The Common Man on Death
This book, a gift from my beautiful wife, was my first exposure to Studs Terkel. As most probably know, he has made his name (in print, at least) by producing "oral histories" on various topics, such as the Great Depression, World War II and working. They consist of excerpts from hundreds of interviews with "ordinary people" that lived through or have unique experiences of a certain topic. The same formula is used for his latest book with the subject being "death, rebirth, and hunger for a faith."
The book, while admittedly a very courageous undertaking, ultimately falls short of its lofty goals. Before I criticize, let me list a few of the strong points of the work. The cross section of people interviewed for the book is very interesting. Doctors, cops, veterans, clergymen, members of the media, and artists are just a few types of people represented. In addition, Terkel explores the human relationship to dying in many interesting and thought-provoking ways by partitioning the interviews into related sections: "Doctors," "Brothers," "God's Shepherds," and "A View from the Bridge," to name a few. Probably the strongest and most powerful section is the one dedicated to the modern "plague", AIDS. Through friends, doctors and social workers, Terkel explores the devastating effects of the disease on society, health care and human lives throughout the world. It serves as a poignant reminder of our shortcomings as a nation, society and (human) race despite all our technological and economic progress.
However, there were not enough of these strong moments to carry the book and too much shallow, disposable sentiment. Few people actually approach truly interesting thought about death and the possibility of an afterlife. The bulk of the text is composed of people talking about how their lives have intersected with death and not about their thoughts and feelings about it. Don't get me wrong, these are some very interesting stories and enjoyable to read but not exactly to the point. By the end of the book, I found myself wishing that there had been a larger section on the clergy, not because of the religious content of their testimonies but because there were among the few that talked openly and honestly on topic. Maybe it was less the fault of the subjects and more of those who edited their stories together. Perhaps it says something more profound about our inability to say anything concrete about death due to the nature of the experience, but in that case, do we need to read a whole book to realize that?
I have just one final beef with Studs. If I had read this book with absolutely no idea about his personal religious views, I would have no problem deciphering exactly what he thinks through both his choice of subjects and his presentation of their ideas. Aside from the members of the clergy, Terkel never fails to present religious people as old-fashioned or just plain ignorant while the atheist perspectives seemingly come from the best and brightest in every intellectual field imaginable. No matter what your personal belief, I don't think anyone would claim that this is truly representative of the real world. While the author does have the right to put forth his point of view, in this style of literature in which the author tacitly claims to be accurately portraying "ordinary people," it is misleading and dishonest to selectively put forth or withhold opinion in order to serve a personal cause.
Bottom line: Interesting stories but lacking in interesting insights on the topic at hand. It is especially disappointing if you're expecting anything mildly spiritual.