Division Street, Studs Terkel's first book of oral history,
established his reputation as America's foremost oral historian and as
one of those rare thinkers who is actually willing to go out and talk to
the incredible people of this country (in the words of Tom Wolfe).
Viewing the inhabitants of a single city, Chicago, as a microcosm of the
nation at large, Division Street chronicles the thoughts and feelings
of some seventy people from widely varying backgrounds in terms of
class, race, and personal history. From a mother and son who migrated
from Appalachia to a Native American boilerman, from a streetwise
ex-gang leader to a liberal police officer, from the poorest African
Americans to the richest socialites, these unique and often intimate
first-person accounts form a multifaceted collage that defies any simple
stereotype of America.
As Terkel himself put it: I was on the prowl for a cross-section of
urban thought, using no one method or technique. . . I guess I was
seeking some balance in the wildlife of the city as Rachel Carson sought
it in nature. Revealing aspects of people's lives that are normally
invisible to most of us, Division Street is a fascinating survey of a
city, and a society, at a pivotal moment of the twentieth century.
