Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel was an American author whose works portrayed American culture and life as experienced by ordinary people. He is best known for his oral history books, which preserved individual stories and interviews about a wide range of topics.

A celebrated author and social activist, Terkel worked during the mid-20th century, during a period of significant cultural and political change in America. He was born Louis Terkel on May 16, 1912 in New York City and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Chicago, and began his writing career in the 1940s. He published books on topics such as race, poverty and labor in the 1960s and 70s.

Terkel wrote extensively about the experiences of ordinary people, using interviews, personal anecdotes, and recordings to make his stories come to life. His most famous book, “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do,” was a collection of stories about a wide range of workers from cab drivers to sanitation workers to secretaries. It was a best-seller that was eventually adapted into a Broadway play.

In 1974, Terkel won the Pulitzer Prize for “The Good War: An Oral History of World War II,” a poetic and reflective look at World War II. His other books included “American Dreams Lost and Found” (1980), a series of personal anecdotes about Americans experiencing economic hardship, and “Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Troubled Times” (2003), which looked at individual struggles for hope and justice in the face of adversity.

In addition to writing books, Terkel also served as a radio and television host, as well as a commentator. His radio program, “The Studs Terkel Program,” aired on stations across America from 1952 to 1997, and he was the host of “Studs’ Place,” a television game show, from 1949 to 1952.

Throughout his life, Terkel was an outspoken advocate for the working class and for the rights of the poor and disadvantaged. He was a fierce critic of social and economic injustice and his books provided a platform to share the experiences of those on the margins of society. He was also an active participant in the civil rights movement and supported groups such as the Congress of Racial Equality and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Studs Terkel passed away in October of 2008 at the age of 96. Though gone, his legacy lives on in his written works and in the recordings and interviews he conducted throughout his life. His books are still widely read and appreciated, and they provide a unique window into the lives of the common people he wrote about. Terkel will be remembered for his passion and dedication to social justice, as well as for his thought-provoking and insightful books.

Author books:

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do

A unique collection of interviews revealing the emotional side of different jobs and the everyday struggles faced by workers.