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50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism

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Mickey Z is a dissenting American radical who deeply admires diverse forms of passionate dissent. He is mainstream enough to cite legislation passed as a result of radical protest as a vindication of that protest, but his general vision of government is that of a passive agent, awaiting the next protest demonstration to get a sense of direction.

The theme of this book is best stated in a quotation from Barbra Ehreneich. "Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots," she says.

This a book for the age of soundbites and hyperlinks. It provides an introduction to many diverse individuals and social movements, so that virtually everyone will learn something from it. And it deals with Bob Dylan's complaint about history: "I've never seen a history book that tells me how anybody feels," he said.

One of the few Presidents in this book to earn a mention--and perhaps the only President to be praised for an action taken--is Chester A. Arthur who--it turns out--at age 24 was a pioneering civil rights attorney representing Lizzie Jennings, the Rosa Parks of 1854, who sued and won after being denied admission to a New York City horse drawn carriage. Arthur's representation of Jennings is called a "classic 'who knew' situation. " It certainly justifies taking another look at Arthur.

Another surprising fact--for me, at least--was the deep passion and antagonisms resulting from Jack Johnson, an African-American, being named heavywieght champion of the world in 1908: an uproar that perhaps slowed down black admission to other professional sports.

And then, in a section on Daniel Ellsberg's release of the Pentagon Papers, there is this cogent political analysis from key Richard Nixon Presidential aide H.R. Haldeman on June 14, 1969:

To the ordinary guy, all this is a bunch of gobbledygook. But out of
all the gobbledygook comes a very clear thing: you can't trust the
government; you can't believe what they say; and you can't rely on
their judgement. And the implicit infallibility of Presidents, which
has been an accepted thing in America, is badly hurt by this, because
it shows that people do things the President wants to do even though
it is wrong, and the President can be wrong.

I also like Martin Luther King's telegram to farmworker's leader Cesar Chavez,after a United Farmworker organizing victory, which puts King's eloquence, profundity, and coalition building on display all at once:

The fight for equality must be fought on many fronts--in urban
slums, in the sweatshops of the factories and fields. Our separate
struggles are really one--a struggle for freedom, for dignity, and
for humanity. You and your valiant fellow workers have demonstrated
your commitment to righting grievous wrongs froced upon exploited
people. We are together with you in spirit and it determination
that our dreams for a better tomorrow will be realized.

In summary, this is a provocative and stimulating little book which should encourage interest in American history, provide new insights to many readers, and provide no shortage of inspirational material. Because of ideological biases, which give violent protests a stature they do not deserve, it is less than the sum of its parts. But many of the parts are very, very good. Politicians seeking to keep the attention of audiences, columnists seeking to say memorable things, and teachers seeking to counter student apathy all can find useful material here.

There are a great many wonderful stories in this book. There are stories about Thomas Paine and Billie Holiday and Mohammad Ali and about the families of people killed in the September 11 attacks. Almost everyone will enjoy one or two or a few of them, and many people will enjoy and perhaps feel inspired by them all.

Of course the book is written from the author's perspective. Through who else's eyes should an author choose to see the world? With who else's voice should he tell his story?
And let's not for a minute accept the tired, condescending refrain about "Left Wing Myth." Who would say such a thing, except someone mired in mainstream blather, with it's relentless insistence that we only accept information from their list of officially designated experts and authorities?

This book can change the way you look at your country, your world, and your own place in the great dramas currently unfolding before our eyes. This book can be a great help in waking friends and family from their foolish, but oh so comfortable political slumbers. It's a great book for grandma and grandpa, a book with a short story a day for a restless teen, a book for busy mothers who rarely have more than 5 consecutive minutes to themselves, and it's a book to share with the conservatives in your life - at least those who enjoy a good story, and can appreciate acts of courage, compassion, honesty, and good hope.

To the previous reviewers herein who think this book is junk, all I can say is "wake up punks". Movements can't be built until the masses realize real change is possible. Most don't read "Dissent Magazine", and they shouldn't.

Mickey Z's latest is not a Howard Zinn rip-off either; it's a coherent well-researched book that has the capability of reaching a lot of people. Something most accredited historians will never do.

I can see how pompous academics may also find Z's book a bit trite; for they are used to writing essays and articles for their own little insular cohorts. Stroking each other's egos. Quarreling over the mundane and arguing the insignificant. But it's not Z's book that is trite - that award goes to the academy that only deems certain literature as viable to creating discourse in the public arena. Yet, academic books, which Z's is not, are limited in their scope and ability to reach large numbers of people. And that is the best thing about 50 American Revolutions - it breaks through the mold of elitist b.s. and helps bridge the gap between the history-untold and the real world.

Mickey Z is a brave spokesperson for the radical frontier of American politics and 50 American Revolutions is his best work yet.

In "50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know," Mickey Z. takes the reader on a tour of some big-time personalities and events that played big-time roles in shaping American society. And yet, many of the revolutions discussed in "50AR" aren't given much ink, if any at all, in most high school and college history textbooks.

Arranged chronologically, Mickey presents snapshots of American political dissidents as well as artists and athletes whose work ran counter to the prevailing culture. From the rebellions of Daniel Shays and Nat Turner earlier in American history to the groundbreaking work of photographer Dorothea Lange and sports reporter Lester Rodney in the 20th century, Mickey writes an easy-to-read history of the United States.

"50AR" highlights the work of vegan nutritionists, disability rights activists, and autonomous groups such as Food Not Bombs who decline to operate in charity circles sanctioned by both governmental and nongovernmental officials.

