Hope Dies Last : Making a Difference in an Indifferent World

by studs-terkel

For Terkel, hope is born of activism, engagement and a stubborn determination to improve the world. In Hope Dies Last, he talks with a wide range of politically engaged Americans, musing on fundamental where does hope spring from How can it sustain us How does one instil it in others As well as talking to well-known figures, including Paul Tibbets (pilot of the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima), sixties activist Tom Hayden and economist John Kenneth Galbraith, Terkel talks to ordinary citizens, such as a deathrow inmate pardoned after serving nearly twenty years for a crime he did not commit and a schoolteacher in a tough inner-city high school. Throughout, he encourages these fascinating people to speak passionately on their life's work. Hope Dies Last is a celebration of hope in troubled times, an inspiring book about political engagement in the face of indifference.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Journalism, Sociology, Memoir, Oral History, Biography

Paperback

First published November 3, 2003

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book might be, unfortunately, something to read again in these dysfunctional times of 2017-18. Unfortunately, too, I no longer have it.

I remember it was very uplifting. Terkel does a great job.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: Field Notes from a Catastrophe
Random review: Fellini's Satyricon
Next review: Italy in Mind

Previous library review: Probability, Confirmation, Simplicity Readings in the philosophy of Inductive Logic
Next library review: From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe

[Soph Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe it took me this long to read a book by Studs Terkel - should be a requirement for everyone in America (and this one in particular was a welcome relief to be reading during even more troubled times than when interviews were done in 2003).

“But the bigger questions... what’s the point of being alive if you’re not hopeful that you can do a little something to make the world a little better?”

[Kathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this collection of oral histories, but the theme seemed forced and coerced, and so many of the entries were rambling. I found myself saying "blah, blah, blah" aloud as I read. It's been a long time since I've found a book this dull.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this man. We're all standing on the shoulders of folks standing on the shoulders of folks...

Despite the title, this collection of interviews with activists/teachers/union organizers/students/workers/clergy etc is both inspiring and depressing. People fighting the good fight have been getting the piss beaten out of them forever. Two things are amazing: how much time and effort and blood and sweat--at least--from how many people (who you'll never hear of) it takes to achieve the tiniest (even temporary) gains; and how few of these people will ever give up.

[Lanier · Rating 4 out of 5]

10-6-10
Just started the Intro and a few other tid-bits, though I already know how awesome this anthology is going to be. Perfect for some slice-of-life memoirs and mini-essays for the chill'ens to mull over, testing to see if they can research some of the historical references and see similarities to Miller's classic play, "The Crucible" as well as W.E.B. Dubois' The Soul of Black Folks , just to name a few.

"La esperanza muere ultima," Jessie de la Cruz. These words were taken from Terkel's 1980 tome of interviews which asked high rollers and the girl next door: "What is your definition of the American Dream? Have you achieved it?" More than 20 years later, as the debris of The Twin Towers, the Pentagon and flights that never reached their destinations in the fields of Pennsylvania, Terkel searches far and wide for what it is that helps people to yearn to "go on" in spite of terror, fear, and loss.

A must read!

[Karah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why but this book didn't engross me as I had anticipated. I am down for reading the anecdotes of obscure people but I am not certain as to why this book seemed unfascinating.

Maybe it was the wrong time to read it?

[cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

studs terkel is fucking awesome.

[W M]

This was my first time reading Studs other than Pekar’s comic book adaptation of ‘Working.’ This was written at a unique time when few similar works were being published to my knowledge. It was after Seattle, which was seen as a very important event by the activist community. I am too young to remember this. But, most importantly it was also after 9/11, and several years before Occupy during a time of rising inequality among Americans. This allows for interviews with World Ward II veterans who to my surprised came across as pretty hawkish. The interviewees were admittedly pretty clustered in Chicago and Harvard. Studs interviewed those he called activists in this book. Among the most interesting interviewees were organizers and those with strong religious convictions. As evident with his interviews with more hawkish WWII vets, Studs does not discriminate the interviewees by their political leanings.

Here ends the summary of the book. The remaining portions of this review are personal musings on the implications to my own life.

As someone who has radical political leanings, I appreciated the many interviews with activists that spoke about their relationship with their parents that did not have similar views. I feel that more should be written on this topic.

I know that the intention of this book was not really to judge the merit of the philosophical implications of the interviewees, and this is perhaps the main reason why Studs is so successful at his craft in the first place. That being said, I do not know of other avenues that I can express some of the following thoughts, so I will continue. Here, I must admit two things. I am skeptical of activists and organizers. For my reservations on activists I encourage interested readers to check out PM Press’s Anarchist Pedagogies. In regards to my skepticism on the career of organizers, I feel it is best articulated by Staughton Lynd, who himself is an interviewee in the book, but perhaps I may be putting words in his mouth. This was perhaps my first time hearing organizers speak about their job, and I admit that my thoughts have not changed, but as I said before, this was not the purpose of the book.

