177 Quotes by Studs Terkel

I'm not a Luddite completely; I believe in refrigerators to cool my martinis, and washing machines because I hate to see women smacking their laundry against a rock. When I hear about hardware, I think of pots and pans, and when I hear about software, I think of sheets and towels.

Reading a book should not be a passive exercise, but rather a raucous conversation.

I find labels "liberal" and "conservative" of little meaning. Our language has become perverted along with the thoughts of many of us.

I am paraphrasing Einstein. I love to do that: nobody dares contradict me.

I'm not an optimist. I'm hopeful.

People are hungry for stories. It's part of our very being. Storytelling is a form of history, of immortality too. It goes from one generation to another. -Studs Terkel

You know, 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely?' It's the same with powerlessness. Absolute powerlessness corrupts absolutely. Einstein said everything had changed since the atom was split, except the way we think. We have to think anew.

Curiosity never killed this cat’ — that’s what I’d like as my epitaph

Marvin Miller, I suspect, is the most effective union organizer since John L. Lewis.