Terkel steps out from behind the tape recorder and tells us about himself--his diagnosis of what is wrong with U.S. society today, that we have hypnotized ourselves into a national amnesia about not only our history but also our goals and values, rings true. Highly recommended. ( )

I read Terkel's oral histories "THE GOOD WAR" and WORKING many years ago, but none of his work since. I decided to try his memoir, TOUCH AND GO, after reading Roger Ebert's new memoir, LIFE ITSELF, because Ebert seemed to hold Terkel and his work in such high regard.

The truth is TOUCH AND GO simply did not engage me. I found myself skimming large parts of the first hundred pages or so. All of the "inside dope" on the political scene of Chicago from the 1920's and 30's was not at all interesting to me, although the too-brief parts about his parents and brothers were. And I especially enjoyed the brief chapters about his wife, Ida, and his "limited service" during WWII. And a chapter on Nelson Algren was mildly interesting too.

There was something too "cobbled together" about the book that created a choppy sort of read, as excerpts from a few of his other books were interspersed here and there. Perhaps the task of writing a comprehensive autobiography at the age of ninety-something was just a bit too much for Terkel, because I sensed the sometimes obtrusive hand of an editor trying to squeeze one last book out of him. Even the FBI investigations and surveillances of Terkel's left-wing lifestyle and friendships didn't quite work for me.

Perhaps the part, albeit extremely brief, that moved me most was Terkel's heartfelt tribute to his brothers and his son in the book's Postscript.

I know Studs Terkel is gone now, and I do have a tremendous respect for all he accomplished with his wonderful oral histories, so I'm not going to bad-mouth him. But maybe this is more of a book for Chicagoans, because - sorry, Studs - it just didn't work for me. ( )

For my generation (baby boomer) a wonderful trip down memory lane -- he's witty and observant and fun. Probably over the heads of the younger generation as he takes a lot of knowledge of cultural events for granted. ( )

Terkel (b. 1912) was a liberal before it was chic to be such in America. The book provides recollections of a few people and events in and around Chicago that were of importance to him. ( )

Studs Terkel is hailed as a national treasure but I see him as a world wonder. This essentially anecdotal memoir has a conversational tone imbued with the man's warmth. ( )