This work vividly describes the intervention of the tramp as a social type in the United States between 1869 and 1939. Tim Cresswell considers the ways in which the figure of the tramp was imagined, written and spoken about, and how by World War II it was being reclassified, renamed and rendered invisible. The book calls into question the common assumption that mobility played a central role in the production of American identity. The author describes the "tramp scare" of the late 19th century in terms of the major factors that influenced the tramp's existence: the political and economic climate, the technology of the railroad and the after-effects of the Civil War. He goes on to explore various stereotypes associated with tramps, an example being the prevalent assumption that tramps were male and were a threat to women in domestic environments, while contemporary accounts exist of female tramps who took to the road disguised as men. Finally, he looks at the work of a number of prominent American photographers, among them Dorothea Lange, whose sympathetic portrayals signalled a change in attitude towards this often-despised group.