Howard Zinn on History brings together twenty-seven short writings—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— 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. [Publisher’s description.]
Published by Seven Stories Press, 2001; updated 2013.
Previous Editions
Table of Contents
Howard Zinn, Historian by Staughton Lynd • p. 7
- Freedom Schools (1964) • p. 19
- Nonviolent Direct Action (1966) • p. 33
- Historian as Citizen (1966) • p. 43
- The New Radicalism (1969) • p. 51
- The Uses of Scholarship (1969) • p. 69
- Jack London’s T1e Iron Heel (1971) • p. 81
- The Marines and the University (1972) • p. 91
- The Spirit of Rebellion (1975) • p. 107
- Beyond Voting (1976) • p. 111
- Secrecy, Archives, and the Public Interest (1977) • p. 115
- A University Should Not Be a Democracy” (1980) • p. 131
- Discovering John Reed (1982) • p. 145
- “Je Ne Suis Pas Marxiste” (1988) • p. 155
- Failure to Quit (1990) • p. 161
- How Free is Higher Education? (1991) • p. 169
- Columbus and Western Civilization (1992) • p. 179
- The Optimism of Uncertainty (1993) • p. 205
- The New History (1996) • p. 211
- On Presidential Liars (1998) • p. 215
- Eugene Debs and the Idea of Socialism (1999) • p. 219
- Words of Encouragement (1999) • p. 225
- Respecting the Holocaust (1999) • p. 229
- A Little Disquisition on Big Government (1999) • p. 235
- The Great Silence (2000) • p. 241
- Seattle: A Flash of the Possible (2000) • p. 247
- The Greatest Generation? (2001) • p. 251
- The Limits of Denial (2002) • p. 257
- America’s Blinders (2006) • p. 261
- Beyond the New Deal (2008) • p. 269
- Empire or Humanity? What the Classroom Didn’t Teach Me about the American Empire (2008) • p. 273
