Most Popular Books by Howard Zinn

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."

This "brilliant and moving history of the American people" ("Library Journal") presents more than 500 years of American social and cultural history, going well beyond the wars and presidencies contained in traditional texts to tell the stories of working men and women. Abridged for use in the classroom.

This updated companion to Howard Zinn''s classic A People''s History of the United States (Harper Perennial, 2005) brings together the powerful words and actions of women and men of all races and creeds who, though mostly powerless themselves, have made change in America across the centuries. The original source book for Matt Damon''s ''The People Speak'' series on The History Channel, this classic work from Zinn is a major new release.

Adapted from the bestselling grassroots history of the United States, the story of America in the world, told in comics form Since its landmark publication in 1980, A People''s History of the United States has had six new editions, sold more than 1.7 million copies, become required classroom reading throughout the country, and been turned into an acclaimed play. More than a successful book, A People''s History triggered a revolution in the way history is told, displacing the official versions with their emphasis on great men in high places to chronicle events as they were lived, from the bottom up. Now Howard Zinn, historian Paul Buhle, and cartoonist Mike Konopacki have collaborated to retell, in vibrant comics form, a most immediate and relevant chapter of A People''s History: the centuries-long story of America''s actions in the world. Narrated by Zinn, this version opens with the events of 9/11 and then jumps back to explore the cycles of U.S. expansionism from Wounded Knee to Iraq, stopping along the way at World War I, Central America, Vietnam, and the Iranian revolution. The book also follows the story of Zinn, the son of poor Jewish immigrants, from his childhood in the Brooklyn slums to his role as one of America''s leading historians. Shifting from world-shattering events to one family''s small revolutions, A People''s History of American Empire presents the classic ground-level history of America in a dazzling new form.

"Howard Zinn there was no one like him. And to hear him speak was like listening to music that you loved lyrical, uplifting, honest." Michael Moore "Zinn''s speeches . . . are a joy and an inspiration." Marisa Tomei "Collected here for the first time, Howard''s speeches come to us at the moment when we need them most: just as a global network of popular uprisings searches for what comes next." Naomi Klein Howard Zinn was one of the great orators of the twentieth century and illuminated our history like no other historian. He rarely spoke from notes, and yet could weave rich historical narratives that inspired and captivated audiences. He could grab the attention of even the most jaded students and charm listeners with his sharp humor and personal, engaging style. Many of his speeches have never been published in book form. This first ever collection of his speeches will be an invaluable resource for new generations to continue to discover his work, as well as the millions he moved and informed in his lifetime. Howard Zinn wrote the classic A People''s History of the United States. The book, which has sold more than two million copies, has been featured in the film Good Will Hunting, and has appeared multiple times on The New York Times best-seller list. Anthony Arnove wrote, directed, and produced The People Speak with Howard Zinn, Chris Moore, Josh Brolin, and Matt Damon, and co-edited, with Howard Zinn, Voices of a People''s History of the United States.

Beacon Press is proud to publish a new edition of the classic memoir by one of our most lively, influential, and engaged teachers and activists. Howard Zinn, author of A People''s History of the United States, tells his personal stories about more than thirty years of fighting for social change, from teaching at Spelman College to recent protests against war. A former bombardier in WWII, Zinn emerged in the civil rights movement as a powerful voice for justice. Although he''s a fierce critic, he gives us reason to hope that by learning from history and engaging politically, we can make a difference in the world.

Perhaps no other historian has had a more profound and revolutionary impact on American education than Howard Zinn. This is the first book devoted to his views on education and its role in a democratic society. Howard Zinn on Democratic Education describes what is missing from school textbooks and in classrooms-and how we move beyond these deficiencies to improve student education. Critical skills of citizenship are insufficiently developed in schools, according to Zinn. Textbooks and curricula must be changed to transcend the recitation of received wisdom too common today in schools. In these respects, recent Bush Administration and educational policies of most previous US presidents have been on the wrong track in meeting educational needs. This book seeks to redefine national goals at a time when public debates over education have never been more polarised--nor higher in public visibility and contentious debate. Zinn''s essays on education-many never before published--are framed in this book by a dialogue between Zinn and Donaldo Macedo, a distinguished critic of literacy and schooling, whose books with Paulo Freire, Noam Chomsky and other authors have received international acclaim.

Truth—as Zinn shows us in the interviews that make up Terrorism and War—has indeed been the first casualty of war, starting from the beginnings of American empire in the Spanish-American War. But war has many other casualties, he argues, including civil liberties on the home front and human rights abroad. In Terrorism and War, Zinn explores the growth of the American empire, as well as the long tradition of resistance in this country to U.S. militarism, from Eugene Debs and the Socialist Party during World War One to the opponents of U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan today.

A collection of essays on the theme of war from America''s most respected historian and author of ''A People''s History of the United States'' (HarperCollins). Topics covered include the Vietnam War, World War II, the recent wars against Iraq and in Kosovo, and the meaning of war generally in a world that has so far proven unable to overcome its primitive predilection for destroying its neighbour. ''Professor Zinn writes with an enthusiasm rarely encountered in the leaden prose of academic history.'' New York Times Book Review

Howard Zinn’s best-selling classic A People’s History of the United States revolutionized the literature of America’s history by allowing everyday citizens to tell the story of a nation in their own words. Containing just the 20th century chapters from A People’s History, The Twentieth Century features a comprehensive overview of the last hundred years. From the closing of the Western Frontier to the “War on Terror,” The Twentieth Century is an invaluable guide to one of the most remarkable periods in human history. Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was a historian, playwright, and activist. He wrote the classic A People’s History of the United States, which has sold more than two million copies and was featured in a documentary on the History Channel. His other writings include the play “Marx in Soho” and his autobiography You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train. He received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs award for his writing and political activism. “Professor Zinn writes with an enthusiasm rarely encountered in the leaden prose of academic history...” — Eric Foner, New York Times Book Review

Why Howard Zinn has become one of the most important and influential American historians is perhaps nowhere more evident than in this new book. Few social critics have been as inspiring as the ever-hopeful Zinn and, unlike many historians, Zinn turns historical details toward deeper observations on the universal truths and struggles of humankind. His remarkable wisdom and insight can be found in his earliest writings through his latest essays, speeches, and plays. Uncommon Sense brings together his most poignant and profound quotations from decades of writing and speaking. The book reveals the philosophical side of Howard Zinn and a consistency of vision over 50 years on topics ranging from government to race, history, law, civil disobedience, and activism. Offering quotations of universal and timeless quality, the book shows why history will regard this historian as a political and moral philosopher in the company of Paine, Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, and Martin Luther King Jr.

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.

Howard Zinn''s history tells the story of the United States from the point of view of women, Native Americans, workers, blacks and Latinos. It serves to remind generations of Americans that democracy is fundamentally a conversation between people, one that has always been led by working people and those with the least to lose.