Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About… (original 1974; edición 1997)

adult nonfiction; sociology/history. Invaluable perspectives compiled dutifully by Studs. Read a few that interest you, then read a few more, and a few more.

update: I only vaguely remember picking this book up before, but it seems fitting to revisit from time to time--this time I made it through more than half of the book. Though it was published in 1974, the two interviews with policemen (one white, one black) and some of the other interviews take on new significance in light of current racial issues and Black Lives Matter. ( )

Mostly interesting, though some interviews could have been cut without much loss. It gives a good portrait of its time. ( )

Started Labor Day weekend, and finished three months later. That isn't an indictment of the book, but that it is the perfect work to read in fits and starts. Stolen moments, say from working...

An oral history of work in 1970 or so USA. The world I was born into. Everyone has something to say, no one ever does anything about it as the old joke goes. ( )

I have many books by this author, but this was the first I read. I considered this another journalism textbook for its insight into interviewing and for a better understanding of my one-word defintion of news: people. ( )

Working captures the range of human variety and personality in a way unlike anything I've read before. It's a bite sized procession of humanity baring their lives. And while most aren't trying to instruct or direct others, there is almost always an insight or something to learn from each interview. With well over 100 interviews it's a long book that never gets old. Perfect for reading in bite size pieces, a couple interviews at a time. I would happily keep reading (in small bites) if there was another five hundred or a thousand pages, or further editions from more recent decades. ( )