Working

Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel is an oral history that gathers candid interviews with a wide range of American workers, from laborers and waitresses to professionals and executives, revealing the daily realities, frustrations, pride, and hopes tied to their jobs. Through first-person accounts the book explores how work shapes identity, community and social structures, exposing issues of dignity, exploitation, economic change and the search for meaning. Terkel's compassionate listening creates a textured, human portrait of labor that remains a powerful commentary on the role of work in people's lives.