Studs Terkel Dies

In a strange quirk of fate, I happen to be in the middle of reading Studs Terkel's book, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression when I heard the news that Terkel passed away at his home on October 31, 2008. Terkel spent over four decades (1952-1998) as a radio host for The Studs Terkel Program on Chicago's 98.7 WFMT station. Although one might say he spent a lifetime on the radio, Terkel started a whole new career - for which he is more famously known - at age 55. In 1967, Terkel published the first of his monumental oral histories, Division Street: America, which was followed by Hard Times (1970), Working (1974), American Dreams (1980), and The Good War (1985). It was The Good War that earned Terkel the Pulitzer Prize and my great esteem - it is one of my favorite books.

Louis "Studs" Terkel (his nickname came from Studs Lonigan, a trilogy by James T. Farrell) died in his home after complications from a fall. He was 96 years old.