The Future of History: Interviews with David Barsamian [Paperback]

Howard Zinn (Author), David Barsamian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1567511562 | ISBN-13: 978-1567511567

Cultural Writing. Who will control the past -- and the future? In these panoramic interview (1989-1998), Howard Zinn makes sense of the last century as only he can, tying together themes as diverse as the rise and fall (and rise again?) of the labor movement and the role of the arts in American politics (from Ilia Kazan to the NEA). He creates a platform from which to fight for the future and a funny, fast-paced read. Howard Zinn, professor emeritus at Boston University, is one of the country's most distingusihed historians and oen of the Left's best-loved figures. "Howard Zinnis was the best teacher I ever has and the funniest" -- Alice Walker. See also A.K. Press' new CD of A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Future of History consists of transcripts of six interviews, conducted between 1989 and 1998 by David Barsamian with Howard Zinn, author of the bestseller A People's History of the United States. The topics covered are wide-ranging, from the history of the American labor movement to America's policy toward Iraq, from Zinn's experiences as a bomber in the Second World War to the remarkable popularity of his friend and colleague Noam Chomsky ("It's interesting that he should be famous, because all the organs of power in the U.S. are trying their best not to make him famous, to shut him up, not to publish him, not to pay attention to him, not to put him on national radio or TV"). Zinn's caustic wit and his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of American history and current events make these conversations as delightful to read as they are eye-opening.

From Kirkus Reviews

paper 1-56751-156-2 Here, in a series of scattershot interviews from 1989 to 1999 with Alternative Radio founder Barsamian, radical ``peoples' historian'' Zinn (professor emeritus at aBoston Univ.; Marx in Soho, p. 291 ; etc.) does his best to show that the relentless dialectic of history has survived the collapse of the Soviet Union. It's not hard to detect the common thread in these random talks about everything from the poetry of Langston Hughes to the glory days of the Brooklyn DodgersZinn's political radicalism and his passionately humane critiques of our competitive, profit-driven culture inform all of these intimate conversations. A New York City street kid whose radicalism was born in reaction to the poverty and powerlessness of his upbringing, Zinn grew up to become a Brooklyn Navy Yard worker, a WWII bombardier, and a graduate student. It was as a teacher at all-black Spelman College in Georgia, however, that the turmoil and triumph of the civil rights movement transformed both his politics and his scholarship. Active in the antiwar movement and other progressive causes, Zinn also championed the telling of the history of ordinary people. Under the prodding of Barsamian's sympathetic questioning, Zinn earnestly and with wry wit asserts his views on subjects from the death penalty to the globalization of the economy, the state of the theater, McCarthyism, the radicalism of Fiorello, LaGuardia, and the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. Scorning the notion that historians can be ``objective''the very selection of facts, Zinn tells Barsamian, revels the historians biasZinn boldly reinterprets American history from the landings of Columbus, whom Zinn presents as a genocidal criminal, to Vietnam Warera America. While many will be unable to swallow Zinns enthusiastic Marxism, his humanity, honesty, and compassionate perspectives on our often brutal history and culture, and his dry humor, make these interviews thoughtful and compelling. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Common Courage Press (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567511562
• ISBN-13: 978-1567511567
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,990,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good, quick read....., August 11, 2000

By 

J. Michael Showalter (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Future of History: Interviews with David Barsamian (Paperback)

As the other reviewer mentioned, this is a good, quick book for those slightly interested in Zinn but without the time or energy to devote to reading one of his books.... not that it is near an adequate substitute....

