The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy [Paperback]

Howard Zinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 1997

No other radical historian has reached so many hearts and minds as Howard Zinn. It is rare that a historian of the Left has managed to retain as much credibility while refusing to let his academic mantle change his beautiful writing style from being anything but direct, forthright, and accessible. Whether his subject is war, race, politics, economic justice, or history itself, each of his works serves as a reminder that to embrace one's subjectivity can mean embracing one's humanity, that heart and mind can speak with one voice. Here, in six sections, is the historian's own choice of his shorter essays on some of the most critical problems facing America throughout its history, and today.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Historian, leftist activist, author of the popular People's History of the United States (New Pr., 1995) and other works of history, politics, and drama, retired professor Zinn has compiled 61 previously published essays on various historical topics and illuminates here his passionate commitment to social justice and political and economic democracy. The essays are arranged in six categories: race, class, war, law, history, and "means and ends." Lucid and at times poignant, they convey Zinn's belief that a historian's judgment about what should be written reflects her or his values. Some of the riveting events covered include the social revolution of the Civil Rights Movement, Allied atrocities during World War II, the murderous suppression of the Attica, New York, prison rebellion, and the hagiographic persistence of the Christopher Columbus narrative. Recommended for academic and public libraries.?Charles L. Lumpkins, Bloomsburg Univ. Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A welcome collection of essays and occasional pieces by the dean of radical American historians. This portly tome is primarily intended for the Howard Zinn faithful, of course, of whom there are likely to be many; his People's History of the United States has sold 400,000 copies, after all. For the uninitiated, this collection offers a useful introduction to Zinn's idealistic, Marxist-anarchist view of the world, a view he has championed for many decades. Zinn began his career as a historian at Atlanta's Spelman College, then a school for African-American women; fittingly, a large part of his book is given over to first-hand reports on the civil-rights movement in the South. Rejecting too-easy black-versus-white views of the struggle, Zinn insists that class analysis be brought to bear on the study of inequality: ``Once the superficiality of the physical is penetrated and seen for what it is,'' he writes, ``the puzzle of race loses itself in whatever puzzle there is to human behavior in general. Once you begin to look, in human clash, for explanations other than race, they suddenly become visible.'' Elsewhere Zinn combs through the annals of American history to turn up examples of the evils of capitalism, discussing among other subjects the conduct of the Spanish-American War, the brutal suppression of the Filipino Revolt, the origins of the abolitionist movement, and the ironies of the war in Vietnam (he notes that in 1966 the US was paying $34 in condolence money for each Vietnamese civilian accidentally killed in air strikes--but $87 for every rubber tree thus destroyed). When not looking deep into the past, Zinn cheerfully lampoons such conservative foes as the late Allan Bloom, who ``swoons over Plato,'' and generally has a good time arguing for an equitable, just, and division-free America. A worthy gathering for Zinn fans and fledgling historians alike. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press (September 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888363541
• ISBN-13: 978-1888363548
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > History > Historical Study > Essays

More About the Author

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was a historian, playwright, and activist. He wrote the classic A People's History of the United States, "a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those ... whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories" (Library Journal). The book, which has sold more than two million copies, has been featured on The Sopranos and Simpsons, and in the film Good Will Hunting. In 2009, History aired The People Speak, an acclaimed documentary co-directed by Zinn, based on A People's History and a companion volume, Voices of a People's History of the United States.

Zinn grew up in Brooklyn in a working-class, immigrant household. At 18 he became a shipyard worker and then flew bomber missions during World War II. These experiences helped shape his opposition to war and passion for history. After attending college under the GI Bill and earning a Ph.D. in history from Columbia, he taught at Spelman, where he became active in the civil rights movement. After being fired by Spelman for his support for student protesters, Zinn became a professor of Political Science at Boston University, were he taught until his retirement in 1988.

Zinn was the author of many books, including an autobiography, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, the play Marx in Soho, and Passionate Declarations. He received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs award for his writing and political activism.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From start to finish -- a page turner., November 29, 1999

By 

"sarah_elizabeth" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy (Paperback)

How many times can you call a collection of political essays a page turner? Well, how many Howard Zinn books are there?

This is a really comprehensive collection of Zinn's work, and makes a nice compliment to his quintessential "People's History of the US." It picks up on the same subject matter, but in Zinn's voice as an observer to the great political struggles of this century. It is, of course, typical, liberal, activist-minded Zinn, but I view this as a good thing -- he has a great deal of perspective as both an academic and an activist.

As for my favorite parts...I was interested and impressed to read of Zinn's activism during the Civil Rights Movement. This is a great first-hand account from someone who was along for the ride. I also enjoy his discussion of pacifism in the context of WWII, which is a difficult and delicate subject to tackle. I respect that he attempts to explain his anti-war beliefs with respect to this "good war."

I have found this book useful in very practical ways as well. I used some essays as texts in the activist internship class I taught, and I also referenced the list of important and influential books Zinn includes in an appendix.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A provocative package, December 1, 2000

By 

Douglas Doepke (Claremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy (Paperback)

Worth the money at any price, this is a rousing compilation of articles from one of America's leading historians of the left, whose earlier and epochal *A People's History of the United States* has served as something of a bible to those revisionist historians and activists more interested in unvarnished fact than patriotic myth. This revealing volume demonstrates that same class conscious perspective, this time ranging over topics both historical and contemporary, including insights into Plato, Machiavelli, the morality of war, the civil rights crusade, and the historically neglected Ludlow massacre. The result is an omnivorous selection to say the least, but one that includes plenty of ideational grist to disagree with even for those on the political left, who may find his pacifist leanings not just impracticable but insensitive to neo-colonial oppression. Be that as it may, few chroniclers of America's past so thoroughly demonstrate the bankruptcy of the official record as does Zinn, who unlike the abjectly house-broken Arthur Schlesinger Jr. has thankfully never found a place in the corridors of Repubocrat power which whatever else can be said has proven so materially rewarding for the opportunistic. There is solace however in the realization that were Zinn's historical honesty to replace the usual highschool pablum, even MTV teenagers might discover an identity that preceded them, and realize that there are no rebels without causes, but only victories as yet unwon. Zinn's work is a signpost along the way.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful anthology of our greatest historian., December 12, 2002

By 

Pen Name? "fluxus" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Zinn Reader: Writings on Disobedience and Democracy (Paperback)

Howard Zinn is an eloquent but plain spoken writer. His essays are a joy to read, something that cannot be said of so many historians. This is in part because, Zinn is not afraid to admit that he is an interpreter of events, he colors his writings with his own ideals, interprets the past in light of what he has lived through, illuminating events and the lives of people who may have otherwise been forgotten, so that we can learn something of ourselves in their stories. Zinn's writings on events of the twentieth century are special in that he has participated in so many important historical movements, from being a WWII bombardier, to teaching in an all black girls' college during the civil rights movement, through protesting the Vietnam War and beyond. He is not afraid to state his beliefs, but is never condescending. He is a believer in the spirit of humanity, in spite of all the atrocities he has seen and studied. This massive collection spans many years and many topics. There is not an uninteresting essay in the nearly 700 pages, though, making this quite a bargain at that. Don't pass this book up. Even if you don't consider yourself of the "leftist" persuasion, I think you will find Zinn's writings very engaging and enjoyable. I hope you do.