Truth Has a Power of Its Own: Conversations about A People's History

by Howard Zinn

American history told from the bottom up by Howard Zinn himself--and the perfect all-ages introduction to his eye-opening viewpoint, published on Zinn's hundredth birthday

Truth Has a Power of Its Own is an engrossing collection of conversations with the late Howard Zinn and "an eloquently hopeful introduction for those who haven't yet encountered Zinn's work" (Booklist). Here is an unvarnished, yet ultimately optimistic, tour of American history--told by someone who was often an active participant in it.

Viewed through the lens of Zinn's own life as a soldier, historian, and activist and using his paradigm-shifting A People's History of the United States as a point of departure, these conversations explore the American Revolution, the Civil War, the labor battles of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, U.S. imperialism from the Indian Wars to the War on Terrorism, World Wars I and II, the Cold War, and the fight for equality and immigrant rights--all from an unapologetically radical standpoint. Longtime admirers and a new generation of readers alike will be fascinated to learn about Zinn's thought processes, rationale, motivations, and approach to his now-iconic historical work. Zinn's humane (and often humorous) voice--along with his keen moral vision--shine through every one of these lively and thought-provoking conversations. Battles over the telling of our history still rage across the country, and there's no better person to tell it than Howard Zinn.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2019

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

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A TL;DR of A People's History

I requested this title on NetGalley as soon as I saw it because I have a soft spot for Howard Zinn. After all, reading A People's History of the United States is partially responsible for turning me into the "dirty liberal hippie" I am today ;)



Truth Has a Power of Its Own: Conversations about A People's History is like a TL;DR of A People's History. It's a whirlwind tour through Zinn's version of US history, which questions American exceptionalism and the "great man" narratives that dominate US classrooms. While A People's History is a hefty tome, this "conversation" is like its highlight reel.

As another Goodreads reviewer noted, most of the questions posed are softballs and/or leading questions. I would have liked Suarez to probe Zinn's thinking more fully or ask him to respond to counterarguments. That would have lent something new to the text that readers of A People's History haven't already heard.

One thing to note while reading is that these conversations took place in 2007. While some of Zinn's ideas about economic inequality sound like common progressive talking points today, they sounded revolutionary just a little over a decade ago. Zinn died in 2010, but I can't help but wonder what he would have to say about what's happened to the United States between 2007 and today.

Four stars for Truth Has a Power of Its Own, an easy-to-read primer on Zinn's A People's History.

Thanks to NetGalley and The New Press for giving me a DRC of this book, which will be available for purchase on September 3rd.

[David Wineberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truth Has A Power Of Its Own is a funny kind of derivative book. Ray Suarez interviewed Howard Zinn about his book A People’s History of the United States. Instead of issues, Suarez seems to have asked questions in the chronological order of Zinn’s book, from the founding to the present. They are all soft questions that Zinn could answer without having to pause, basically putting points from his book in other words. Suarez did not challenge Zinn, point out a weakness or a contradiction or ask for proof or even context. Everyone’s on the same side here. It’s an easy, pleasant read of an uncomfortable topic: the truth about America.

Zinn, of course, was a marvel of clear thinking in simple language. His answers, though seemingly prepared, are microtargeted and precise. He couldn’t have asked for easier questions. They let him make all the points he wanted to.

In following the history of the US, the major theme is naturally racism, Zinn’s focus. He says in 1885, Senator Henry Dawes visited an Indian reservation and was appalled to see the Indians sharing everything. “There is no selfishness, which is at the bottom of civilization.” His law, The Dawes Act, sent the army in to take away communal property and break reservations into small private lots, destroying the natives’ way of life forever. These are the kinds of little-known facts that Howard Zinn awakened Americans with for decades.

Zinn’s emphasis is on resistance and organization. He says truth has a way of spreading and changing history if we push it. The US is not on autopilot to glory or success because of its sterling constitution and system of elections. “I think it is a mistake to give young people going to school and learning history the idea that we have a wonderful mechanism here that’s self-correcting when things go wrong,” he says. This is in direct contradiction to what George Will says in his new book on conservatism. Will says all you need do is to look backwards to the founders’ guarantees of natural rights, and everything will be fine.

Zinn continually comes back to the wealth of the USA and how it being misused by the rich and powerful. Instead of lifting everyone to a higher plane, wealth remains with the few, and government wastes most of the rest on weapons and wars. Bullets instead of healthcare. And while we’re at it, wars using those bullets have becoming civilian killing machines. Where World War I saw about 90% of the deaths in the military, today 90% of the deaths are civilian.

Most importantly, he says there has been far more resistance and turmoil in America’s rocky road to the present: “If you leave out the history of resistance, then what you get out of American history is a kind of toothless history. You get a history in which everything seems okay. You get the kind of history that leads Americans to say to one another, ‘This is the greatest country in the world. We have always done good things in the world.’ Then they’re surprised when the United States is criticized by people in other countries.”

