Harvest of shame

About this book

Presented by CBS News correspondent Dan Rather, Murrow's Harvest of Shame is among the most famous television documentaries of all time. Richly photographed and arrestingly poignant, this long-acclaimed 1960 exposé on the degradation and exploitation of migrant farmworkers in the United States, some of whom worked for as little as a dollar a day, resonated deeply for a nation unfamiliar with such brutally honest depictions of living conditions that, as Murrow remarks, "wrong the dignity of man." Spokesmen for various groups present their views both for and against the use of migratory workers under the conditions seen. Televised to millions of Americans the day after Thanksgiving to better tap into their emotions, this documentary led to permanent changes in the laws protecting workers' rights and set the tone for a generation of investigative journalists. Harvest of shame was the final documentary of Murrow's career.