The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn

by Dave Zirin

A biography of iconic radical historian Howard Zinn, examining his life and work as a progressive icon and thought leader through the story of the times that shaped him as well as the United States of America.

From The Nation magazine columnist and New York Times bestselling author Dave Zirin, The People's Historian will be a deeply researched biography of Howard Zinn, the beloved author of the classic national bestseller with more than four million copies sold, A People's History of the United States.

With input from family and access to Zinn's personal papers, The People's Historian will paint a picture of the man behind A People's History, examining his work and legacy in the broader context of the United States.

Genres: History, Biography, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

Named of the UTNE Reader’s “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World”, Dave Zirin writes about the politics of sports for the Nation Magazine. He is their first sports writer in 150 years of existence. Zirin is also the host of Sirius XM Radio’s popular weekly show, Edge of Sports Radio. He has been called “the best sportswriter in the United States,” by Robert Lipsyte. Dave Zirin is, in addition, a columnist for SLAM Magazine and the Progressive.
[from http://www.edgeofsports.com/bio.html]

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for an advance copy of this biography about one of the great popular historians of this century, one who saw the history of the undiscussed, the marginalized, the unrecorded, even the troublesome as important as those who are thought of as important, a teller of truth no matter how ugly, and a man who let principle, fact, and kindness decided his path.

My parents were born Bronx Irish Catholics, from a long line of Bronx Irish Catholics. There are stories of discrimination for both their Irish ancestry and their religion, stories told to me by my Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. There are also stories of great racism perpetrated by these same people, some of which continues to this day. My parents grew up with these contrary messages, and decided they would take kindness as a lesson. Something they passed on to myself and my brother. We never really discussed politics, maybe when my brother and I became older, and things in America seemed to be getting darker. However my parents were always for the people who wanted to help, not take away. Something my mother continues to do to this day. I am sure my father who read as much as I knew of the works of Howard Zinn. Maybe even knew him from college. Again we never discussed politics, and I only discovered Zinn late after college, in my first bookstore actually. After reading this remarkable biography, I know why I took to his writing so much, as much of this reminded me of my parents and what they showed me. The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn by Dave Zirin is a look at the events and times that shaped Zinn, from growing up in Brooklyn, working in low paying jobs, war, academia, and the book that made him famous or infamous even years after his death.

Howard Zinn was born in Brooklyn New York, in 1922. Zinn's parent were Jewish immigrants fleeing toils and troubles in Europe. They arrived just as America with a lot or racism in their minds, decided that America was full, and that immigrants need not come, especially Asian, Hispanics, and Jews. Something that would occur almost 102 years later. Zinn's parents lived a very hardscrabble life, working hard, but just keeping their nose above water. Zinn's father worked as a union restaurant waiter, and later owned a candy store, that was close to failure almost all the time. Learing was important, and street books were the start of Zinn's love, a collection of Dickens brought through the New York Post, showed Zinn that workers always got the end of the stick, lessons he would learn at small jobs growing up. Fascism made him join up to fight in World War II, being a bombider made him anti-war in almost all forms. The GI Bill got him into college, and from there he excelled, learning about the way Americans saw themselves, and how so many didn't know the real story of what happened. An ignorance Zinn spent his life fighting, along with so many other causes.

A really well-written book that captures the life in full of a man with a mind that never it seemed stopped wondering. Or stopped being kind. Zinn could talk to anyone, the poorest miner, the snobbiest Bostonian, communist, ward politician, and understand their views while sharing his. Zirin captures all this quite well. The book is very well-researched, and unlike many other biographies which grow tiring with the recitation of facts, as a very good pacing, and lots of asides, that make Zinn seem even more interesting than before.

This is not a hagiography, Zirin looks at some troubling issues, and addresses mistakes, but a real profile of a man who never stopped caring, never stopped wondering, and always hoped for the best in people, not matter how many times he saw the truth. A very well done and interesting book, and one I quite enjoyed.

[Bruce Raterink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew almost nothing about the author and activist Howard Zinn before reading this biography and I learned a lot. Although there was a ton of well researched information contained here, I found the organization of the information confusing. Most biographies I've read are either organized by topic/events in the person's life or chronologically throughout their life. This book seemed to be a hybrid mashup of the two and bounced back and forth between decades while delving into tangential scenarios before coming back to the original topic. The seemingly meandering writing style made it a slow slog for me to read. Recommended as an informative biography.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for an advanced reader copy.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for the eARC; all opinions are my own!

This is a great biography. I was only passingly familiar with Howard Zinn, and it was lovely to get to know him better. This biography filled me with hope. Obviously the work is FAR from over, and in some ways we're going backwards, but it's not over til it's over. And there are lots of people out there fighting for a better world!
I love that he used his privilege to help others. And his contributions to telling history and how to do it differently were wonderful! While the organization of the book sometimes felt a little chaotic, this is still totally worth a read!

[Wendy Wisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful and well-researched look at the life of the progressive hero. I enjoyed how the book interlaced the stories of Zinn’s own life with the development of his written work, drawing from personal notes as well as published material.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.