Chicago's "Everyman"
After an interview with an actress who boasted to her book publisher friend, Andre Schiffrin, of Terkel’s interviewing skills, Terkel was approached to write a book about the lives of the citizens of Chicago. He had previously authored a book titled Giants of Jazz, a look at America’s jazz legends. The result was Division Street: America, a glimpse of everyday people, their stories, their words . It was this theme of examining the “everyman” which Terkel excelled at. Subsequent books included the 1974 saga, Working, a story of ordinary working people and the book on which this musical is based, 1980’s American Dreams; Lost and Found and 1985’s The Good War which focused on Americans and their memories of World War II. It was for The Good War that he would win the Pulitzer Prize.