In his long life of not only observation but active participation in those resistance movements, has Zinn seen light at the end of the tunnel? “I would be naïve if I said that I’m confident this country has a glorious future, based on the past.”

And what would he possibly say about a Trump administration?

David Wineberg

[Niklas Pivic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is based on the transcripts of conversations between Howard Zinn and Ray Suarez that took place in 2007.

Opening statement: I’ve yet to read A People’s History of The United States. Does that matter when reading this book? I can’t tell, and I know that’s a good thing.

I have read and heard many of Zinn’s speeches and read some of his writings. To say he’s influential is a severe understatement; Noam Chomsky is one of his main supporters, and a close friend, which says much.

Zinn’s fervor, humanitarianism, morals, honesty, and energy jumps off the page. He is a man who has spoken at great length of how our society has changed, where it is, and where it can be, without tiring, always while listening to people. The people, who are at the center of Zinn’s thoughts, throughout this book and his life.

We read Suarez’s words, simple questions and postulates, which provide Zinn with ample ground to take off from. Witnessing his deeply-rooted humanitarian critique against both the American regime (through all times) and his wondrous ability to think in an existentialist way—i.e. he answers questions as if he were answering on the behalf of humanity, as though the questions weren’t trite and he weren’t tired of them—is both beautiful and inspirational in the extreme. It’s like witnessing a butterfly take flight.

Howard Zinn: The first chapter of A People’s History of the United States was on Columbus. When it was published, I soon began getting letters about the book from readers all over the country. And I noticed that most of the letters were about the very first chapter, about Columbus. First I thought, Oh, they’ve only read the first chapter.

But then I thought, No, this is the most shocking thing to them— because it breaks into the American myth about Columbus. It has something to do with feeling that Columbus represents America, patriotism, Western civilization. It’s untouchable—you mustn’t touch the myth about the glories of Western civilization, about the wonderful things that Europeans brought to other parts of the world. You mustn’t touch the traditional heroes and make things more complicated than they are.

So Columbus is therefore a villain—or is there a way of telling history that just fills in those missing parts of the portrait and puts someone in their times?

Well when I talk about Columbus, I don’t ignore the fact that he was a brave man, that he was a great navigator, that he did something remarkable in crossing the ocean. That’s one side. But then there is the other side of him, the man who came here not to spread Christianity or care for people who were here, but to use them—use them in his search for gold, to bring profits to people back in Europe. A man who in that pursuit kidnapped Indians, mutilated them, killed them—enslaved them.

Yes, you can humanize him. You can tell as much as you can about what he did that was positive or what his good personal qualities were, but in the end, if a person has committed atrocities, you make a judgment about that. The result is not simply “on the one hand, but on the other hand.” It’s not an equalization of the moral judgement—that is, if you have a moral approach to history. If you don’t believe in simply laying out history like a telephone book, if you believe that moral judgements should determine your approach to history, then I think you have to make decisions.

You can tell the story of Theodore Roosevelt as a complicated story. You acknowledge there are remarkable things about him, and you can say, yes, he was a great lover of nature. He overcame enormous physical handicaps, and in fact, as president, he put in certain reforms. But on the other hand, there is Roosevelt the lover of war. There is Roosevelt the imperialist. There is Theodore Roosevelt the racist. There is the Roosevelt who commends a general for committing a massacre in the Philippines. You could say the good things about Theodore Roosevelt, but in the end, if your concerns are human concerns, then you have to make a decision about what else you tell.

In a certain sense, you are filling in the picture. You are more truthful. You’re not leaving things out, but you’re putting things in that have been left out—things that are very, very important.

The above quote is good, because it says something highly significant about Zinn: his extremely sobering and terse way to provide background to a statement is almost singular. It’s easy to see how he and Noam Chomsky affected and influenced each other.

There are many singular aspects of Zinn’s statements, not because he was a singular individual, but because he truly believed in what he was speaking of. He was a World War Two veteran who flew bomber planes over Europe. He’d seen atrocities and partaken in them. He spoke directly with both people who agreed and disagreed with him. It all boiled down believing that all humans are equal.

There is nothing that arouses attention so much as people who break a law. That is why civil disobedience is such a powerful weapon in the hands of social reformers.

On creating a rationale for slavery:

Throughout the Western Hemisphere, but especially in North America, was it necessary to create a rationale for slavery that made its continuation possible? Did you have to sort of create a cultural argument for the black person as a slave in order to keep the whole thing going?

Racism is the creation of a certain attitude toward people to show that they are not as deserving of freedom as other people—that there is something different about them. What is different is not just the color of their skin or the shape of their features; what is different about them is that they are inferior human beings. Sometimes the inferiority is put in religious terms: “They’re not Christians. They’re heathens.”

