Customer Reviews

You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times

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I really enjoyed this book. What does come through over and over is Zinn's sense of hope for the future - a sense of hope based on the changes that people can make individually when they speak up and act. Part of what I enjoyed was that the history is connected in a personal way to Zinn and his life, which provided an added richness. This is an interesting story of a fascinating man, but it is also a compassionate and personal view into history and some tumultuous times in the last 30 or 40 years.

It's hard to read this and not ask yourself questions about what you would have done in the same situation, and it seems to me that it's also difficult to avoid questioning what you can do now. Not that you need to agree with everything Zinn says, by any means. It's a push towards living by your own values, and standing up for what you see as right, even in very small ways.

This is not a hard-boiled-hit-you-on-the-head kind of memoir. Zinn has a sense of humor about himself, and doesn't lose a sense of reality. At one point he refuses to pay a fine and spends time in jail. After a night with the cockroaches he changes his mind and pays the fine. He doesn't come off as the perfect saint, only someone consistently willing to say something and someone who consistently tries to do the right thing. I admire him for that. And because of his humanity I can identify with him - and share his hope.

Let's face it. Most autobiographies are ego-massaging personal recollections that shed little light on what makes the author tick. But this book represents what an autobiography should be, because it covers Zinn's political history and how his political and historical views have shaped his life. So in reading this book, we not only know something about Zinn, we learn a great deal about the history of the United States over the past 50 years. To the extent Zinn discusses his personal history, it is usually in the context of his political education, for example, working at Brooklyn shipyards as a youth or flying airplanes in World War II or teaching college in the South during the early 1960's. These personal events shape Zinn's views on labor, war and civil rights. Like Forrest Gump, Zinn was there during the 20th Century's most important events. He has lived an extraordinary life and his views on history deserve the greatest respect. Read this book to see what a real autobiography should look like.

Zinn's casual biography is a really pleasant read, probably because he doesn't attempt to write an exhaustive account of his illustrious life. Rather, he spends more time describing the events he witnessed and, more importantly, the people he met. "You Can't Be Neutral" can be read simply for the joy of it or to get some more background information on one of America's premier social historians, but it can also be used as a supplementary source for the civil rights movement and even the effects of World War II on war veterans. Zinn's description of his experiences in the South just before and during the Civil Rights movement are fascinating, they really give the reader a feel for the frustration felt by the movement's protagonists and the atmosphere of hope they created. I highly recommend to this book to anyone.

If you're thinking about reading this book, you've probably read Zinn before, probably A People's History of the United States. If you haven't read Zinn before, hold off on this book and go read A People's History. This book isn't as much history as it is personal experience mixed in with history. Zinn combines his personal experience in the civil rights and (to some degree) black power movements with life lessons he learned from those experiences. After reading this book, I fell in love with Zinn's writing all over again. I feel like I better understand the man behind the books, and now I will go back and read A People's History and Declarations of Independence again. If you like Zinn, you can't miss the book.

As any reader of his famous A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.) knows, Howard Zinn never ceases to challenge the dominant orthodoxies of history. In this book, Zinn demonstrates how he embodied this effort in his own life, from his time as a teacher at a black women's college in Georgia and his involvement in the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, though his protests against the Vietnam War to his years opposing John Sibler at Boston University

The result is an inspiring read, though one marred by the odd organization of the book. By choosing to focus on the campaigns he waged against the problems he encountered, Zinn provides less a traditional autobiography than an account of his public career. As a result, the reader is left to piece together the narrative of Zinn's life, which can be frustrating when seeking to understand how he became such a fervent activist to begin with. This is the only complaint with what is otherwise a passionate account of how one person can make a difference in the times in which he lives.

This was the first book I had read by Howard Zinn and it opened many doors for me. I hadn't really formulated any cohesive thoughts about my political views, but this book helped immensely. What Zinn writes about makes sense. The hardship he felt when he realized that he bombed a village in France with napalm, the fights he joined in the Civil Right mvt. in Georgia, the struggles he went through growing up, his realization that history is not clearly written in the textbooks -- it is real. He writes from his heart and with conviction. He knows his ideals are unorthodox, but he doesn't care because they are his and he see them as right.

Anyone who has read some of Zinn's other writings, anyone who has an interest in progressive politics, anyone who wants to find out more about this amazing man should read this book. It is a must for any Howard Zinn fan!!

This man leads a storied life and we are all better off that he documented it in his book. It is astonishing what we aren't reminded of from the past, even the recent past. Zinn definitely makes the most of his time on this planet and his life is an example to live by.

It is still shocking that within the last 50 years, our country was a much different place, specifically the deep south where Zinn began his teaching career. I wish I would have had to read this book in school.

What lessons, if any, do past social movements teach American citizens? Is change feasible in today's society? Howard Zinn attempts to answer these two questions, along with a number of others, in his book entitled 'You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times.' A beautifully written and inspirational book, 'You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train' is quintessential Zinn-direct, yet optimistic. Zinn's central argument is that we are all capable of participating in change, however, for change to occur, we must all experience a social and political reawakening. Zinn's book offers the reader a more hopeful version of politics and society. Yet, such a version is only feasible if we, as Americans, actively participate in the political process. This involvement will fill ones soul with a sense of meaning, and in the end will create a better world for all to live in. For those interested in the history of American society, politics, and social justice issues, 'You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train' is a marvelous book filled with inspiration.

Howard Zinn's memoir serves as an outlet into the mind and backround of one of the most important historians of our time. Zinn knows how to tell a story but at the same time educate. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has read "A People's History of the United States", but, especially, for those who have merely heard of Zinn. I am sure this will motivate them to pursue his other efforts.

I feel this was a wonderful book, and it is defenitly worth buying. The book is in a sense an autobiography, however, Zinn ties his life events with history. The book definitly has historical relevance. Zinn provides insight to the civil rights movement, the anti war movement, and afterword. He doesn't really talk about his upbringing much, which is unusual for autobiographies. He basically briefly discusses his upbringing in Brooklyn, and he talks about how he became interested in politics. He goes on to talk a little about his wife, family, and his involvement in world war 2. The book has not one tedious part. Once you start reading its hard to put down. Even if you don't agree with Zinn on his political views, you may still find this book to be interesting, because he describes important events in American history. All in all, this is a very interesting, moving book.