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peebee's review against another edition
5.0
Same deal as the Twilight of the Superheroes.
Need to record people processing their society in their own words in real time, as pretty much all retrospective history (see Huey Long) is entirely bowdlerized bullshit provided by the same ghouls who created the problem, to cover their tracks.
Need to record people processing their society in their own words in real time, as pretty much all retrospective history (see Huey Long) is entirely bowdlerized bullshit provided by the same ghouls who created the problem, to cover their tracks.
adam_reads's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Another great oral history from Studs Terkel.
jkkb332's review against another edition
Interesting but I just couldn't get into it
capnhist's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
emelkay24's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
mostlyromancereading's review against another edition
5.0
I definitely get why it was pioneering and groundbreaking, and Terkel's charisma and skill with words shines through.
However, would have loved to see his list of questions and some more discussion of methodology.
However, would have loved to see his list of questions and some more discussion of methodology.
kochella's review against another edition
2.0
Other reviewers really seem to love this book, but I found it PAINFULLY slow. Maybe the whole "oral history" thing just doesn't appeal to me. I found the 3-page vignettes too short and unedited to be terribly descriptive -- much less insightful. I kind of just felt like I was reading a 1970's version of a "#greatdepression" Twitter feed. Too spasmodic for me.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
Reading a history of the Great Depression is educational. Reading an oral history of the same period puts a human face on a trying time in American history.
anitaofplaybooktag's review against another edition
3.0
In this book, Terkel relays oral histories of people who were exposed to the Depression including farmers, politicians, industrialists, African Americans, artists. You name it, it's in there. It is history through the eyes of the common and not-so-common man.
It strikes me that a book like this would be highly unlikely to be published today - - in the days where YouTube and blogging provide thousands of first person accounts of the world around us. Available in seconds.
I thought that this book would be truly fascinating, but because I didn't really know enough (or recollect enough history classes) about the Depression, I found myself constantly distracted by the many acronyms for government programs. Some of the folks really told about what life was like in and interesting way, but others reminded me of old, boring people who just were telling dull, tangential stories.
All in all, I think if the author had prefaced his chapter with some analysis of the group of people he was talking to and some historical facts, I would have loved the book. But the standalone oral histories didn't quite do it for me.
Nonetheless, I would read more Terkel, but if I selected one of his books that focused on a historical event, I'd read a background book first on the event so I was a little more educated before delving into the histories.
It strikes me that a book like this would be highly unlikely to be published today - - in the days where YouTube and blogging provide thousands of first person accounts of the world around us. Available in seconds.
I thought that this book would be truly fascinating, but because I didn't really know enough (or recollect enough history classes) about the Depression, I found myself constantly distracted by the many acronyms for government programs. Some of the folks really told about what life was like in and interesting way, but others reminded me of old, boring people who just were telling dull, tangential stories.
All in all, I think if the author had prefaced his chapter with some analysis of the group of people he was talking to and some historical facts, I would have loved the book. But the standalone oral histories didn't quite do it for me.
Nonetheless, I would read more Terkel, but if I selected one of his books that focused on a historical event, I'd read a background book first on the event so I was a little more educated before delving into the histories.