Touch and Go (review)

“Oh, to be remembered—isn’t that what this is all about?” (216). This, claims historian, actor, radio and television pioneer Terkel, is the source of his success as an oral historian: logorrhea—the inability to stop talking. And yet Terkel’s memoir, written in collaboration with his longtime friend and associate Lewis, is nothing short of incredible in its representation as The Oral History of The Oral Historian. Terkel’s mesmerizing recollection of everything from the history of silent films to Chicago politics and the impact of reality television, written at the age of ninety-four, is a unique and pioneering text.

Touch and Go is in effect the perfect example within a historiography that Terkel himself developed through masterpieces like Division Street (New York: Pantheon Books, 1967), Hard Times (New York: Pantheon Books, 1970), and Working (New York: Pantheon Books, 1974), to name a few of the many oral histories dedicated to what the title of his last book summarizes: Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening (New York: New Press, 2008). It is history through the words of ordinary people with extraordinary thoughts. He excerpts a number of these pioneering texts to serve as fillers and filters throughout this memoir. Organized in four parts of six to seven subheadings each, it is mostly a chronological autobiography. Yet, in a graceful, conversational and, at the same time, convincingly empirical manner, he recalls American and world history through memories. The consummate oral historian, his story emerges from the words and observations of those who knew him. The result approximates a testimonio, which combines history and literature to relay historical events. Terkel combines oral history and popular culture to relay both his own life and historical events.

The memoir begins poignantly with a vision of Natacha Rambova, actress wife of Rudolph Valentino, tousling his hair. She is sitting at a cafe with his father in New York. At eight years old, he wonders who she is and why she is with his father. As he might have as a child, his attention and his narration turn rather quickly to the elaborate filmography that precedes, includes, and follows her. Among his memories is the role played by Lew Ayres in All Quiet on the Western Front. This conjures another memory from World War II when he conducted a commentary series in which he criticizes Ayres. This leads to yet another moment, years later, when he called Ayres for an interview, embarrassed and hoping he never heard that earlier show. Terkel repeats this technique of flashing backward and forward throughout. He accesses his career as disc jockey and soap opera actor in radio and early television, his politicization, his vast knowledge of music, and his role in media and its impact on audiences to amplify the recollections of significant moments. But his vision of history is neither limited to nor does it privilege celebrity.

In fact, Terkel’s most significant contributions to history come from his dedication to everyday people. His experiences growing up in immigrant communities, in a working-class Jewish family, his work as clerk in the small hotels managed by his parents, and a growing and fervent commitment to civil rights helped shape his method. Terkel’s role in documenting the lives and voices of an astounding variety of people throughout the U.S. and several countries earned him honorable recognitions from the African-American and Gay and Lesbian Literatures halls of fame, to various literary prizes, and accolades from political, literary, and entertainment figures. But, he says, “There’s no real science to finding people who can articulate their feelings, the non-celebrated among us. I keep my eyes open and I have all kinds of sources, people who are out and about in the world” (172).

Terkel’s self-ascribed obsession with talking and his deep respect for people inspired people to tell stories, remarkable and untold stories, which ultimately or sometimes simultaneously built his vision. For example, Nancy Dickerson, an African-American woman who worked at a...