"Mr. Caldwell's humor. . . has as its source an imagination that stirs the emotions. . . " One of the most popular novels of its time, Tobacco Road has been widely praised for its vivid depiction of the lives of poor white sharecroppers during the Depression. Today, the story remains as stirring and provocative as it was in 1932. The Depression has hit the depleted farmlands of Augusta, Georgia, hard. For the Lester family, grinding poverty has become a way of life. Trapped by ignorance and selfishness, the Lesters are torn between surrendering to their hunger and sexual longings, and the fear that they may be slipping even lower than they already are in society's eyes. An American masterpiece, Tobacco Road captures a time and place in history with emotion, intelligence, and elegance.

ERSKINE CALDWELL, one of the most widely read authors of the twentieth century, is the author of 25 novels, 150 short stories, and 12 nonfiction books. His novel God's Little Acre alone has sold more than fourteen million copies. His books have been made into three movies, and the stage adaptation of Tobacco Road made American theatre history when it ran for seven-and-a-half years on Broadway.