Recording Oral History: A Guide for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Recording Oral History, Second Editionis wonderful—it's like being with Valerie Yow in person and sharing her experiences of three decades of oral history interviewing. The book analyzes what happens when two human beings sit down together with a recorder, with all the wonder and messiness inherent in the oral history process. Yow thoroughly explains best practices in conducting interviews that are both of high technical quality and the highest ethical standards. Old and new readers alike will benefit from the added sections on memory, narrative, and interpretation. (Sharpless, Rebecca)How nice—and how rare—it is when a favorite text undergoes revision and comes out even better! Yow (book review editor,Oral History Review, and independent scholar) has once again hit the jackpot with her second edition ofRecording Oral History(1994). . . This is a must own book for anyone, novice or expert, who engages or wants to engage in oral history research. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. (Choice)Minor cosmetic changes, substantial renovations, and the two new wings add considerable value to this already invaluable, popular guide. Other excellent oral history manuals are available, but this one is the most comprehensive. It also is accessible, entertaining, and sensible. (Michael A. Gordon)...Yow's book provides an exceedingly valuable resource for historians, students, teachers, and others interested in recording and using interviews as a means to learn about the past.Recording Oral Historyis the kind of manual that researchers will want to return to repeatedly for advice and inspiration. (Journal Of The Illinois State Historical Society)Valerie Yow'sRecording Oral History, Second Editionis an excellent guide for both the established oral historian and the student. Yow's discussions of issues such as ethics and legalities, varieties of oral history projects, and aspects of interpretation are succinct, graceful, and intelligent. I recommend it for all practitioners! (Rogers, Kim Lacy)