Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century »

One of the greatest oral historians of the 20th century, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, actor, and broadcaster Studs Terkel was a national treasure and a beloved institution in his native Chicago. His award-winning books, based on conversations with Americans from all walks of life, form a unique chronicle of a nation in the throes of socio-political change.

"A summing up of the best of Terkel."—Herbert Mitgang, Doubletake

The Studs Terkel Reader, originally published under the title My American Century, collects the best interviews from eight of Terkel's classic oral histories together with his magnificent introductions to each work. Featuring selections from American Dreams, Coming of Age, Division Street, "The Good War", The Great Divide, Hard Times, Race, and Working, this "greatest hits" volume is a treasury of Terkel's most memorable subjects that will delight his many lifelong fans and provide a perfect introduction for those who have not yet experienced the joy of reading Studs Terkel. It includes an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Coles surveying Terkel's overall body of work and a new foreword by Calvin Trillin.

Preface   Calvin Trillin     xi
Foreword   Robert Coles     xiii
Introduction     3
Note     19
The Dream
American Dreams: Lost and Found (1980)
Introduction     23
Vine Deloria, Native American author and teacher     34
Andy Johnson, hardscrabble Finnish immigrant     38
Wallace Rasmussen, Horatio Alger Award winner     42
Vernon Jarrett, African-American newspaperman     49
C. P. Ellis, former Klansman     62
Leonel I. Castillo, former director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service     77
Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970)
Introduction: A Personal Memoir (and Parenthetical Comment)     83
Ed Paulsen, freight-train rider     91
Arthur A. Robertson, mogul     99
Clifford Burke, hustler     105
Doc Graham, gangster     107
Oscar Heline, farmer     120
Jane Yoder, daughter of a WPA worker     126
Tom Yoder, Jane's son     130
Jerome Zerbe, society's photographer     130
Peggy Tevry and her mother, Mary Owsley, mountain people     137
We Still See Their Faces: Introduction to the 50th anniversary edition of The Grapes of Wrath     147
"The Good War": An Oral History of World War II (1984)
Introduction     161
Bob Rasmus, rifleman     177
Peggy Terry, "hillbilly"     189
E. B. (Sledgehammer) Sledge, Marine     196
Peter Ota, Nisei     205
Betty Basye Hutchinson, nurse     211
The City
Division Street: America (1967)
Introduction     221
Florence Scala, neighborhood crusader     226
Dennis Hart, cabbie     236
Lucy Jefferson, migrant from Mississippi     244
Kid Pharaoh, con man     252
Tom Kearney, cop     262
Chester Kolar, next-door neighbor     272
George Malley (a.k.a. Henry Lorenz), blue-collar worker     273
Eva Barnes, landlady     282
Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (1972)
Introduction     301
Mike Lefevre, steelworker     319
Dolores Dante, waitress     329
Roberto Acuna, farm worker     336
Eric Nesterenko, pro hockey player     346
Phil Stallings, auto worker     354
Tom Patrick, fireman     360
The Divide
The Great Divide: Second Thoughts on the American Dream (1988)
Introduction     381
Caroll Nearmyer, family farmer     393
Rex Winship, trader     400
Sam Talbert, teamster     410
Larry Heinemann, Vietnam War veteran     416
Jean Gump, suburban grandmother     421
Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (1992)
Introduction     429
Joseph Lattimore, African-American     450
Diane Romano, white mother of six     459
Lloyd King, mixed race     467
Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century By Those Who Have Lived It (1995)
Introduction     477
Bessie Doenges, writer     495
Jack Culberg, CEO     504
Genora Johnson Dollinger, remembering the 1937 sit-down strike     511
Jacob Lawrence, artist     521
David Brewer, environmentalist     526