Dorothea Lange's photographs define how the American Depression is remembered; this evocative biography defines her creative struggles and enduring legacy. We all know Dorothea Lange's iconic photographs but few know the arc of her extraordinary life. In this sweeping account, Linda Gordon charts Lange's journey from polio-ridden child to wife and mother, from San Francisco portrait photographer to chronicler of the Great Depression and Second World War. Gordon uses Lange's life to anchor a social history of twentieth-century America, re-creating the bohemian world of San Francisco, the Dust Bowl and the Japanese-American internment camps. She explores Lange's radicalization as she embraced the democratic power of the camera and she examines Lange's body of work. Lange reminds us that beauty can be found in unlikely places and that to respond to injustice, we must first learn how to see it.