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4th out of 216 books
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Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do
by
Studs Terkel
A trade paperback edition of the bestselling oral history.
Paperback, 640 pages
Published
February 28th 1997
by New Press, The
(first published 1974)
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This book was to some degree a political gesture when it was written--a radical reassessment of which lives are worth documenting and which voices worth being heard--but it would be a shame to read it that way.
What this book is is what life feels like during the hours you don't choose for yourself--as told by airline stewardesses, union bosses, factory workers, CEOs, car salesmen, whatever--and there's as much humanity in here as in any novel. It is also, incidentally, insanely usef...more
What this book is is what life feels like during the hours you don't choose for yourself--as told by airline stewardesses, union bosses, factory workers, CEOs, car salesmen, whatever--and there's as much humanity in here as in any novel. It is also, incidentally, insanely usef...more
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Studs Terkel is the American poet of work. He admires work and the people who do it. He sees the beauty in it, and the dignity. He doesn't judge people by their choice of work whether they are bricklayers, doctors, or hookers. He simply enquires into the experiences people have and explores what their work means to them. He invites them to share their dreams, fears, and opinions about work.
For some reason Americans lack an appreciation of work. We want jobs, money, and security, but ...more
For some reason Americans lack an appreciation of work. We want jobs, money, and security, but ...more
I think that in today's climate of reality TV and everyone trying to sell their story or seek their "15 minutes" that the interviews for this book couldn't have been done with the un-selfconsciousness with which they were done 30-plus years ago.
Short little 1/2-4 page interviews with people about their jobs. There is the stockbroker that admits getting into the stocks is going to have you losing money, the housewife, the executive secretary (this was published n the 70s), the mason, hotel operator, newspaper carrier.... It's interesting esp because it also is a glimpse into 30 years ago but also just intersting for people to talk about their work. Not everyone's happy, not everyone's unhappy with their jobs but Stud Terkel does an a...more
I think I killed Studs Terkel. Since I was a kid I've read omens and augeries into anything slightly out of the ordinary that happens to or around me, so I know my sudden and intense interest in him right before he died can't be a coincidence.
This is an amazing book, although I can't imagine reading too much in one go. It's surprising how pro-union everyone seemed to be not so long ago. What happened?
If anyone wants mp3s of Studs Terkel interviewing Dorothy Parker, Ala...more
This is an amazing book, although I can't imagine reading too much in one go. It's surprising how pro-union everyone seemed to be not so long ago. What happened?
If anyone wants mp3s of Studs Terkel interviewing Dorothy Parker, Ala...more
Terkel, Studs. Working. New York; The New Press; 1972.
I sit here now in my small motel room, just having completed the most relevant book of my career. Studs Terkel’s Working is thick with narratives of Americans in every profession, job, position that could be imagined. This is responsible journalism, eloquent, simple, beautiful. Studs has a way of getting out of the way of the interview, of drawing people out, of capturing them rightly on the page.
Recently I had the audacity of ent...more
I sit here now in my small motel room, just having completed the most relevant book of my career. Studs Terkel’s Working is thick with narratives of Americans in every profession, job, position that could be imagined. This is responsible journalism, eloquent, simple, beautiful. Studs has a way of getting out of the way of the interview, of drawing people out, of capturing them rightly on the page.
Recently I had the audacity of ent...more
Why do people work if the don't like their jobs? Why do people work? Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, documents the lives of people's working lives. Of course, the title gave it all away already. Personally, I think the title is way too detailed and unthoughtful.
But anyway, the pages after the cover page are about workers during the 70's and are interviewed about what they do for a living, why they do it, what they like, and vice versa. ...more
But anyway, the pages after the cover page are about workers during the 70's and are interviewed about what they do for a living, why they do it, what they like, and vice versa. ...more
Well, the subtitle explains it all: "People talk about what they do all day and how they feel about what they do". This is a collection of short transcribed interviews of people talking about their work.
Most of these people don't really like their jobs. In many cases this seems to do with lack of status, and how other people treat them. Sometimes it's because the job seems pointless - because there's no clear sense of having accomplished something useful at the end of the ...more
Most of these people don't really like their jobs. In many cases this seems to do with lack of status, and how other people treat them. Sometimes it's because the job seems pointless - because there's no clear sense of having accomplished something useful at the end of the ...more
I picked this one up for what it might tell me about why we need to work in the first place. It was a question an English prof asked in one of my Shakespeare courses as an undergrad, and at the time none of us had a clue as to why (I remember the question in part because of the silence that pervaded the room after it was asked). Frankly, I'm still trying to figure it out, and Studs' stuff, as always, gives lots of direction. I'm struck here by the ways work lives have both changed and not cha...more
A stunning look at America in the 1970's. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at some of the depictions of these hard-working people. Mostly I just wanted to quit my job.