Following in the tradition of Mickey's "There Is No Good War" (aka "Saving Private Power"), "50AR" highlights an alternative yet important American history. It also serves as a reminder of the power that people have here in America when they have the courage to stand up and take action.

This is a basically a good easy to read book, and probably very useful, because unfortunately most Americans are fairly ignorant about our nation's history. The vignettes are short and easy to read, and most of them are fairly obscure to the average person, like Lizzie Jennings getting on the bus, Coxey's army marching to Washington, and Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit". Also useful and interesting were the "Timeline" bullets at the end of every chapter. Coming from Mickey Z I expected the see his point of view in every chapter, and I wasn't disappointed. I remember thinking as I read - Is there another way to view this event except through Mickey Z's eyes? It has inspired me to research some of these for myself, to look for other points of view as well as Mickey Z's.

Kristen Henderson of Antigone Rising wrote:

"Mickey Z's 50 American Revolutions You're Not Supposed to Know is a reminder that complacency is (so) not sexy. It inspires one to stand up to the things that don't pass the tummy test. Those of us who choose the middle of the road will only get hit by a car."

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From Spinwatch.org:

"The seventh inning stretch required fans to stand in honour of the `men and women in uniform' who fight to `preserve our way of life.' Fifty thousand removed their free caps, watched a digitised flag wave on the big screen, and held the [sponsors] patch over their cholesterol-laden hearts while belting out `God Bless America,' collectively choosing to ignore the blood being spilled to keep the world safe for petroleum."  - Mickey Z

Billie Holiday singing a song may not be what everyone has in mind when they hear the word revolution but individual acts of conscience and bravery are often at the root of major changes in social order and attitude.

This book is essentially a compendium of some of the finest moments in anti-establishment US history and some occasions when the establishment actually did something worthwhile (this was only a few of the 50). Some of the seminal moments of Feminism (probably shouldn't use the word `seminal' in relation to Feminism but if I said `ovulatory moments' it could still end up in a sticky mess!) Comedy, Music, Anarchism and Socialism are included in the book and some other things besides, notably Marlon Brando and Kathleen Hepburn's underwear. Some of these stories, like Muhammad Ali refusing the draft or the ' Battle in Seattle' are familiar but there are many that most probably won't know.

However, it is not the American History element that I find most interesting in this book (probably because I am not American). It is the personal acts of resistance and courage of the people in it, sometimes individual and sometimes collective, that is most impressive. It also shows how small acts by individuals can have huge consequences, in the US or anywhere else. Whether by laying down their lives, singing a song or even wearing and then not wearing trousers (don't get the wrong idea - this part has nothing to do with seminal moments) the people in Mickey Z's book challenged power and orthodoxy - which is why we are not supposed to know about them.

I like the idea of American teenagers reading this book and going to their history teachers and demanding to know why some of this stuff isn't being studied in class. Or, in this country, demanding to know why we are brought up to learn what a marvellous hero and orator Winston Churchill was and don't hear about his enormous military failures at Gallipoli and of him giving his authorisation to a plan to gas bomb villages of civilians or, as it was put, `recalcitrant Arabs' in order to inspire a `lively terror.'

The same `memory hole' system applies in both countries. Stories like the 50 included here, although not exactly suppressed or forgotten, are often de-emphasised as we instead learn about out glorious war leaders and statues are erected to mass murderers only for other mass murderers to come and tear them down again.

In addition to the 50 examples there is a timeline running through the book that lists many other important milestones of American resistance. It would be a good beginning for people who want to find out more about US history but can't face reading all of the Zinn book yet (but they should do that eventually).
The author states that   I guess what I'm looking for here is to reach an audience I've never reached before...and provoke them to think and rediscover critical analysis. I don't claim to cover any new ground here...it's just a refresher course/wake-up call for a heavily conditioned society (and myself, too).

The `heroes' we hear about in schools are typically people who did something brave in the service of the state. This book about people doing something brave to challenge the perceived wisdom or change rather than uphold the existing order provides many interesting examples new and old of what Mickey Z puts at the beginning of his introduction...

"We have two American flags always: one for the rich and one for the poor. When the rich fly, it means that things are under control; when the poor fly, it means danger, revolution, anarchy."   - Henry Miller

There is at least one story that anyone can find inspiring in here (most likely many stories) and if you read this book and feel infused with a little revolutionary spirit but are wondering where to begin then Orwell had a good starting point...

"In times of universal deceit telling the truth will be a revolutionary act."

Finally!! The (100 divided by 2) people and the events they shaped that have NOT screwed up America! Thanks, but no thanks Bernard Goldberg for your list, Mickey Z declares in this fine little volume those who have made America a better place who those who don't agree with everything the government says; with names like Thomas Paine, Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs, Billie Holiday, Muhammad Ali, Daniel Ellsberg, and my personal favorite, the greatest heavyweight champ of all time: Jack Johnson (imagine being arrested for interracial dating today!) This accessible book is a primer for you young revoluntaries out there!

I just bought this book on a lark after flipping through it in the bookstore (I was hooked after the intro!). Then, the next day I ran back and bought five copies to give to friends. This book is full of talking points to help support your argument that it is in fact more American to dissent than not. Each brief essay is like a richly flavored reduction of the various primary and secondary source materials that inform its content. And it's an inspiring record of some of the amazing characters who have made American history.

Of the 50 so called "revolutions" in this book there are only 3, maybe 4 instances in this book that were actually revolutionary.
Based on that fact I cannot, in good conscience, recommend that any one purchase this book.

Mickey Z always tells it like it is. Everyone in America should read what he has to say.