September 2009Issue 425



Working

A graphic adaptation of the book by Studs Terkel by Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle

Product information
The New Press ISBN 978 1 59558 321 5
Star rating
****

Working

In the early 1970s, legendary American author, historian, actor and broadcaster Studs Terkel travelled the country interviewing ordinary people about the work they did. The result was the highly-acclaimed Working. 

Since publication in 1974 the book has been made into a Broadway show and adapted for PBS television. Widely regarded as a masterpiece of oral history it has now been turned into a cartoon book. All of Terkel’s subjects are here – miners, farmers, barbers, hookers, box boys and stockbrokers – in cartoon form but with their testimonies intact.

Cartoon books are not everybody’s cup of tea; it seems you either love them or hate them. But somehow this one works, if for no other reason than the extraordinary triumph in the words of the protagonists. In an age obsessed by celebrity it’s refreshing to find a work devoted to the quotidian life and existence of ordinary, working people. This adaptation will help introduce Terkel’s most powerful work to a new generation.

AH




Language Tools
Powered by Ultralingua

Join over 30,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, action alerts, contests, and more!

other articles
FROM THIS ISSUE

The case for real aid
Jonathan Glennie takes on both the aid optimists and the pessimists.

Summing up...
Vanessa Baird draws a few conclusions.

Everything is a world market
Charlie Parker operates Charlie Bee Honey near Niagara Falls, Ontario. He reflects on his 50 years as a beekeeper.

Jungle orphans
Nick Harvey reports on the position of the Hmong – both inside Laos and the bleak refugee camps of Thailand.

Making me crazy
The treatment of Afghans with mental illness is only adding to their trauma.

recently
IN THIS COLUMN

Natural Selection
Szperling's short, punchy novel paints a vivid pen-portrait of the savage and amoral nature of this stratum of Argentinean society.

Thursday Night Widows
Nominally a thriller, Thursday Night Widows is less concerned with the 'whodunnit' aspects of plotting than with a psychological dissection of a social class obsessed with bickering and petty jealousies as the pillars of their world dissolve.

2666
It takes a singular talent to make a book of 1,000 pages that is as hard to put down as it is to pick up. Despite its size, 2666 retains the agility of a thriller.

Working
A graphic adaptation of the book by Studs Terkel by Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle.

Murder In The Name Of Honour
A grim but compelling reading – a fitting testament to all the women killed who had sex outside marriage.






Subscribe to NI now!