Studs Terkel (1912–2008) was a free spirit, an outspoken populist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a terrible ham, and one of the best-loved characters on the American scene. Born in New York in 1912, he lived in Chicago for over eight decades. His radio show was carried on stations throughout the country.

He is the author of

Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession;

Division Street: America,

Coming of Age: Growing Up in the Twentieth Century;

Talking to Myself: A Memoir of My Times;

“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II;

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do;

The Studs Terkel Reader: My American Century;

American Dreams: Lost and Found;

The Studs Terkel Interviews: Film and Theater;

Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression;

Will the Circle Be Unbroken?: Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith;

Giants of Jazz; Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Troubled Times;

And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey;

Touch and Go: A Memoir;

P.S.: Further Thoughts from a Lifetime of Listening; and

Studs Terkel’s Chicago,

all published by The New Press. He was a member of the Academy of Arts and Letters and a recipient of a Presidential National Humanities Medal, the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, a George Polk Career Award, and the National Book Critics Circle 2003 Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award.

Perhaps Studs Terkel’s best-known book, Working is a compelling, fascinating look at jobs and the people who do them. Consisting of over one hundred interviews conducted with everyone from gravediggers to studio heads, this book provides a timeless snapshot of people’s feelings about their working lives, as well as a relevant and lasting look at how work fits into American life.