And sometimes the differences are cast as a matter of intelligence, that the black person is not as intelligent as the white person, or that the black person is more savage and more cruel than the white person, or that black people are cannibals. All sorts of rationales are given for making the slave deserving of slavery—because they’re not simply human beings like the rest of us.

This starts early. It starts with Columbus and the enslavement of Indians, in fact with the people who defended the enslavement of Indians at the time of Columbus— Juan ginés de Sepúlveda, for instance, a Spanish priest who defended the cruel treatment of Indians. He did it by saying, well, they’re simply a different species than we are; they’re not really human beings.

But Las Casas lived among them and knew them and could talk about them. He said, no, they are human beings just like us. In fact, in some ways they’re superior human beings in the way they behave toward one another, their attitude toward acquisition of property, and their belief in sharing things. But it was necessary to create a myth about the inferiority of black people in order to justify enslaving them. And that myth, of course, has persisted for a long time.

There’s no stop of Zinn’s optimism. And it’s simple. It all boils down to the people:

And if we bring these stories to the table, to be presented alongside the victorious generals on horseback, the wise Founding Fathers, and so on, how do we benefit in the twenty-first century from that broader portrait? We benefit by recognizing that, if we’re going to change society, we cannot depend on something created two hundred years ago by the Founding Fathers, and we cannot depend on the people in power.

We cannot depend on the president and Congress and the Supreme Court.

Looking at this long thread of struggle and looking at the way things have changed, we learn that it’s up to us, as citizens. It makes us better citizens. It makes us active citizens, more than voters. It makes us people who day-to-day get together with other people.

It really gives us a new idea of democracy. Democracy does not come from the top. Democracy comes from ordinary people seeing what they have in common and seeing what they are lacking.

When ordinary people get together, they put their energy together. They protest together, they demand things together, they form a movement—and that is how change takes place. That is how we can get closer and closer to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.

He spoke calmly of Andrew Jackson, president McKinley, and Ronald Reagan, and what they truly have done, in comparison of what they spoke.

On terrorism after 9/11:

You note that military forays into adjoining territory and other parts of the world have often been explained to the American people by a threat against our safety, our security, and our prosperity. Would the kind of shift that you’re suggesting in the way the people of this country think about themselves make it less likely that people elsewhere would threaten us?—using as an example the current threat of terrorists attacks against the United States.

This phenomenon of terrorism is very interesting, because it looks like a unique situation. People often say 9/11 changed everything or was a kind of experience that United States has never had. Of course, what happened on September 11, 2001, was unique in the way that all historical events are unique. On the other hand, this phenomenon of fear, which then becomes a justification for aggressive action against another people or another nation—this is something that we have seen again and again. In fact, there was great fear of the Indians and fear of Indian massacres.

Now, the difference between that situation and the present situation is that it was almost impossible to eliminate the clash of two peoples fighting for the same territory. In the case of the United States engaging in wars overseas in order to eliminate the fear of terrorism, this is not an inevitable clash. This is something that can be averted, I think, by very intelligent consideration of where terrorism comes from and what the best remedy is to deal with it.

All of our military action in the Middle East has not stopped terrorism but only inflames people who might become terrorists. The only defense against terrorism is to do something about its roots. And the roots of terrorism, whether we like to acknowledge it or not, are grievances.

Terrorists are reacting to their grievances in an immoral and fanatic way, but the grievances themselves may be genuine, and they may be felt not only by the terrorists, but by millions and millions of other people. If the grievances have some legitimacy to them, then it is our responsibility to address these grievances: to think about withdrawing troops from the Middle East, to think about playing a different role on the question of Israel and Palestine. Just as we have a right to be free from terrorists from the Middle East, the people of the Middle East have a right to be free from a different kind of terrorism—war.

War is terrorism. I say this as a former bombardier in the Air Force, who dropped bombs on other people. Bombs terrorize people. They kill people, and they terrorize them. War is terrorism on a very large scale. In fact, the wars waged by governments are at a level of terrorism far greater than that of any small body like Al Qaeda or the IRA or Palestinian suicide bombers. It’s on a far greater scale than they are capable of. We need to define terrorism in such a way as to see other people as equal to ourselves. So yes, a different view of our history and our policies would make us safer.

He speaks of social change, of Mother Jones, the NAACP, the IWW, of August Spies and Emma Goldman and what they did and what happened to them.

