama Review.