ABOUT THE BOOK

 

     Unlike the other books featured in this project, My American Century does not focus on one specific period of time or subject.  Instead, My American Century presents the most memorable interviews from Studs Turkel's eight books of interviews: American Dreams:Lost and found (1980); Hard Times: an Oral History of the Great Depression (1970); "The Good War": an Oral History of World War II (1984); Divison Street: American (1967); Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (1973); The Great Divide: Secont Thoughts on the American Dream (1988); Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (1992); and Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century By Those Who Have Lived it (1995). 

     Clearly, My American Century spans the vast period of time over which Studs Terkel's interviewees have lived.  As a whole, the book comprehensively represents American history from the Great Depression to current times.  

     For this project, four interviews have been selected from My American Century to be excerpted here.  These interviews are originally from the books Hard Times (Women in the War); The Great Divide (Religious Protest); Working (Migrant Labor); and American Dreams (Past as Future).