Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who'Ve Lived It [Paperback]

Studs Terkel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996

Pulitzer Prize winner Studs Terkel presents an extraordinary documentary of the 20th century, captured with a haunting voice and cadence that only he could achieve. Wise, contemplative, and wondrous, Coming of Age is Terkel in high form--compassionate, generous, always insightful--"(a) kind of national prose poem, a chorus of cacophonous voices offering a jagged, emotionally charged portrait of our times" (San Francisco Chronicle Book Review).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Originally a bestseller, this classic by the late Studs Terkel addresses the challenges of aging and offers a variety of remarkable firsthand accounts by individuals at the end of their lives. Allen Hamilton and Shirley Venard share reading duties, with each offering their own take on these stories that are alternately humorous, uplifting, heartbreaking and motivational. Hamilton is a true standout: his steady voice is indifferent to time constraints as he devotes himself fully to each story, conveying Terkel's awe at how far society has come and how much further we must go. A New Press hardcover. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Library Journal

Youth, so goes the cliche, is wasted on the young; likewise, it could be said that old age today is wasted on a younger generation with no sense of the past and willfully ignorant of a wisdom accumulated by years of experience. In his latest oral history, 83-year-old Terkel asks grumpily, "With our past become so irrelevant..., is it any wonder that the young feel so disdainful of their elders?" To reclaim our lost sense of history and to renew respect for our elders, Terkel interviewed 69 individuals who have come of age in the latter part of the 20th century. The youngest is 70, the oldest, 99. Some are well known (artist Jacob Lawrence, actress Uta Hagen, economist John Kenneth Galbraith); others live out of the limelight (a farm workers' organizer, a retired bank president, a librarian). But they all cling to life tenaciously and courageously, acting as "living repositories of our past, our history." For all social science and history collections and where Terkel's books are popular.?Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 468 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031214573X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312145736
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,239,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant step back from the new millennium..., December 26, 2000

By 

David Durovy (Gainesville, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who'Ve Lived It (Paperback)

Studs Terkel captures in this volume what few children of the new millennium will ever learn about or experience: how our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents grew up, grew old, and left footprints on the twentieth century. His vignettes of life throughout the century, focused on the lives of amazing Americans from coast to coast, are quite profound. Terkel did not profile famous athletes, politicians, and CEOs; his interviews capture the lives of those who have made - and continue to make - an impact on our local communities.

It did not take very long to become addicted to this book. Terkel captures some of the most valuable American minds at just the right moment. The interviews give a first-hand look at history while capturing pearls of wisdom for the future. I recommend this volume as a gift and as a textbook for students. What Studs Terkel has captured here is worthy reading for any generation.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Many Moving Tales, April 16, 2002

By 

K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coming of Age (Audio Cassette)

A host of compelling stories marks COMING OF AGE as one of the top efforts from oral historian Studs Terkel. We hear from dozens of outstanding senior citizens, each one giving their personal remembrance of American life in the 20th Century. The mostly liberal interviewees range from ordinary citizens to baseball activist Marvin Miller, Congressmen Henry Gonzalez and (the late) Charles Hayes, and Chicago medical director Quentin Young. Readers get a strong personal sense of major events like the Depression, World War II, McCarthyism and Civil Rights - something one seldom gets from dry academic texts. The book also lends credence to tales many of us once heard from older and often now-departed relatives.

I gave COMING OF AGE just four starts because Terkel's increasing rigidity in sticking with liberal interviewees deprives readers of an honest cross-section of views. Despite this flaw, COMING OF AGE remains a moving effort.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerizing, November 27, 1999

By 

Simulacrum - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who'Ve Lived It (Paperback)

American society suffers from collective Alzheimer's, says Studs Terkel, "and the young are suffering from it the most severely. We don't know anything aboout the past and we don't seem to want to know." The author of widely-praised, bestselling books like Hard Times, Working, Race and The Good War, Terkel interviews 70 strong minded and outspoken Americans, the youngest of whom is 70, the oldest 99. Nearly every page is mesmerizing. Particularly delightful are his interviews with art critic Katherine Kuh (at age 89) and Sophia Mumford (at 94), the widow of Lewis Mumford.