He also spoke well of the importance of critiquing inwards as well as outwards; we can’t miss looking ourselves in the mirror as part of our human process:

Was Hitler evil? Of course, and Mussolini was evil, and the Japanese empire was evil. Yet that should not lead to the acceptance of the huge number of atrocities we committed. And that is what we were doing; we were committing atrocities. We probably killed six hundred thousand ordinary Germans. They weren’t Hitler. They were ordinary Germans. We killed an equal number, probably six hundred thousand Japanese civilians. We killed a hundred thousand ordinary Japanese men, women, and children in Tokyo in one firebombing. When you add all of that up and you say, “Well, but it had to be done because we had to beat Hitler”—I don’t think we can come to that simple a judgment.

He had optimism:

Ray Suarez: The stories you’ve just recounted, and the ones you have spun out from the history of the fifteenth to the twenty-first centuries—do they leave you optimistic about the future of this country?

Howard Zinn: I would be naive if I said I’m confident that this country has a glorious future, based on the past. Nevertheless, the future is open. I would say I’m not optimistic and not pessimistic. I would say I’m cautiously hopeful. I think it depends so much on what people do and how fast and how seriously people organize to change their lives.

But the element of optimism in my feeling comes from faith in people’s essential decency. I don’t think people want war. I don’t think people are born racists. I think people are basically decent, but their decency can be twisted and distorted by people in power who will create reasons for them to go to war, or will persuade them that free-market capitalism is the best system ever devised.

It takes time, but I believe that the truth—even though it emerges only slowly and over a long period—does have a power of its own. And I expect that power to become more and more crucial. I am hopeful that people will turn against the idea of war. I think the point will come when people will finally say, “We can’t go to war anymore. It hasn’t done us any good.”

There are people everywhere who want to see a different kind of world, who want to be at one with their fellow men and women, who think that people in other countries are human beings as we are, and that if somebody is suffering anywhere in the world, we have a responsibility to help them. I believe that that compassion is basic to human nature. And I am counting on that to pull us through.

As it is clear to see, this book is beautiful and very wondrous. It will awaken new minds to discover Howard Zinn, which is more than doing what it should. I recommend this book to all human beings.

[jess ~has abandoned GR~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never before published Howard Zinn? Yes, please.



I first discovered Howard Zinn in my early teenage years and his philosophy of looking at American history through alternative lenses really resonated with me. I daresay I am a kinder and more empathetic person, and certainly a more critical thinker, because of Dr. Zinn.

So this interview, while it doesn't include any groundbreaking or new viewpoints, was a welcome read. It is a good review for those of us who read A People's History a few decades ago and a good primer for those unfamiliar with his work.

Highly recommended for students of American history or human beings in general.

arc received from the publisher

[Randall Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The untold story of the Civil War is that part of the Union Army, instead of fighting the Confederacy, was sent out to take Indian land. More Indian land was taken from them then in any comparable period in American history.” Think Sand Creek Massacre in 1864. In 1885 Senator Dawes, who wrote the Dawes Act, wrote that Native Americans didn’t understand “selfishness”, “There is no selfishness which is at the bottom of civilization.” (Wetiko/Taker culture as civilization). A communal sharing gentle society was what Dawes saw. Today, Howard says, we would call “Indian removal”, ethnic cleansing. Shay’s rebellion was a class conflict (veterans who could not pay high taxes). The Constitution is partly a response to Shay’s Rebellion – the need for a string central government that could raise an army fast against a future rebellion. At the time of the Revolution, “1% of the people in the colonies owned 40% of the wealth.” “It wasn’t ‘We the People’, it was fifty-five rich white men gathered in Philadelphia.” Monopolization of wealth in the US was clearly there at the start and these things weren’t self-correcting, “It is corrected when people organize on behalf of their own needs.”

Cotton Mather says, “God is on the side of the settlers” and John Winthrop, also in Massachusetts, blesses an actual massacre of Native Americans. Teddy Roosevelt officially praised a general for committing an obvious massacre in the Philippines. Under Jackson, anti-slavery literature was banned from Southern mail, as he ignored federal law to give the Southern states what they wanted. There were a huge number of amputations that were carried out during the Civil War, which “took place right there on the field without anesthetics.” Try envisioning that one. Draft rioters in New York were pissed that the wealthy could get out of fighting in the Civil War paying $300. Hayes (Rutherfraud) becomes President in exchange for his pulling troops out of the South: Howard’s translation “the black person was no longer useful to Northern economic and political interests.” But Blacks had had a taste of real freedom during short-lived Reconstruction that would be remembered. Think Henry Turner’s speech in 1868 after forced to leave the Georgia legislature under threat of violence. Julian Bond was also expelled from the Georgia legislature for speaking out against the Vietnam War. The Populist Movement gets eaten by the Democratic Party diverting workers from legitimate strikes and then the Democrats back loser William Jennings Bryan, which killed the People’s Party.

