Touch and Go

Studs Terkel was a larger-than-life figure, who seems to have interviewed or known nearly everyone. I skipped around in this memoir, sometimes reading selected short passages and sometimes a few chapters in a row. Terkel was pretty liberal and describes many of the causes he was involved in - often as a performer. Not surprisingly, he ended up being blacklisted during the 1950's. I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of his radio show and his 1949 TV show, Stud's Place - he describes several of the story lines, but I especially enjoyed his summary of the show's appeal:

Our themes were all about ordinary things, about daily life. Today some would say that's too dull, the lack of glamour. But the ordinariness is what made it unique, and people loved Stud's Place. The character I played was both good and bad, pointing up the frailties of human nature: I could be benevolent; I could be a faker and a phony, too.

I enjoyed it, but would probably recommend it only if you know and like Terkel.