A Power Governments Cannot Suppress (Paperback)

by Howard Zinn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Prolific author, WWII veteran and outspoken history/political science professor Zinn collects here almost three dozen brief, passionate essays that follow in the tradition of his landmark work, A People's History of the United States, taking up the cause of ordinary Americans fighting for social justice. Shunning conventional notions of American history, Zinn instead strives to decouple the country's history from its "mythology," in part by examining familiar contemporary concerns like class, race, civil liberties, immigration and the Iraq War. Indeed, this veteran's profound disillusionment with war suffuses the work, but a polemic against the Bush administration this is not; while Zinn scarcely shies from critiquing the governing elite, he prefers to focus on little-known or underappreciated historical episodes such as Revolutionary War soldiers driven to mutiny or 1999 World Trade Organization protestors in Seattle. He also revisits and reframes well-known events, including the Boston Massacre and the Holocaust, and invokes figures like union organizer Eugene Debs and Vietnam War protestor Philip Berrigan to point the way forward. Though his observations can be bleak, Zinn's belief that "history is powerful" and will "break down the credibility of the war makers" gives his book a great sense of hope. Readers seeking to break out of their ideological comfort zones will find much to ponder here.
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Review
"Strong, incisive ... penetrating ... embraces the sweep of history." -- Jonathan Kozol, author of the New York Times bestseller, "The Shame of The Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: City Lights Publishers (December 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0872864758
• ISBN-13: 978-0872864757
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #91,122 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Companion to A People's History, February 22, 2007

By	J. Moser "moserjos" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book of short essays frees Zinn from the strictures of conventional history writing. Of course, A People's History is anything but conventional in its approach, yet it stills follows a mostly chronological narrative of history. Here, Zinn's tone is much more engaging and personal. He talks about historical figures that inspire him--Eugene V. Debs and Phillip Berrigan, for example--and relates them to struggles going on today. He puts the Iraq War and the war on terror in context with other conflicts in our history, and he discusses his own war experiences in many of the essays. He also makes clear the role that the media and popular culture play in perpetuating myths of American exceptionalism and "good wars." Overall, though, one is inspired by Zinn's optimism and hope for the future, despite everything stacked against us. This is a brisk and compelling read. Zinn is a national treasure.

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful, entertaining, challanging, February 26, 2007

By	L. F Sherman "dikw" (Wiscasset, ME United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Zinn is usually well worth reading. His essays provide short clear opinions incorporating history well. History is not neutral, as he reminds us. Engaging his ideas should help sort out one's own more clearly whether close to his or not. You have to respect someone who is Jewish, a civil rights activist, a Bombardier during the war who has the intestinal fortitude to critique his own roots and experience.

The short essays range from World War II and the Holocaust Memorial to activism. None takes long to read, all are worth thinking about. Zinn remains something of an optimist despite our national malaise and dumbing down of debate today.

It is a pity that this and other valuable books are effectively `censored' out of circulation by the several national book store chains in Malls (Hurray for Amazon!) Thinking and debate suffer accordingly.

His "People's History of the United States" is a classic because of word of mouth reputation and can now be found widely. He edits a series that has been started including "Darker Peoples" focused on recent history of the "third world."

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A strident call to action, April 9, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Written by historian, playwright, and World War II veteran Howard Zinn, A Power Governments Cannot Suppress is a scathing attack against America's political and ethical failings, using examples of atrocities America perpetuated in history - from massacres in Vietnam to abuses of Chinese immigrant labor workers to complicity in the genocide of East Timor and much more - to add context to current ills such as the extended toll of the war in Iraq. "There is no certainty as to what would happen in our absence [in Iraq]. But there is absolute certainty about the result of our presence - escalating deaths on all sides." Zinn is firmly anti-death penalty and decries its usage as well. Of especial interest in A Power Governments Cannot Suppress is the author's denouncement of a disturbing tendency to compartmentalize the Holocaust, to forget the millions of non-Jews that were executed along with 6 million Jews, and worse, neglect the occurrence of modern acts of genocide thereby betraying the memory of victims of the Holocaust genocide. A strident call to action, speaking out against governmental and human misdeeds, and vociferously encouraging the reader to stand up and take action..