Black soldiers in the Philippine War wondered why they were fighting “for freedom” when back home members of their family were being lynched. U.S. leaders soon realized you didn’t have to invade countries if you controlled their economies. Real American history shows the history of Resistance, without it, you have jingoistic exceptionalism. 2,000 Americans were prosecuted for speaking out against WWI. Eugene Debs was sentenced to prison for ten years for making a single speech in Ohio against the war. Here’s a little pearl you will never see on TV, In WWI, the ratio of civilians to soldiers killed was 10% civilian casualties against 90% military. WWII was 50-50. “Since then, the ratio has gone up to 80% or 85% civilians killed in war.” A U.S. foreign policy that intentionally kills mostly civilians – and zero outcry by the land of so-called Christians? “The Good War” myth surrounding WWII is still used to justify any war today. Every leader the US wants to remove from power illegally is merely branded the next Hitler. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world (2.3 million people in 2008 when the US had 24.7% of the world’s prisoners.) “There are always people who recognize what is wrong and try to do something about it.” Part of the reason for the end of the Vietnam War which the press will never discuss, were “hundreds of fragging incidents, in which GI’s rolled grenades under the tents of their officers.” Even soldiers wearing black armbands in rebellion made a strong silent statement. The Vietnam War had the highest desertion rate. In 1965, 2/3 of Americans supported the war. In 1968, 2/3 of Americans opposed the war.

Teaching history as a story decided by Presidents, military leaders and “important people” is “a crippling of democracy. Democracy requires an active citizenry.” It was the people not our leaders who brought us the eight-hour work day and many other benefits, and they did it by people organizing and creating a power that corporations had to recognize. This book was great because spending ANY amount of time listening to Howard, leads to greater understanding and deeper empathy.

[Elizabeth Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historian Howard Zinn (1922-2010) qualifies as a cultural icon, and as is usually the case that means there are likely as many people who hate him as consider him a hero. His seminal overview of American history, A People’s History of the United States, and its sequel, A Young People’s History of the United States, is either considered desperately needed to counter the accepted narrative on the subject or distorted and misleading propaganda, depending on whom you talk to.

“In the nearly forty years since the first edition of A People’s History of the United States appeared, Zinn’s critics have tried to sandbag him,” says author Ray Suarez in his foreward. “Some complain that his iconoclasm, his tearing down of long-revered heroes, and his corrections to the record leave only a dreary slog through centuries of oppression, struggle, and suffering. Well, a historian’s job is to find out what actually happened.”

In this in-depth interview, done just prior to Zinn’s death in 2010 and scheduled for release in September 2019, Suarez delves into how the historian believes his take on the subject has affected the trajectory of the US, and whether that influence is important.

For those not familiar with Zinn’s work, he views the events we all heard about in school from the standpoint of not the generals, politicians, and plutocrats but the common people. “[Y]es, let’s have heroes,” Zinn tells Suarez, “but let’s look for them in different places than on high in the seats of power where the heroism very often consists of exploiting other people or invading other people or taking advantage of other people.”

Now, as a tiny handful of progressive politicians are rallying the working class to confront the system that has done that for literal centuries, a book like Zinn’s, showing again and again how ordinary people have challenged powers and institutions seemingly unconquerable, and won, is vital. Again and again, the new wave of rebels is told they can’t possibly succeed, that the policies they demand are impossible, that they should be “realistic” and accept what the “more informed” people in power tell them.

Worse, they skillfully turn those who should be working together against one another.

“It’s a very common thing in history that people who are victims will turn upon one another”, Zinn says. “They can’t reach the people who are really responsible for their plight, so they turn on those who are closest to them.”

In those two sentences, Zinn likely explained the phenomenon of Donald Trump’s election. Even now, on social media, the tactic of turning the victims against one another occurs on a daily basis. Likewise, the corporate news media are masters at generating outrage, replacing one incident or individual—preferably both—with a new one as the emotional level declines.

This is an important book for those familiar with Zinn’s work but not the man, and Suarez has done a magnificent job of ensuring we never stray far from the latter. His questions elicit details those of us not privileged to have met Howard Zinn can use to more deeply understand him and, by extension, his work.

“The idea that people make history and can alter its course, that institutions have human origins and can be changed by humans, is truly subversive—and is a central reason [A People’s History of the United States] has drawn the ire of so many censors and would-be censors,” writes Anthony Arnove in his introduction to the 35th Anniversary edition of the book (Harper Perennial Classics, 2015). “Fundamentally, Howard had a confidence in people’s ability to work together and change their circumstances.”