It would be interesting to see what Americans would say to the same questions Studs posed in today's working world (although nobody could replace the way he asked them). I would suspect that fewer would complain about the toll work placed on their bodies (we probably could use a little more of that to tell the trut...more
It would be interesting to see what Americans would say to the same questions Studs posed in today's working world (although nobody could replace the way he asked them). I would suspect that fewer would complain about the toll work placed on their bodies (we probably could use a little more of that to tell the trut...more
I'd heard about this forever, feels like something I'd really like to read now. Partly if I get the job involving unions; in any case because the country (world) is at a turning point regarding work. Much of the -work- that had been done integrally involved harm to the earth or to a group of people or to one's customers or employees or all of the above. Feels like at this moment, since so much has to change anyway, people are somewhat awake about the potential of now to change those aspects as w...more
If there were an edited version of this book I'd like it a lot better. Although I like how the author put down the word-for-word transcription so it feels like you get to know the different interviewees, apparently the majority of the world likes to cuss-a lot. This book covers blue collar America and almost everyone is disappointed in or extremely dislikes their job most of the time. These people have tough jobs and tough lives! It should be called: "A college education is worth it." ...more
What I love about this is that it is period specific (early 70's) and yet absolutely, almost shockingly relevant, and will most likely continue to be for many decades to come. It's fascinating to think about what has changed (socially, politically, morally), and how, and what will likely take us many more years to properly deal with. Race and sexual politics, class, education, and the meaning and repercussions of mechanization (our obsession with technology) are a few of the themes the work dea...more
like any studs terkel book, you start off like "wow, everyone has a story" and then 400 pages later you're like "jesus, EVERYONE has a story."
This book is like a documentary of many voices of the people of America. Each tell the author of their experiences living in the country. It is simple, conversational, yet very powerful. Although this is nonfiction, as a fiction writer I have learned form this book that there is nothing more powerful as a reader than the emotions of people or characters in your story, because these emotions reflect on the reader. What I hope to do most for my writers is make them feel for my characters, as ...more
I got about 100 pages into this 600-page tome, and I couldn't help but feel that the reading endeavor as pointless as some of the folks felt that their jobs were. It's interesting to hear people's voices, straight with little editing, but disconcerting after a while to not find any sort of structure or context, aside from the somewhat esoteric organization of the order of interviews. The common theme seemed to be that lots of people didn't like their jobs very much, and that lots of them felt,...more
Remains a classic. I'll be reading it a few people at a time though with other books in between.
-Advisory Summer Reading book-
This book jumped out to me when i was looking through the books we could read and this stood out. The title is probably not that interesting but i like one word titles. When i went to the library to get this book, it turns out it wasnt a one word title and that it was a really long title. i still read it nonetheless. This book is all about people who works and what they think about it. It is a story all about people and what they enjoy and not enjoy abou...more
This book jumped out to me when i was looking through the books we could read and this stood out. The title is probably not that interesting but i like one word titles. When i went to the library to get this book, it turns out it wasnt a one word title and that it was a really long title. i still read it nonetheless. This book is all about people who works and what they think about it. It is a story all about people and what they enjoy and not enjoy abou...more
This book is basically a series of stories by the working class. This book was pretty interesting even though there were no plot or anything. It's stories of the working class's daily routine in work and how they feel about it, it shows the process of the American Dream because all the people were the hard laborers, even if they are high statuses. This book sets the reader into the shoes of the working class and i find it really inspirational and admirable. This allows us to explore the lives of...more
Jesus, there are whole worlds in here. This is the voice of the old America, a suite of working class existences that didn't make the history books. Here are bosses and steelworkers, waitstaff and ad men, cops and hookers. There's one voice in particular, a waitress, named Dolores Dante, that stands out. She is completely and utterly fascinating...
And yet, to the modern reader, this is a dead America. A time of working class solidarity, of unionism, of decent jobs. Not to be nostalgic ...more
And yet, to the modern reader, this is a dead America. A time of working class solidarity, of unionism, of decent jobs. Not to be nostalgic ...more
I don't follow chronological order but skip around. I read it piece-meal between other reads or for a short read.
It comes from an era when people were fed up and honest without the possibility of celebrity. That gives this work integrity, honesty in its remarks and interpretations. Because there was no Reality TV junk around, no Oprah syndrome of victimization, no syndicate of sympathy for everyone's problems, those interviewed in this book spoke honestly without an eye out for sympa...more
It comes from an era when people were fed up and honest without the possibility of celebrity. That gives this work integrity, honesty in its remarks and interpretations. Because there was no Reality TV junk around, no Oprah syndrome of victimization, no syndicate of sympathy for everyone's problems, those interviewed in this book spoke honestly without an eye out for sympa...more
The professions in Working aren't glamorous but they're human. The switchboard operator, the prostitute, the unsung executive, the museum curator, they're all spoken for here. That's part of what makes Studs' book so remarkable, his willingness to pursue the unsung sectors of the American experience and what it means to really be happy with what you do. No matter the profession, Studs treats it with perfect respect and admiration, realizing that we all do what we have to do to get by no matte...more
Very simple concept, very good book. One of the most informative I've ever read. Some of the jobs described no longer exist, but their message carries over perfectly well. Highly recommended for people who want to think about what they'd like to do, what they are doing, and what other people think in their own roles. The title says it all.
