Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression [Paperback]

First published in 1970, this classic of oral history features the voices of men and women who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s. It includes accounts by congressmen C. Wright Patman and Hamilton Fish, as well as failed presidential candidate Alf M. Landon, who recalls what it was like to be governor of Kansas in 1933:

Men with tears in their eyes begged for an appointment that would help save their homes and farms. I couldn't see them all in my office. But I never let one of them leave without my coming out and shakin' hands with 'em. I listened to all their stories, each one of 'em. But it was obvious I couldn't take care of all their terrible needs.

The book includes also the perspectives of ordinary men and women, such as Jim Sheridan, who took part in the 1932 march by World War I veterans to petition for their benefits in Washington, D.C., where they were repelled by army troops led by General Douglas MacArthur. Or Edward Santander, who was a child then: "My first memories come about '31. It was simply a gut issue then: eating or not eating, living or not living." Studs Terkel makes history come alive, drawing out experiences and emotions from his interviewees to the degree few have ever been able to match. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Open [it] to almost any page and rich memories spill out. . . . Read a page, any page. Then try to stop. -- National Observer

Wonderful! ....It will resurrect your faith in all of us to read this book. -- Newsweek

Studs Terkel's classic history of the Great Depression, now a New Press paperback.

"Hard Times doesn't 'render' the time of the Depression or historicize about it--it is that time, its lingo, mood, its tragic and hilarious stories. Anybody who wants to know where we were and how we got to where we are now has got to read this book." --Arthur Miller

In Hard Times, Studs Terkel captures the Depression in all its vast complexity, assembling a mosaic of memories as told by those who faced destitution as well as those who stayed rich. The book is a gold mine of information--much of it hitherto unknown--combined with a fascinating interplay of fact and memory. It vividly illustrates the Depression's effect on those who lived through it, and shows how bitter memories can transform into a surprising nostalgia. The book ultimately serves as "a huge anthem in praise of the American spirit" (Saturday Review). Hard Times is an impressive accounting of our past as well as a penetrating exploration of what we remember and how this continues to inform our lives.

Studs Terkel is the author of ten books of oral history, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Good War." His most recent book is The Spectator. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a recipient of a Presidential National Humanities Medal, a National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the Pulitzer Prize, and a George Polk Career Award.