Do get a copy of Truth Has A Power of Its Own when it comes out. Meantime, if you’re part of the New Revolution and haven’t read Zinn’s histories—and I confess I’m among you—get those and discover the history you didn’t hear about. As the battle for the future of both the US and the planet advances toward November 2020, the stories the books tell of success in the face of overwhelming odds will become increasingly necessary for inspiration. Or, as Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, who is one of the few individuals mentioned by Mr. Zinn, said:

“Some day we will have the courage to rise up and strike back at these great ‘giants’ of industry, and then we will see they weren’t ‘giants’ after all—they only seemed to because we were on our knees and they towered above us.”

NOTE: I obtained the book as an advance review copy from the publisher.

[Christen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old interview (from 2006) makes it into an excellent book that becomes a Cliff Note/SparkNotes/Wikipedia of the significant highlights of A People's History. I like this because Zinn can (or through the power of editing) be succinct on significant moments in history that is easy to grasp in just a few paragraphs or pages.

If I was teaching High School History is would be the first source, I would look for quick and easy to understand significant events/movements in history to start the topic.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Ric Eberle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very powerful! Everyone must read A People’s History of the United States and must read this book. I believe it’s imperative if things are ever going to change for the better.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

I did read A People's History of the United States and was hugely impressed - I kept saying, "yes, this makes sense," despite the fact that so much of this history was ignored/glossed over in school as I was growing up. But, fair warning, it is long!

This book is like a taste of that one, much shorter, but still with the essential points being made. It's a series of interviews of Howard Zinn with PBS/NPR journalist Ray Suarez, discussing many of the points made and issues raised in A People's History.

You don't have to have read A People's History to appreciate this book - Zinn's responses are full and coherent on their own. I'll confess I'm biased - I agree with Zinn's position that the history we have learned is "top down," and that we've been taught history from the perspective of the rich and powerful, ignoring the other interests involved. But, even if you don't agree, you should read about and consider the actual events that he discusses, and decide for yourself how they fit into the narrative that you've been taught.

And, as I read, I kept thinking how relevant this all is, despite the fact that these conversations took place in 2006. For instance, discussing the Civil War, he noted that "a working class can be propagandized into a war that is against its interest, and that certainly took place in the South. Then, of course, there is also the race question..." White people could be told that "they were fighting to maintain the position of white supremacy......." despite the fact that they were actually fighting to maintain the economic supremacy of the ruling class in the south. How familiar that seems now!

If nothing else, this book will point out another way of looking at history. And, it may encourage you to dig deeper, by reading A People's History of the United States. And I sincerely hope that the title turns out to be accurate, despite the way things look right now.

[CC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read A People’s History a few years ago, Ray Suarez’s conversation with Howard Zinn in 2007 was a good review of Zinn’s book, encapsulating the ideas that our government systems are not self-correcting—that truth and justice will only cause the system to self-correct if we push them forward. And this pushing is not necessarily done through elections and statesmen but through the people, organizing to create the climate for change.

This book seems particularly timely for today in November of 2024, as we contemplate the consequences of electing—once again—a president who seems intent on dismantling our democratic institutions to the point of rule by authoritarianism, and/or an oligarchy. It’s plain that it must be we the people who will organize and resist if we are to prevail in our democracy where we strive toward a government in which all are equal under the law.

Some of the topics I thought were particularly interesting: Zinn talks about how the powerful entities (corporations, institutions, politicians) work to create division among the less-advantaged groups to keep them focused on scapegoating each other rather than blaming the real culprits—the powerful ones-- for their struggles. This made me think of Trevor Noah’s book Born a Crime, where he points out that the breakdown of apartheid did not cure the problems of the many groups of poor people; they were kept at odds with each other in a caste system divided by language and demographics. The same thing happens here, particularly now, with so much disinformation promulgated efficiently through social media.

Zinn focuses on resistance that has always been a part of our culture. The Revolutionary War, the Civil War, both world wars—all had their groups that resisted. Each side in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War had dissenters on both sides. We were not as unified as our history books would indicate.

Zinn points out the imperial nature of our country that is important to keep in context as we study the development of our nation. The US has been a colonizing country for just about as long as we’ve existed, but more so starting in 1899 as we acquired the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. We don’t learn much about our country’s history as an empire and a colonizer in our history classes. But this information is essential to understanding many of the major events of the last couple of centuries.

Certain myths need to be examined. Christopher Columbus, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and many other historical figures—are all characters that warrant closer, more nuanced study. Lesser known characters should be included in our history teaching so that students absorb the idea that ordinary people can and do make a great difference to affect change for the better. Zinn highlights Mother Jones (Mary Jones), a fiery speaker who organized miners in West Virginia and Colorado, and fought against child labor.

One thought-provoking point he made was that people, even in this wealthiest country in the world, people continue to live in poverty. "This country has the wealth to take care of everybody, to give everybody free health care, free university education, good housing. But it doesn't do that, and this is probably in part because of the existence of this contented middle class." Contented (complacent) people will not be motivated to rise up to rock the boat for change, even when it's clear that a portion of our citizens are clearly struggling. Today, the middle class seems to be shrinking. Shockingly, 70% of families live paycheck to paycheck. Many can't afford to buy a home and they struggle to buy groceries. Many people voted for Donald Trump, believing that he would (somehow) bring prices down. If this doesn't happen, I wonder how they'll respond.