Some favourite bits:
"A hustler is any woman in American Society. I was the kind of hustler who received money for favours granted rat...more
Some favourite bits:
"A hustler is any woman in American Society. I was the kind of hustler who received money for favours granted rat...more
The strongest reaction I had to reading this is that I am very grateful that I am not a woman living during the time these interviews were conducted (60s-70s?)
I found interesting that many workers brought up the issue of race in their interviews. I wonder if the question was proposed during the course of the interview or if many people found it necessary to comment on race in the workplace, again because of the time period, because it was a relative novelty at that time to be workin...more
I found interesting that many workers brought up the issue of race in their interviews. I wonder if the question was proposed during the course of the interview or if many people found it necessary to comment on race in the workplace, again because of the time period, because it was a relative novelty at that time to be workin...more
Read the STOP SMILING interview with Studs Terkel:
BEHIND THE BILLBOARDS
By Danny Postel and JC Gabel
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING Chicago Issue)
Studs Terkel is “as much a part of Chicago as the Sears Tower and Al Capone,” a BBC journalist once remarked.
Indeed, just as tourists to the “city of the century” throng to the skyscraper's observation deck and make their way to one or another of the gangster's old haunts, man...more
BEHIND THE BILLBOARDS
By Danny Postel and JC Gabel
(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING Chicago Issue)
Studs Terkel is “as much a part of Chicago as the Sears Tower and Al Capone,” a BBC journalist once remarked.
Indeed, just as tourists to the “city of the century” throng to the skyscraper's observation deck and make their way to one or another of the gangster's old haunts, man...more
I do love oral history when done well, though Terkel himself objected to that term.
Terkel is apparently a VERY good LISTENER, to get such natural sounding stories of people's lives.
The eye-openers for me were the assembly workers in Detroit auto plants, and the [steel:] truck drivers.
Very scary how dangerous these jobs were and are, and that, in spite of being unionized.
Notably, being treated without respect by their foremen was a chief complaint. How inhumanely we so of...more
Terkel is apparently a VERY good LISTENER, to get such natural sounding stories of people's lives.
The eye-openers for me were the assembly workers in Detroit auto plants, and the [steel:] truck drivers.
Very scary how dangerous these jobs were and are, and that, in spite of being unionized.
Notably, being treated without respect by their foremen was a chief complaint. How inhumanely we so of...more
An amazing book. It is both a collection of interviews with people who work a variety of different jobs and, now, a look back at the lives of people in the 1970s and before. The interviews focus on each person's job - what they think about their job, what an average day is like for them, and their thoughts on the workplace and the role of work in their life.
Each interview is relatively short, ranging anywhere from around 2 to 10 pages. Some of the stories told are incredibly pow...more
Each interview is relatively short, ranging anywhere from around 2 to 10 pages. Some of the stories told are incredibly pow...more
I thought I would read this book of Social History in the day, and at night start a new work of fiction, but this has sustained me day and night since it was delivered to my pigeon-hole at work.
A cross-section of blue-collar and white collar people in Chicago talk about their jobs - what they think about what they do all day and how they feel about the people they work with and for. It is very place and period specific in many ways - it was first published in the 70s - yet it hurts ...more
A cross-section of blue-collar and white collar people in Chicago talk about their jobs - what they think about what they do all day and how they feel about the people they work with and for. It is very place and period specific in many ways - it was first published in the 70s - yet it hurts ...more
Read this rather young and fell in love with plural individuality (? I'm making up my own language) When young there is the notion of solitary voice in midst of echoes. Echoes that are interpretationally directive like a forest with mythical creatures but you don't know about that deep down you just know you are moved from inside you act and discover boundaries and for some kid like me I was never willing to accept the wall when I just knew through my will there was something behind that wall.
...more
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2012-01-07: I am presently reading this book, but a few preliminary thoughts will appear below as I have them.
I played in a production of the musical adaptation of this book back in 2008. That started me on it.
Last semester (Fall 2011) I used the book as source material for a performance project in my theatre class. (Our project was well received, and played a part in altering the course of the rest of the term. The co-professors refocused the upcoming readings right after ou...more
I played in a production of the musical adaptation of this book back in 2008. That started me on it.
Last semester (Fall 2011) I used the book as source material for a performance project in my theatre class. (Our project was well received, and played a part in altering the course of the rest of the term. The co-professors refocused the upcoming readings right after ou...more
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Terkel won the Pulitzer prize in 1985 for his interviews with ordinary people in such books as Working, The Good War, and Hard Times. Often called an Oral Historian, Studs Terkel preferred to be known for playing music on the radio.
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“Smug respectability, like the poor, we've had with us always. Today, however, ... such obtuseness is an indulgence we can no longer afford. The computer, nuclear energy for better or worse, and sudden, simultaneous influences upon everyone's TV screen have raised the ante and the risk considerably.”
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“Most people were raised to think they are not worthy. School is a process of taking beautiful kids who are filled with life and beating them into happy slavery. That's as true of a twenty-five-thousand-dollar-a-year executive as it is for the poorest."
Bill Talcott - Organizer”
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Bill Talcott - Organizer”