I think that my greatest realization from reading the book is how being Jewish has influenced my views on organizing and activism. There is no Jewish Vatican that can support Rabbis that organize or are committed activists. I did not realize this before, but I think this why I gravitate to Lynd’s and in particular Paul Goodman’s hopes for practical steps towards a more meaningful world that strives for truth.

[Stop]

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, many a writer has pilgrimaged to the Uptown home of Chicago's legendary oral historian, where the following interview took place.

Stop Smiling: One of Chicago's literary giants passed away earlier this year. How well did you know Saul Bellow?

Studs Terkel: I didn't know him too well. We disagreed on a number of things politically. In the protests in the beginning of Norman Mailer's Armies of the Night, when Mailer, Robert Lowell and Paul Goodman were marching to protest the Vietnam War, Bellow was invited to a sort of counter-gathering. He said, “Of course I'll attend.” But he made a big thing of it. Instead of just saying OK, he was proud of it. So I wrote him a letter and he didn't like it. He wrote me a letter back. He called me a Stalinist. But otherwise, we were friendly...

Read the STOP SMILING interview...

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Studs Terkel's oral history book, Hope Dies Last is another interesting look at a topic dear to many people. The topic this time focuses on hope. He talks to his usual wide variety of people and there are a lot of compelling stories. He talks to politicians (Dennis Kucinich, Dan Burton, Jerry Brown, Tom Hayden), entertainers (Arlo Guthrie, Pete Seeger) activists, teachers, soldiers, immigrants, slackers, and priests. Some of the themes center on what has been accomplished by grass roots organizations, the “Higher Learning” section in particular shows how students got involved and helped Harvard staff employees get living wage raises from the university with the highest endowment of any academic institution in the world. Another fascinating story was about a man, Leroy Orange, who was unjustly convicted of a murder, after being tortured into a confession, in Illinois and finally got freed with the help of Northwestern law students via a pardon by then departing Governor George Ryan. The stories show that individuals can change things if they persist. It is an inspiring and uplifting book.

[JohnP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Studs Terkel does it again – he has put together an amazing montage of interviews from all walks of life. This time, his focus is on ‘hope’ – what it means to have it, hold onto it and also have it dashed to bits.

Terkel’s style remains pure – he rarely interrupts his interviewee, yet always seems to get exactly what he is looking for. Whether you want to hear about labor relations, strike breakers, clergy, social workers, songwriters, politicians, or just plain folk who just have the hope to keep going, these interviews will give you something to think about.

I have had this book on my bedside table for almost a year. I loved to just pick it up and read one or two stories before I fell asleep. It was a great way to end the day – especially when the day could have been better.

[Max Potthoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a dyed-in-the-wool Midwesterner, I've known of Studs Terkel's work for a long time now. This was my first time reading him. So glad I did. A lovely, personal anthology, Hope Dies Last touches upon what it means to keep going, the stakes of retaining a sense of optimism, the consequences of giving up, indifference. There are no indifferent folks in this collection. Hope comes in all forms, from all kinds.

I particularly enjoyed the sections on labor activism and union organizing. It made me realize that it is one thing to wish the world to be the way you would like to see it. It's another thing to actively commit yourself to changing it. The wishers are everywhere. The doers are rare. We inherit the legacy of those who came before, and there is always work to be done. Always.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the late Studs Terkel's writing/books. His use of the tape recorder to compile oral histories has informed my own writing, particularly my first book I wrote, on local town team baseball.

Some great profiles. I've especially liked reading the profiles on Dennis Kucinich (a personal hero), Arlo Guthrie (60's holdover and son of possibly America's greatest musical icon), and Dan Burton (a figure on the right that I knew little about, and came away impressed with his personal depth).

Reading a book infused with both hope, but also the realities of life is a good tonic for how I'm feeling about the world, right now. Terkel's books have a way of setting me "right."

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Studs Terkel interviewed numerous Americans whom had to overcome great adversity in their lives. They all spoke of the importance of never loosing hope. The poor, African Americans, those deemed as communists in the Cold War, and immigrants were the four main groups of individuals that Studs Terkel interviewed. Usually, everything seemed to be stacked against them. However, through activism they weren't afraid to do their all to try and change things. This book shows that although we are all so different, we also have an incredible amount in common.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading this in conjunction with the NPR colletion of "This I Believe". Both offer stories of people who have lived thorugh many of life's trials. They provide guidance/solace as we face today's uncertainty.

Perhaps most telling is the section in Hope Dies Last about "Enronism". The last sentence of John Kenneth Galbraith's section included: "I entered the world of politics at a time when there were Fith Amendment Communists, and I've reached the age of ninety-four, when there are Fifth Amendment capitalists."

Both books well worth the read.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Studs Terkel did unique, powerful and important work with his series of oral histories. I have particularly enjoyed his books focused on a single period, particularly his history of the Great Depression. It's rare to read these first-person stories of that difficult time. "Hope Dies Last" was instead loosely focused on the concept of hope, so it is less coherent and compelling than some of his other work. Some of the anecdotes are inspiring and interesting, but the book didn't really keep my interest as much as Terkel's other work.

[Nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

What i love about Terkel is all the pieces are incredibly interesting. If i have never heard of someone, it matters not. I still enjoy their story and the meaning or lack of meaning they have found in life.