Zinn questions the purpose and needs for armed conflict. He himself was a bombardier in WWII. When he read interviews about people who had been victims of the bombing in Hiroshima, he was horrified to learn of the tragic maiming and long-term disabilities that the people endured. He cited some daunting statistics: “The ratio of civilians killed to military personnel killed has risen constantly since WWII.” WWI—90% military to 10% civilian; WWII—50/50 military to civilians. Since then, the ratio has gone up to 80-85% civilians killed in war. This is crazy. He says, “We can no longer accept war as a way of solving problems. In fact, you might say that this is the great challenge before the human race in our time: how to solve problems of tyranny, aggression, and injustice without killing huge numbers of people…War is a poisoning of the mind. War poisons everybody who is engaged in it.”

Above all, Zinn wants us to be hopeful and know that the organized people are the agents for change. His final words: “I believe that compassion is basic to human nature. And I’m counting on that to pull us through.”

Howard Zinn died in 2010, and this interview took place in 2007. I would love to hear his thoughts on our world today.

[Jordan Stivers · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an age of fake news, rewritten history, and political spin, historian Howard Zinn reminds us of the importance of truth and how ignoring it sets us up as a civilization to remain broken and ignorant. Zinn's A People's History of the United States was a formative book for me. As an older teen contemplating a university history degree, it revolutionized how I viewed my nation's past as he highlighted the lies and exposed the truths behind our collective mythology around our so-called greats and their triumphs. His words influenced how I came to view my path as a budding historian: I wanted to be a truth seeker.

Zinn continues with his honest and at times painful critique of American history in this amazing series of interviews. The interviewer asks questions in a perfect way to set up Zinn's thoughts and it reads easily, like a conversation between two educated friends. It's the sort of book that's revolutionary only if you process it and are willing to pull down your own guards of what you think you know. The format is easily digestible even for those with only a fleeting interest in history but history lovers like me will be enthralled by its frankness. I would absolutely recommend this book to any reader but particularly American readers will feel the weight of Zinn's words and his charge to us as citizens going forward.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher The New Press, and the author Ray Suarez as well as Howard Zinn for the opportunity to do so.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on a set of edited 2007 interviews between Howard Zinn and Ray Suarez. Howard Zinn was a premier historian of American history and labeled as anti-American by his adversaries. He's particularly well known for A People's History of the United States, which documents first contact with Europeans through the 20th century from the point of view of the oppressed, with an emphasis on civil rights and labor history. This was my senior year history textbook, and I'm grateful for Mr. Zinn (no relation) who assigned it.

Howard Zinn is a phenomenal writer, and I found these short questions an even more compelling format for his arguments. This collection follows a simple Q&A format. I've read through A People's History of the United States several times, which is quite an endeavor. This felt like a good summary of the main points with some particularly inspiring passages at the end. It's quite short and accessible, so I might recommend it to people as an entry point into Zinn (or for students looking for a Cliff's Notes version).

One of my favorite passages against American exceptionalism: "We have to start thinking of America as one among many, as a nation of people equal to other peoples but not superior to them. What that would do, aside from being an enormous psychological change for Americans, would be to bring about an honest recognition of who we are and what are limitations are, without denigrating ourselves."

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally conducted as a documentary film, Ray Suarez engaged in conversation with Howard Zinn, Historian and activist,author of the groundbreaking People's History of the United States.

The Conversations are wide ranging covering multiple points and moments in American History from the perspective of the every man who fought against both the government and corporations who sought to limit freedom in exchange for greater profit, often at the expense of the under-served, under represented, and discriminated against.

A primer for today about the importance of the individual to rise up in Civil disobedience against a corrupt government or corporation.

as one reviewer says- Buy (or borrow) it for the rabble rouser in your life.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember watching these interviews when Mr. Suarez was on The NewsHour in PBS. That’s when Jim Lehrer was reading the names of dead soldiers at the end of the broadcast, once a week
I’ve read A People’s’ History twice and after watching Mr. Suarez on Christmas Hedges’ “On Contact”, I read this book.
Reading this, I was struck by how much else I had read about some of the topics discussed, since that interview; so I kinda filled in the unmentionables .
One tiny lil critique; near the ending, the last few pages seemed to be spotting / covering on all the social issues talking points , reading sound bites is what it seemed like Although, In sure it had to do with time constraints on the telecast.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History many years ago and had my eyes opened I have been a fan of his writing. I jumped at the chance to read the ARC copy of Truth Has a Power of it’s Own. As other reviewers have said the content is not fresh but is similar to what has been written before. It might, as a slimmer volume, be a great introduction to those who are new to Zinn’s writing. This or other of his work ought to be read by every college student to balance out the varying degrees of whitewashed history we all experience up though high school here in the US.
#TruthHasApowerOfItsOwn #NetGalley

