It was 1932 in the United States. Hard times of the Great Depression had hit. Pulling into a rail yard of a small town on an early misty morning was a long freight train. Even before the train came to a complete stop, shadowy figures began jumping from boxcars to the gravel below. Not five or six but sixty or more tumbled from the train with small bundles in hand. Many of their faces were not lined with age; they were the fresh faces of America's youth. Many were teenagers—teenagers "on the bum." They were part of an army of youthful transients, numbering roughly 250,000, who were riding the rails through America.

Along the rails homeless boys and a scattering of girls experienced adventure, awesome glimpses of the American countryside, and a thrilling sense of freedom. But they also experienced hunger, danger, boredom, despair, and...