My American Century Book

Now in his eighties, Studs Terkel brings us My American Century, a collection of his most memorable interviews from all eight classics. Robert Cole's foreword lays out a brief history of America's economic power, from the Great Depression on. The details that remain unchanging are the insecurities endured by working men and women. "Such a vulnerability informs the life of even those lucky to be hard at work, as anyone interested in talking with ordinary working people will soon enough learn. But precisely who has had such an interest?" Fans of Studs Terkel know the answer. A writer supremely in touch with his world, Terkel's gift is in transforming the raw clay of people's lives into a simultaneously respectful, curious, and kind narrative. "My turf," says Terkel of this latest volume, "has been the arena of unofficial truth--of the noncelebrated one on the block, who is able to articulate the thoughts of his/her neighbors, inchoate, though deeply felt. I confess to never having been privy to highly reliable sources." And what an amazing and impartial approach to subject matter. This informative volume, full of personality, is a wonderful introduction to the work of Studs Terkel, a writer who, time and again, gives voice to the querulous, difficult questions--the ones that always threaten to get swept away in the rapids of the American Dream.Read More