During the recent presidential election campaign, we heard a lot about the “working man” (the average voter) and figures like “Joe Sixpack” and “Joe the Plumber.” And just before the election, Studs Terkel, the leading chronicler of the iconic “working man,” died at the age of ninety-six.

A Chicago-based writer and interviewer, Studs Terkel made a career of listening to the average person. He compiled interviews with “regular” people in different arenas about their jobs, their race, and their life experiences. He was around a long time to do it, chronicling several generations.

What we often consider to be “history” is what has been written by statesmen and academics. But history is actually written by real people living their lives and describing them in their own words. The field of oral history can help us to understand social movements much more effectively than scholarly works by statesmen and academics.

The Library has a number of books by Studs Terkel, including:

• American Dreams, Lost and Found (CT220 .T42)
• “The Good War”: an Oral History of World War Two (D811 .A2 T45 1984)
• Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (E806 .T45)
• Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (E184.A1 T46 1992)
• Will the Circle be Unbroken: Reflections of Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith (BD 444 .T47x 2001)
• Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (HD 8072 .T4)

You may also be interested in the June 2008 Monthly Book Spotlight, A Selection of Oral Histories.

Charles Dabkowski wrote this Monthly Book Spotlight.