book data
386 ratings,
4.18
average rating, 57 reviews
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published
November 1st 2000
(first published 1970)
by W. W. Norton & Company
binding
Paperback, 480 pages
isbn
1565846567
(isbn13: 9781565846562)
description
First published in 1970, this classic of oral history features the voices of men and women who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s. It inc...more
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avg 4.18
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
recommended to Laura by:
HSTAA 101
This is a great collection of reminiscences from those who lived through the Depression. What was striking to me was the variety of experience - I know it should be obvious, but I kind of thought that EVERYONE was dirt poor and riding the rails, and of course that's not true. The Depression affected everyone, but in different ways - and that really comes through here. I would say this is an absolute must-read for anyone studying or curious about the Depression.
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Read in November, 2008
recommended to Kate by:
Toledo-Lucas County Public Libraryrecommends it for: Everyone
A really great and very timely read. I highly recommend it!
(If you don't want to read the whole book, This American Life recently played a number of them on the Nov. 7 show.)
The book has such a simple premise- Studs Terkel interviewed people about their experiences during the Great Depression. He talked to a wide cross section of society - musicians, hobos who traveled on train cars, the wealthy, coal miners, Cesar Chavez, farmers, migrant workers, union activists, doctor...more
(If you don't want to read the whole book, This American Life recently played a number of them on the Nov. 7 show.)
The book has such a simple premise- Studs Terkel interviewed people about their experiences during the Great Depression. He talked to a wide cross section of society - musicians, hobos who traveled on train cars, the wealthy, coal miners, Cesar Chavez, farmers, migrant workers, union activists, doctor...more
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These people are, of course, getting very old now and dying. I am especially interested in the treatment of women (teenagers)in the hobo camps along the railways, and would love to talk to one of these women.
The legend is, and I think it's recounted in Terkel's book somewhere, that the girls, who had to leave home and hit the rails (or roads), were protected from abuse by the men in the encampments, as a code of honor. Mess with a girl "hobo", you were persona non grata i...more
The legend is, and I think it's recounted in Terkel's book somewhere, that the girls, who had to leave home and hit the rails (or roads), were protected from abuse by the men in the encampments, as a code of honor. Mess with a girl "hobo", you were persona non grata i...more
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03/27/09
Stop
added it
Read in November, 2008
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 hau...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 hau...more
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Read in January, 1973
recommended to Cindy by:
Required reading for a social history classrecommends it for: everyone
This seems like a perfect time to celebrate Studs Terkel! If only he had lived to see this night, although he must have seen it coming.
Studs Terkel in Hard Times provided a very precious slice of social history from the Depression. It is an extraordinary compilation of very personal and often very moving stories from the people who lived through the Depression and survived it to share their memories and impressions. These were stories from people from all economic, social, and pol...more
Studs Terkel in Hard Times provided a very precious slice of social history from the Depression. It is an extraordinary compilation of very personal and often very moving stories from the people who lived through the Depression and survived it to share their memories and impressions. These were stories from people from all economic, social, and pol...more
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2 comments
Read in January, 2009
this book looks scary because of the size, but it is really many many little stories, some half a page long, about the depression. i love the personal stories what people and their families had to do to survive. and how they prayed there would never be another depression because people today couldnt handle it.
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In honor of the great Studs Terkel, may he rest in peace...This is an amazing collection of voices from a generation that truly lived through hell and lived to tell about it.
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Read in March, 2009
This is basically a report on how the depression impacted individuals throughout our country and throughout social groups and "walks of life." The people tell what it was like for them in their own words. I did not finish the book because I lost interest, I guess, but it is timely because some of the regulations that were put into place after the great depression to prevent another one have now been removed, which is why we are tottering on the edge again. Free market capitalis...more
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06/10/09
Mel
is currently reading it
This book is great so far. It is like having conversations with older people about the depression that you wish you could have.
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A good read for anyone interested in the Depression...might make timely reading considering current events.
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very interesting. hearing about the depression from those who lived it makes the whole thing far more real.
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Read in April, 2009
Things never change--so many things resonated to what is going on in our time.
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Read in December, 2007
This is a fantastic, sprawling account of America in the 1930s. Obviously, summary doesn't really serve a 500-page book made up of short interviews. Terkel really covers all social strata who were effected, from Dust Bowl refugees, rich Wall Street men, members of FDR's New Deal Cabinet, film stars of the day, even the guy who wrote the lyrics to all the songs in The Wizard Of Oz. There's a good deal of humor for a book about the Great Depression, which I think is something of a testament to t...more
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01/15/09
Erica Schweizer
is currently reading it
This is going to take me a while.
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11/20/08
Monika
marked it as to-read
Good read for my ppr. A Will book.
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Read in February, 2008
480 pages - I am reading this now, and am about half-way through. This is a collection of narratives from people who lived through the Great Depression. You get a very good idea what it was like for poor and rich people. I especially like books by Studs Terkel because you get to hear so many different voices. many of these people would have been great writers if they sat down and wrote a novel. This is a really powerful book, although I don't think I like it as much as I liked his other boo...more
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I am reading this right now and really enjoying it. It is first hand accounts of the depression. the venue is largely Chicago but that doesn't limit its scope. the frightening thing is the parallels to today. After this I am going to read another first 100 days book. I will keep you posted
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I read this after 'The Worst Hard Time' to get more detail about the Depression. Each chapter is an interview and personal account of someone's experience during the 30's. Some people were rich and lost all, some made money throughout, some struggled with prohibition, union busting, racism. And some experienced it as second generation - having parents who lived during that time.
It's easy to read this and compare it to the current economic difficulties. Will it ever get this bad agai...more
It's easy to read this and compare it to the current economic difficulties. Will it ever get this bad agai...more
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