Voices of Our Time: The Original Live Interviews [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Studs Terkel (Author, Performer), Various (Performer)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2005

From the 1950s through 1997, Louis “Studs” Terkel, bestselling author of Hard Times, Working, The Great War, Coming of Age, and eight other books, hosted a daily one-hour show on WFMT Radio in Chicago. This nationally syndicated, Peabody Award-winning program was an ideal showcase for his curmudgeonly wit, his maverick opinions, and his genius as an interviewer.

The 48 interviews in this collection, span Terkel’s five decades on radio and encompass a wide range of entertainers, scientists, writers and thinkers, including Dorothy Parker, Pete Seeger, Bob Woodward, Simone de Beauvoir, and many more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Today, in the age of Charlie Rose and other TV interviewers, impromptu conversations with authors, actors and musicians are a common part of the cultural landscape. But back in the 1950s, when Chicago radio journalist Terkel was interviewing the likes of Pete Seeger, Dorothy Parker and James Baldwin, the practice was radically original. Excerpts from 48 interviews, first broadcast on Terkel's daily show on WFMT, are presented here, with one cassette devoted to each decade from the '50s to the '90s. Thanks to engineering wizardry, the fidelity of this archival material is so fine that there is a shock of immediacy in hearing these voices speak across time. That's also due to Terkel's freshness of attitude throughout, which translates beautifully into the contemporary moment. His style of questioning is disarmingly quiet: his whispery voice and self-effacing charm elicits unusually personal and considered responses. As a writer, Terkel is known for his use of oral history (The Good War, etc.); here he presents what he calls the "taped history" itself. Among the other luminaries included are Gore Vidal, Bertrand Russell, Eudora Welty, Woody Allen, Ralph Ellison and R. Buckminster Fuller. This is a beautifully packaged and sensitively edited program, a graceful and important audio-specific title. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Terkel's skilled interviews with celebrities were distilled from his radio broadcasts spanning 1940-98. His friendly, tolerably gruff voice, knowledge of each person's interests, and quiet modesty allow the guest to expound on favorite subjects. Terkel enthusiastically joins comedians Mel Brooks and Zero Mostel in droll charades; he invites some authors like Eudora Welty to read snippets from their books; composers like Aaron Copeland, singers like Pete Seeger, and musicians like Leonard Bernstein are accompanied by short selections of their work. Clarity of the talk, whether recorded on studio equipment or a portable tape recorder, is pleasantly consistent. Recommended for popular libraries.AGordon Blackwell, Eastchester, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: HighBridge Company; Original radio broadcast; 7.5 hours on 6 CDs edition (May 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156511969X
• ISBN-13: 978-1565119697
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Books on CD > Radio Shows
  • #72 in Books > Books on CD > History > United States

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING LISTENING PLEASURE, June 25, 2005

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voices Of Our Time: Five Decades of Studs Terkel Interviews (Audio Cassette)

Even today, when celebrity revelations droppeth like the gentle rain, Studs Terkel stands head and shoulders above other interviewers. He had a knack. He could get people to say things they hadn't planned on saying. Terkel knew precisely what to ask, and how to ask it. Those are my words - the Chicago Sun Times said it better:

"Studs Terkel (gets) people to say things in such a way that you know at once they have finally said their truth, and said it better than they ever believed they could say it."

Trained as a lawyer, experienced as an actor, and a best-selling author, Terkel spent half a century on his Chicago based Peabody Award winning syndicated radio program. He brought together people from all walks of life, artists, writers, philosophers, inventors, and visited with each of them as they recounted their triumphs and failures.

Now, 48 of these original interviews have been gathered for our enjoyment - it's a treat to hear the stories of those who influenced our world in their own voices. We hear R. Buckminster Fuller, Woody Allen, Gore Vidal, Eudora Welty, Dorothy Parker, Bertrand Russell, Leonard Bernstein, and a host of others.

Exemplary listening pleasure!

- Gail Cooke

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Voices of Our Time, December 4, 1999

By 

M. Applegate - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voices Of Our Time: Five Decades of Studs Terkel Interviews (Audio Cassette)

Studs Turkel is a wonderful interviewer, and over the past five decades he has interviewed many of the great thinkers, writers, and doers of our time. The ones he chose for this collection include Aaron Copland, Oliver Sacks, Margaret Mead, Daniel Ellsberg, Maya Angelou, Pete Seeger, John Kenneth Galbraith, and dozens of others. All together, they provide a fascinating portrait of the last half of 20th century. Highly recommended!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THANK GOD FOR STUDS TERKEL!, February 6, 2007

By 

John Fitzgerald "Dreamer" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voices of Our Time: The Original Live Interviews (Audio CD)

Having grown up in Chicago and spent a chunk of my adult life there as well, perhaps the thing I miss most is Studs Terkel and WFMT, the best
FM station in the country. I learned as much about life and the never-ending struggle for human rights from Studs' interviews as I did from any
professor or priest. Hearing these wonderful chunks of those conversations again fills me with nostalgia and recharges my batteries for my own twilight struggle against the world's ills.