Studs Terkel's Working

Working is a collection of oral histories documenting Americans' experiences with and attitudes toward their jobs in the early 1970s. Through interviews with over 130 people across professions and social classes, Terkel captures firsthand accounts from workers including miners, waitresses, executives, farmers, prostitutes, and many others. The subjects speak candidly about their daily routines, workplace relationships, dreams, and disappointments. Their stories reveal the physical demands, economic pressures, small dignities, and occasional satisfactions found in occupations from the prestigious to the humble. The book presents these voices with minimal authorial intervention, allowing the workers' own words to convey their circumstances. Each interview serves as a window into not just a job, but an entire way of life shaped by work. Working stands as a portrait of American labor that explores universal themes of identity, self-worth, and the search for meaning in how people earn their living. The collected testimonies illuminate both the shared and divergent ways humans relate to their work.

Readers value the raw, authentic voices of workers telling their own stories about their jobs and lives. Many note how the oral history format captures perspectives rarely documented elsewhere - from factory workers to prostitutes to executives. Positive reviews highlight: - Captures a specific moment in American labor history - Shows dignity and humanity in all types of work - First-person accounts feel intimate and honest - Reveals commonalities across different professions Common criticisms: - Length can feel repetitive at 600+ pages - Some interviews meander or lack focus - Political bias in interview selection/editing - Dated references from 1970s context Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (17,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (500+ reviews) Reader quote: "Each person's story draws you in completely. You forget you're reading interviews and feel like you're having deep conversations with neighbors." - Goodreads reviewer Many readers recommend selective reading of chapters rather than cover-to-cover.

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🎤 When conducting interviews for "Working," Studs Terkel traveled across America with a 50-pound tape recorder, capturing over 130 people's stories about their jobs and lives. 📚 The book's original subtitle was "People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do," which perfectly encapsulates its intimate approach to documenting American working life. 🎭 The interviews in "Working" inspired multiple adaptations, including a Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical in 1978, featuring music by composers including James Taylor and Stephen Schwartz. 🏆 Studs Terkel won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for "The Good War," using the same oral history interview technique he perfected in "Working." 💡 The book's subjects range from parking attendants to gravediggers, prostitutes to executives, giving voice to workers who were rarely represented in literature at the time of its 1974 publication.