[Sue Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Zinn's The People's History of the United States last year for a class. It's a deep-drive into over 400 years of history that we did not learn in American History classes. The Truth Has a Power of Its Own is a much slimmed down version of many of the areas and struggles touched on in his original book. It's quite readable with an interview Q&A response. For me it was an excellent refresher, but it would also serve as an introduction or condensed version of the ideas and events from the original book.

[Sam Motes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would love to have Zinn’s voice in today’s political and social conversations. In this work we get to hear a conversation with Zinn and Suarez in which Zinn pours out his thoughts and heart for the listener. It is hard not to get motivated as Zinn shares history from the perspective of the down trodden and common person rather than the powers that be. It would be nice to think that since Zinn has been gone for over 10 years now this would be a dated read however Zinn’s voice is a prescient today as it ever was given many of the same battles are still being fought.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard Zinn was one of the greatest minds of my generation and he is sorely missed (he died in 2010). This book is an interview with Zinn by Ray Suarez, asking essentially for a condensed version of A People's History of the United States (probably his most famous work). Zinn's compassion, critical thinking and astute powers of observation come through clearly in this book. He offers a decisive argument for radical direct action.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much wisdom packed into this slim book!

I love the concept that being an active citizen requires viewing history and the United States through a critical lens. I also love how Zinn is so fervently anti-war.

My other favorite part of this book is the way Zinn emphasizes the way people have always resisted, rebelled, and organized to overcome those in power. “Truth has a power of its own…organization, persistence, moral fervor, commitment—those are elements of a different kind of power…”

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book! A wide ranging interview with Howard Zinn and his analysis of US History, true heroes, and glossed over events in America’s history. Oddly uplifting, the message is in the power of people to organize and hold government to its ideals (since they won’t do it themselves) and the power of truth. Recommended for every citizen!

[Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. It's a short, quick read. Just a collection of interview questions and Zinn's answers, so it's kind of sporadic and there are a couple of repeated things. But it's still excellent. Like being a fly on the wall during their conversation. It's a book I think everyone should read and would be a great book to gift because it's so readable and has such great insight.

[Michael Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of conversations with historian Howard Zinn expanding on topics discussed in his classic book A People’s History Of The United States. While it’s obviously recommended to be familiar with APHOTUS to get the most out of these conversations, it still works as an engaging and thoughtful provoking series of conversations.

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Truth Has Power Of It’s Own” is so powerful. I was incredibly moved. I highly recommend everyone to read this. I can’t properly put it into words, but Howard Zinn knows how to give the world the truth we need. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.

[Kent Winward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice interview introduction to Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

[RACHEL · Rating 4 out of 5]

These interviews provide a brief, sweeping look at history of the United States (earlier as well) with Zinn as our tour guide and clarion call to learn more of our complex history and therefore better able to build our future together.

My copy was a gift through Goodreads First Reads.

[Rye · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Democrats and Republicans, even though they rival one another for political power, will fundamentally act to maintain the control of the society by the wealthy and the privileged."

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reflections….

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. It's Howard Zinn. What else is there to say?

[Russ Kaminski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free as part of a Goodreads Giveaway.

It’s a casual read that summarizes and emphasizes the points that Zinn made in the past. The topics meander along the past 500 years or so, more or less in chronological order.

I wasn’t sure if publishing this was necessary, but the more I read the more I realized how Zin is still relevant. These interviews were from 2007, and they cover the same ideas of protest, taxation, and healthcare that are in the mainstream political conversation.

It does fall into the same rhythm that People’s History did, with Zinn asserting his ideas in a matter-of-fact way. Here, Ray Suarez asks questions and occasionally challenges Zinn, but for the most part he’s in agreement and is just along for the ride. But I’m already a fan of Zinn, so I was happy to come along too. If you take issues with Zinn’s ideas, then this book probably won’t do anything to change your mind.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives readers insights in the inner workings of the mind of one of America's foremost historians and critical thinkers, the late, great Howard Zinn. In "Truth Has a Power of Its Own" Zinn's provocative conversations with Ray Suarez challenge us to take a second, third and maybe even fourth look at the US and the world that we think we know. Zinn speaks about history and foreign policy with such an ease and candor that it doesn't feel too academic or heavy. Reading these conversations makes one feel as if they're in the room listening to the conversation. Highly recommended for any student of history or anyone interested in history from the perspective of the oppressed and downtrodden.