Working
people talk about what they do all day and how they feel about what they do
by Studs Terkel · first published 1972
79% recommend21% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Oral history of everyday jobs, built from interviews with workers who describe their days and how they feel about them; suits readers curious about work, labor, and how people find meaning in their jobs.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A collection of interviews with working people in a wide variety of occupations.
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Mentions per year
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"Working" by Studs Terkel comes to mind. http://www.amazon.com/Working-People-Talk-About-What/dp/1565... So many people have this question early in their careers, it really seems like something is wrong. Perhaps…
on “The Slow Death of the University” ↗"Working" by Studs Terkel is a great book on the same subject.
on “You Can't Do What You Want By Doing Something Else” ↗Tangent, there are two books you may be interested in. Both are about how people view their jobs or work. Working, by Studs Terkel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working:_People_Talk_About_Wha... Terkel was a journalist in Chicago, who mastered the art of interviewing/listening to people, and then writing stories…
on “Ask HN: How to not base self worth on your own work?” ↗Working, by Studs Terkel https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_(Terkel_book)
on “Ask HN: Recommend books that give you insight into other professions” ↗…a quota of 420 dashboard frames per shift but seldom made more than 350 For me, one of the most thought-provoking expressions of the perspective of the factory worker came from the Studs Terkel book, Working, where he interviewed a factory worker and UAW local president named Gary Bryner in the early 1970s or late 1960s. Bryner: "In that little book of quotes I have: 'The workingman has but one thing to…
on “The US South’s manufacturing renaissance comes with a heavy price” ↗Sounds like this book has an unfortunate bias of victim hood. Lost your mortgage? Not your fault. Didn’t save for retirement? Not your fault. Only job prospect, after working and training and networking for your entire adult life, is moving boxes in an AMZN warehouse? Not your fault. I prefer a more objective view, like Studs Terkel’s classic book, Working. Finally, don’t…
on “Older Americans who live in RVs and drive from one low-wage job to another” ↗This is a beautiful story. It reminds me of the stories collected in "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do" by Studs Terkel. The overall theme is how people find meaning in what they do and the nobility of the human spirit. Thank…
on “Subway Got Too Big – Franchisees Paid a Price” ↗Studs Terkel - Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working:_People_Talk_About_Wha...
on “The Ivy League, Mental Illness, and the Meaning of Life (2014)” ↗…-What are some of your favorite books? Effective Computation in Physics, Python for Data Analysis, The Ringworld Series, Gone With the Wind, Adventures of Frog and Toad, Unix Power Tools, Catch 22, Working by Studs Terkel, A Canticle for Liebowitz, Travels With Charlie, Cannery Row, East of Eden, The Beautiful and the Damned, Time Enough for Love. -What would you do if you knew that you only had 24 hours…
on “Wanted: Quirky Individuals to join a fast growing startup to build a new future” ↗…is no more important than other times and is of one piece with them, rises and falls included. This probably connects to the nihilism again. Anyway. I almost exclusively read fiction but I’ll mention Working by Studs Terkel, not fiction but certainly not self help or technical. Just helped me feel connected to parts of society I don’t experience.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…by Dickens, "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck, "Germinal" by Émile Zola. "Christ in Concrete" by Donato is another one. If you want non-fiction, I can recommend "Nickel and Dimed" by Ehrenreich or "Working" by Terkel.
on “We Are All Animals at Night” ↗> Studs Terkel Archive I had never heard of this, but I've read his Working, which was an impressive tome. I'll be checking it out. Unusually enough, I found out about it while reading a book I had bought at City Lights Bookstore (Sabotage in the American Workplace: Anecdotes…
on “The built environment and the determination of fault in urban pedestrian crashes” ↗Cool! I've had this book on my to-read: "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do" (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1565843428/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl...)
on “Ask HN: What are you working on and why is it awesome? Please include URL” ↗Check out “Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs” It’s fascinating and covers a very wide range of professions. Sorta of like a more modern remake of Stud Terkel’s 1974 book “Working”
on “Ask HN: Recommend books that give you insight into other professions” ↗It reminded me a bit of the oral history in Studs Terkel's "Working". The interview with the stewardess (as she called herself) was interesting like this.
on “Bad waitress: Dying on your feet” ↗