Studs Terkel: A Life in Words

by Tony Parker

An in-depth biography of Studs Terkel draws on interviews with the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, his family, friends, and colleagues to provide a portrait of the man, the highlights of his life, and his acclaimed writing career. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

237 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 1996

About the author

Tony Parker (25 June 1923 – 3 October 1996) was an oral historian whose work was dedicated to giving a voice to British and American society's most marginalised figures, from single mothers to lighthouse keepers to criminals, including murderers.

Born in Stockport, Cheshire, Parker was a conscientious objector during World War II, and directed to work in a coal mine. He moved to London and worked as a publisher's representative at Odhams Press. He campaigned against capital punishment and became very interested in prisons and their occupants, eventually focussing on the experiences of prisoners after release.

Tony Parker died in Westleton, Suffolk, having just completed his study of his American counterpart Studs Terkel.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won't mean much if you're not s Studs fan.

[David Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

Studs Terkel: A Life in Words by Tony Parker (Henry Holt and Company 1996)(Biography). I don't get it. I think a lot of Studs Terkel, interviewer extraordinaire, but this book: meh. Just "meh." It's a series of quotes from Studs Terkel and short passages praising his skills from many of his interview subjects. The life force and vivacity of the man himself are gone just like the air from a balloon, and that's a shame, for this book could have been so much more. My rating: 4/10, finished 3/10/14.

[Joe Brunory · Rating 4 out of 5]

a pattented duplicate of Terkel's interview style used to highlight his career and artistry. very worthwhile for Studs fans.