Volume 55, Number 20 · December 18, 2008
He Interviewed the Nation
By Garry Wills
Studs Terkel has a new book out—the fourth one he produced after turning ninety.[*] I was writing a review of it when his son called to tell me he had died (at age ninety-six). Terkel's astonishing late productivity came from what, for him especially, would seem a crippling development: the fact that he lost most of his hearing during his late years, despite the best efforts of doctors and hearing-aid technicians. Bad as this would be for any of us, it was a special blow to Terkel, whose specialty was hearing others tell about themselves. I have been in cabs with him and wondered at his ability to elicit the driver's whole life story before we reached our destination.
Feature, 3005 words
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