[Maddie Tiare]

DNF. This book was so incredibly boring and it makes me sad but there’s no way around it.

[Mike Bahl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Studs Terkel asks people about hope, as he does. I was searching for ways to change my perspective some. I don't think I got that from this book

I always think of events like V-E Day as so monumental the world stops, so I feel like I'm fucking up when my own life persists, so it's nice to see life went on for Terkel's "most hopeful day of [his] life."

"beyond hope." this is probably a better title for a book that "Without Hope," which is what I want to use.

"The immediate reaction of most of us, myself included, was one of immeasurable relief." How can you still be hopeful after such a monumental false hope? How can you see the atomic bomb as a relief? Did they know its terror and were so patriotic or did they not understand? He doesn't address this, but does bring up the bomb's horror...as a transition into the fear of the Cold War.

Not fully related to the text, but the past couple days I've been thinking about how excited I was in college to move to Milwaukee and live near The Globe, only for it to close before I got there. This is my version of hope.

I started this for perspective as I've been derived of hope lately. But I'm not so sure how relevant old white men are to my hope in 2020.

Wars are started by those who value themselves too highly.

Everything is homogenized. But also black people listen to their own music. Fuck old people. I don't think this is the response Terkel is trying to elicit.

"I entered the world of politics at time when there were Fifth Amendment communists, and I've reached the age of ninety-four, when there are Fifth Amendment capitalists."

"if you allow young people to grow food in their schoolyard, to feed themselves and their peers, they will never look at themselves as powerless"

Terkel's interview subjects were primarily old people. Maybe I'm bad at hope (I am), but I didn't see how their perspectives could help much in a world that's so drastically different from when they were young.

[SP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book after reading the absolutely brilliant 'The Good War' (same author), so I guess this one was never going to seem as good... All the same this book definitely has much slimmer appeal, it's quite USA (in fact Chicago) focussed and really only presents a 'progressive' view of hope. Hope is the mainstay of unionism, charity, democratic political activists and clergy - but conservative people peddle mostly fear and disunity. A little simplistic and the bias of the author seeps deep into this book.

All the same, some of the stories in it are great, Terkel-quality page-turners. You have to marvel at how many interviews he must do and how much he must sift through to find so many nuggets. It's a testament to the author's skill that I slogged through the whole thing despite the overwhelming political bent of every other character in it.

However, as an Australian trying to read into Chicago/USA history and politics (often very local, grssroots stuff) I think I lost a lot in translation so I can only give it a 3. I will definitely try some of his other books though!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in my decade-plus rereads this year. The tenor of political activism and organization has risen so much in the last 12 years, it's hard to remember there was a time when "the Left" felt like this mythical creature in America. But the early 2000s felt like a particular low point, even coming off the successes of the WTO protests in Seattle. Looking back on the long, grueling battles of the early 20th Century, as told by the organizers who fought them, was a useful reminder that the struggle continues anew for each generation. Twenty years on, it's just as important.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5*) An unfortunately uneven book. I think this is largely because the theme of hope is hard to discuss beyond saying 'X gives me hope,' or the occasional 'I don't have much hope.' Also, some of the narratives have become dated. You certainly won't find any direct to the reader, self-help-style This is How You Grow Hope writing here. Still, there are some very meaningful passages that suggest where hope might be found, and make this worth reading, imho.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The assortment of interviewees is great. Everyday people and people like Tom Hayden (Chicago 7, politician, Jane Fonda's husband). Interviewed in the early 2000's, Hayden's insights were astonishing in both the country's past and what lay in the future where we are now relative to him. I found the book inspirational while also realistic. Essentially, life is tough but we've got to try and improve ourselves and our world.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I waited too long to read this 2003 book by Studs Terkel -- signed when he spoke at SJSU. It's a compilation of short oral histories by activists all in their own words and not always eloquently. Maybe inspiring in 2003 but a little sad now because of all we've lost--even as a new generation of activists rises. OK, so maybe hope does die last...

[Eduardo Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paradoxically, or maybe not, I felt more discouraged than hopeful. In part it was the book’s era: 2003, whose major problems just seem so trifling today. The book also felt disjointed, cobbled together. The stories were too similar; the Hope theme only occasionally coming in as an afterthought. I love and miss Terkel, though, and this reminded me of why.

[Tim Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read, and a timely one. Much the same as Hard Times and Working, this is a series of first-person accounts by working people regarding their work in aid of civil rights, racial equality and more. We are overwhelmed with political, social and financial evils, and interviews with people who somehow retain hopeful outlooks can possibly heal and inspire.

[a.t.m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

great people immortalized by this book

The author has written a wonderful book that should be required reading in all of our high schools and colleges. I highly recommend this book

[Millie · Rating 2 out of 5]

tried to read this awhile back. i remember it colored way outside the lines of the title, which was a bummer so i gave up on it.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was required reading for an English class in college, but I loved it so much I've read almost all of Studs Terkel's work now.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oral history stuff from Studs. Very interesting. Maybe not my favorite collection, but good, and worth the time.