5809. The Great Divide sec,nd thoughts on the american dream, by Studs Terkel, (read 10 Nov 2022) This book was published in 1988 and sets forth the expressions of many people, famed and unknown alike, and tells of their thoughts on their life and views of the way things appear to them. Often I thought the views expressed were weird or wrong but some seemed sensible. Since the accounts are not lengthy if the views were irritating one soon came to the next account and it might be better. I read this book because I read two other books by Terkel, one on "The Good War" (World War Two} which I found good reading, and the other--Hard Times", an oral history of the Depression.. I am not sure this book was worth reading at this time--it might have been in 1988--but since I started it I read the whole thing even though what seemed to be prominent in some people's thinking in 1987 did nto compare with t he more dire situation of today. True, Communist Russia was a worry then but a non-Communist Russia is still a worry today. ( )

The Great Divide refers to the mountain ranges that divide the North American continent in two. Terkel also uses it to describe the division between the American people: the haves, the have-somewhats, and the have-nots. In this book, published in 1988, he interviews average Americans (most of whom are from the Chicago area, or at least the Midwest) and asks them what they think about society and history. Major themes include political activism, race relations, religion, education, unions, Vietnam, and relationships with family and neighbors. Most of the people interviewed strongly express the idea that change is needed if we want to keep the world from destroying itself.

Two of the most interesting people interviewed were Jean Gump and her husband, Joe. Jean, a mother and grandmother, walked into an American military missile storage silo with other protesters and peacefully damaged the missile. She wanted her grandchildren to live in a better world. She was interviewed from prison, where she was serving an eight year sentence, which was later reduced to six years. Her actions inspired her husband to do the same thing, and he served two and a half years in prison. Their story received almost no press coverage. I was curious and did an internet search on them to see if their message of peace ever got out to the public. There’s no entry on Wikipedia, and there doesn’t seem to be very much else out there, either.

I really enjoy Terkel’s books because they show how average people experienced history. He lets them tell their own stories and lets the readers draw their own conclusions without jamming his own point of view down our throats. I’d like to say he’s an impartial observer of American society, but he has just as much stake in it as the rest of us do. The people he interviews are always very diverse; they come from all social classes, ages, and races and have a wide range of political and religious viewpoints. In this book there were a few people I really wanted to punch, but many more that I wanted to sit down and talk with myself.
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