These interviews are interesting not so much for what they contain regarding Zinn's ideas as for an insight into how he came to them. This is another book that I would read in a bookstore (if that option is available) rather than buy because, really, it doesn't contain that much information that you'd need to have it at home on a shelf to quote. If such is your desire, get 'A People's History' or 'Declarations of Independence'.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I Respect Howard Zinn, Too bad he's a Marxist:, February 29, 2008

By 

BlackJack21 "BlackJack21" (Connecticut/USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Future of History: Interviews with David Barsamian (Library Binding)

Howard Zinn Died Jan 27,2010 at the age of 87.
We will miss you dearly Professor Zinn.
Your contributions to the anti-war movement and civil rights will be our guiding light to a better future.
"The Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilantes"

Book Review:

"The Future of History" is an enlightening read if you agree that Marxism is the direction this country should be heading in. And even though Zinn's historical zeitgeist struggles to pedagogically be the proverbial elenchus to capitalism. Zinn's objurgation of capitalism is flawed simply because capitalism and communism both possess diphasic properties, which make them quasi-economic paradoxes.
So, in putting this argument to rest it becomes elementary; there are no absolutes when discussing forms of government and economics.

For example:

Capitalism/Oligarchy: is when the corporation controls the government, which in layman's terms means fascism/dictatorship.

Communism/Socialism: is when the government controls the corporation, which means dictatorship.

I know many socialists will disagree with me on this subject simply because they believe that the citizens will have the final say insofar as controlling the socialist government in question.
Unfortunately the way the governmental mechanism works is when people are appointed to run the institution/country.
Suffice it to say, these governmental leaders will be the ones running things on the surface.

Of course, we all have to realize that the money-trust will always run things from behind the scenes no matter if it's a communist dictatorship like China, or a capitalist dictatorship like the United States. Which means that the so-called world leaders will always capitulate to the billionaire banksters if we don't wake up and exert some leverage.

Either way you slice it capitalism in its extreme form is just communism under a different guise, and there isn't anyway around that argument.

Anyway, in the book (radio talk-show host) David Barsamian interviews Zinn on a number of issues such as the satiety of the U.S. government and how this derision has hurt us as a society over the years. Zinn even addresses the issue that I raised at the beginning of this review, and if you feel the need to agree with him...fine... that's your prerogative, it's still a free country even though its misguided.

Moreover, Zinn responds to a comment that was made by Clinton's former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich when he said, "the jury is still out on whether the traditional union is still necessary for the new workplace."
Howard Zinn responds by saying, "I'm disappointed in what Robert Reich had to say about not being sure about the function of unions. He should have known better." It just goes to show you where the Clintons stand on that particular issue.

Personally, I like most of what Zinn has to say it's just his Marxist views I have a problem with.
I also like how he inculcates poetry and art into his work/thesis by quoting individuals such as Langston Hughes. Zinn is also not ashamed of demonstrating the importance of U.S. history from the Black perspective as well as women, and other minority groups that tend to be left out of the discourse. In that respect it makes his historical outlook vital to the argument.
A case in point: Henry Kissinger once made an omnipotent statement, "history is the memory of States." This thought was totally egregious in nature, but Howard Zinn counteracts Kissinger's obliquity by articulating that history isn't some anachronism that shouldn't be discussed. But it's apart of us; it is who we are and what we will become. Historians chronicle these events so we the people can learn, achieve new ground, and become a better society for the future of all. This is why historians like Howard Zinn are pertinent. This is a 4 star read if you can get past the Marxism.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good reading while waiting in an airport..., July 14, 2000

By 

J. Kowalski "mumon" (Camas, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Future of History: Interviews with David Barsamian (Paperback)

The interview style presented here occasionally makes one cringe. E.g., David Barsamian's admission that he does NY Times crossword puzzles, and his hope that Zinn doesn't hold it against him come as treacly. Another example is Zinn's comparisons of himself with Chomsky. Although perhaps in the original radio interviews these sounded funny, they really make Zinn come across as an alienated armchair Marxist from time to time. And that's too bad, because there's a lot of good stuff in this book.

It's a good, quick read, with some nice historical tidbits thrown in. It's interesting in presenting facets of Zinn's personal life, but of course, the main attraction of Zinn is his take on history.

I DO think though he's underestimated the internet- I personally think that here, the rats have taken over the laboratory, and that's the way it'll be.