P.S.

November 3, 2008
Cleaning out the office after years of disuse was worthwhile for beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning oral historian Terkel (1912-2008), and even more so for the loyal readers who recently lost him. This collection of previously unpublished essays and interviews shouldn't disappoint. Much of the author's best stories come from his beloved hometown of Chicago, and "Dreamland" is a transporting example, about a 12-year-old Terkel and his big brother's habit of taking the wrong women home from the Dreamland ballroom. His 1961 interview with black author James Baldwin, covering music and politics, is both warm and bitingly honest: says Baldwin, "to be a Negro in this country is really just...never to be looked at." Another highlight, "A Gathering of Survivors," is a discussion of the Great Depression that's especially timely. In just a few pages, Terkel can effortlessly invoke laughter, tears and thoughtful wonder. Some pieces are less successful (an interview with lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" fame), but fans will be happy to sort them from the gems.

October 15, 2008
Terkel's appropriately titled book is not like his previous in-depth studies of the Great Depression ("Hard Times"), World War II ("The Good War"), and the phenomenon of work in American life ("Working")it's a wide-ranging collection of pieces, some previously unpublished, all previously uncollected. Short, punchy essays are bookended with journalistic entries, and there are a couple of transcribed broadcasts. The book makes much of its impact, though, in its longer interviews. A conversation with James Baldwin is by itself worth the cover price. Additional highlights include the transcript of the 1961 Prix-Italia Award-winning "Born To Live" and an interview with lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. Terkel returns to the theme of Chicago throughout, but there is not an overall unifying idea to the book; it is truly a collection of postscripts. Some are more deeply meaningful than others, but most readers should be able to find something here. Academic libraries would do well to bolster their Terkel holdings with this offering, and larger public libraries should also consider.Audrey Snowden, Cleveland P.L.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2008
Oral historian, writer of conscience, and raconteur-on-a-missionTerkel follows his vivid and affecting memoir Touch and Go (2007) with an electrifying set of found treasures: startlingly fresh and newly relevant essays and interviews that have never been published orthat only appeared long ago in a strictly local venue. Terkels recovered 1961 conversation with James Baldwin is worth the price of admission, so sharply and devastatingly candid is Baldwin aboutracisms heavy legacy of fear, lies, brutality, and oppression. Equally timely, if less eviscerating, is Terkels incisive conversation with lyricist E. Y. Harburg, who wrote the Great Depression classic Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? In tales of Chicago election shenanigans (tis the season) and other crimes, Terkel writes with chagrin and bemusement of his hometown under the rule of Janus, the two-faced deity. Hilarious, wry, sorrowful, and prescient, this collection affirms Terkels great gift for tapping into the lifeblood of America and discerning, with heart and clarity, exactly what people suffer and how they lift themselves up and keep on keeping on.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)