Howard Zinn on History

by Howard Zinn, Staughton Lynd (Introduction)

Howard Zinn began work on his first book for his friends at Seven Stories Press in 1996, a big volume collecting all his shorter writings organized by subject. The themes he chose reflected his lifelong concerns: war, history, law, class, means and ends, and race. Throughout his life Zinn had returned again and again to these subjects, continually probing and questioning yet rarely reversing his convictions or the vision that informed them. The result was The Zinn Reader. Five years later, starting with Howard Zinn on History, updated editions of sections of that mammoth tome were published in inexpensive stand-alone editions. This second edition of Howard Zinn on History brings together twenty-seven short writings on activism, electoral politics, the Holocaust, Marxism, the Iraq War, and the role of the historian, as well as portraits of Eugene Debs, John Reed, and Jack London, effectively showing how Zinn’s approach to history evolved over nearly half a century, and at the same time sharing his fundamental thinking that social movements—people getting together for peace and social justice—can change the course of history. That core belief never changed. Chosen by Zinn himself as the shorter writings on history he believed to have enduring value—originally appearing in newspapers like the Boston Globe or the New York Times; in magazines like Z, the New Left, the Progressive, or the Nation; or in his book Failure to Quit—these essays appear here as examples of the kind of passionate engagement he believed all historians, and indeed all citizens of whatever profession, need to have, standing in sharp contrast to the notion of "objective" or "neutral" history espoused by some. "It is time that we scholars begin to earn our keep in this world," he writes in "The Uses of Scholarship." And in "Freedom Schools," about his experiences teaching in Mississippi during the remarkable "Freedom Summer" of 1964, he adds: "Education can, and should, be dangerous."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Essays, American History, Education

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2000

About the author

Howard Zinn was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist intellectual and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn wrote more than 20 books, including his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United States in 1980. In 2007, he published a version of it for younger readers, A Young People's History of the United States.

Zinn described himself as "something of an anarchist, something of a socialist. Maybe a democratic socialist." He wrote extensively about the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement and labor history of the United States. His memoir, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (Beacon Press, 1994), was also the title of a 2004 documentary about Zinn's life and work. Zinn died of a heart attack in 2010, at the age of 87.

Reviews

[Maya Winshell · Rating 5 out of 5]

missing howard rn

[Ramey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring. Zinn's position is that historians' claims to objectivity and neutrality are (1) total bullshit and (2) an unworthy aspiration. Zinn makes a strong statement for the activist citizen and scholar, and his essays illustrate well the need for a healthy amount of skepticism towards those entrusted to govern, lead and teach.

[Harrison Bosque · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with Zinn a lot politically but with this being an anthology of his essays over his life, it does end up very repetitive in some sections. A solid chunk of this book was about a past president of Boston College and after about 2 or 3 essays recounting the politics of the university it’s hard not to just zone out. That being said I loved the essay on the Freedom Schools in Mississippi most of all and I’d recommend anyone look into it if they (like me) hadn’t heard of them

[Sheehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goes without saying Zinn, the person, the scholar is always five stars in my estimation.

However this volume which included a few great essays, felt a bit repetitive on the whole as many astute historical observations are repeated in varying forms; some almost verbatim in later year essays.

It was nice to read articles I had not seen in other works or periodicals, so again the content is on point, the scholarship amd experience undeniable, but the book felt a bit thematically repetitive by the last third.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this man's work and understand his philosophy. Sorry he's not still among the living!

[Alfonso Parada · Rating 5 out of 5]

GOAT

[Eric Mccoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable selection of Zinn's essays most of them are about 3 to 5 pages

[claire cleary · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed but some essays were repetitive or just not that interesting to me. however the whole discussion on academia/protest/democracy was very good and disturbingly relevant!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this was the second book in my post bar exam theme. Didn't have the ability to focus on a sustained work right away, so I guess we can call this pairing the ADD/collected newspaper clippings theme. Not too much to be gained by this juxtaposition, especially compared to all the other two and three books themes below. Most I can say is that Waits embodies one of the definitions of a fulfilling life that Zinn wishes for all of us.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howard Zinn is an idealist that has a weak grasp on economics and international relations. Yet would say this is a must read for all high school and undergraduate students. This edition reminds, or makes one aware, of many of the recent atrocities the U.S. is affiliated with, both domestically and abroad. A beginner's reasource of "why to hate politicians and capitalism" but not so much a guide of where to go from there. Stay vigilant, kids.

[Rhea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure how it is that I made it so far in life without having read any Howard Zinn. And from that perspective, this was a good place to start. The collection of essays spans his career and offered a great overview on his perspectives on not just history but war, class struggle, politics, you name it. I'll be picking up some more of his books soon.

[Sam Motes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most if not all of this collection was covered in the "Zinn Reader". I suggest the "Znn Reader" over the individual collections because it is all great stuff. My hit list for Zinn would be "A People's History", "You Can't Be Neutral", and "The Zinn Reader" with a bonus read of "A Power Governments Can't Control" if you aren't charge up enough by the first three.

[mahatmanto · Rating 2 out of 5]

pengantar yang memikat dari staughton lynd,
mempersembahkan tulisan2 yang semula terserak, dari howard zinn.

tapi ya itu,
saya lebih suka pengantarnya katimbang tulisan zinn sendiri di buku ini. ini bukan kumpulan tulisan terbaik dari zinn.

[Barrett Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate how Zinn takes history beyond the fairy tails that we are taught in school and challenges us to look objectively at the broader stories and ask tough questions. He should be required reading - even for adults.

[Jaimeson Birse · Rating 3 out of 5]

From a writing perspective, it was good. Essays that always left you wanting a bit more. Politically, I hope there's a bit less pie-in-the-sky idealism in A People's History.

[Ivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knjižica puna ohrabrenja i inspiracije