Helen pulled off the side of the road whenever she saw a bag that had been thrown out some car window, especially if it looked like it contained clothing. Two years later, he received the George Polk Career Award in 1999. In 1997, Terkel was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1995, he received the Chicago History Museum 'Making History Award' for Distinction in Journalism and Communications. His 1974 book, 'Working' also was highly acclaimed. For 'Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression', Terkel assembled recollections of the Great Depression that spanned the socioeconomic spectrum, from Okies, through prison inmates, to the wealthy. His 1985 book 'The Good War: An Oral History of World War Two', which detailed ordinary peoples' accounts of the country's involvement in World War II, won the Pulitzer Prize. Terkel was acclaimed for his efforts to preserve American oral history. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for 'The Good War', and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.

Louis 'Studs' Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. Then try to stop.” ― The National Observer “Open Studs Terkel’s book to almost any page and rich memories spill out . . . It will resurrect your faith in all of us to read this book.” ― Newsweek “Wonderful! The American memory, the American way, the American voice. “ Hard Times doesn’t ‘render’ the time of the depression―it is that time, its lingo, mood, its tragic and hilarious stories.” ―Arthur Miller The voices that speak from the pages of this unique book are as timeless as the lessons they impart ( The New York Times ).

Featuring a mosaic of memories from politicians, businessmen, artists, striking workers, and Okies, from those who were just kids to those who remember losing a fortune, Hard Times is not only a gold mine of information but a fascinating interplay of memory and fact, revealing how the 1929 stock market crash and its repercussions radically changed the lives of a generation. In this “invaluable record” of one of the most dramatic periods in modern American history, Studs Terkel recaptures the Great Depression of the 1930s in all its complexity. From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Good War : A masterpiece of modern journalism and “a huge anthem in praise of the American spirit” ( Saturday Review ).

Hard times terkel