Coming of Age

Growing Up in the Twentieth Century

“Inspired . . . the language spoken here is pure Terkel.” —The New York Times Book Review

A New York Times bestseller when it was first published in 1995, Coming of Age presents an astonishing portrait of American life and the experience of aging in the twentieth century, drawn from the stories of seventy-four very different people, the youngest of whom is seventy and the oldest ninety-nine. Inspiring in the honesty of their voices and their lack of nostalgia or illusions, these are people with the widest range of experiences from all around the country; many were at the vanguard of their movements, whether of trade unions, gay liberation, or the arts. They remind us what we once were, what we have lost, and the extraordinary extent to which we’ve been transformed as a society over the last hundred odd years.

News and Reviews

In March 1970, Maya Angelou sat down with Studs Terkel for a radio interview about her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Books by Studs Terkel

Division Street
America

Studs Terkel

And They All Sang
Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey

Studs Terkel

Hope Dies Last
Keeping the Faith in Troubled Times

Studs Terkel

P.S.
Further Thoughts from a Lifetime of Listening

Studs Terkel

Goodreads Reviews