A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
by Howard Zinn
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Description
A collection of essays on American history, race, class, justice, and ordinary people who stand up to power. Howard Zinn approaches the telling of U.S. history from an active, engaged point of view, drawing upon untold histories to comment on the most controversial issues facing us today: government dishonesty, terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the loss of our liberties, immigration, and the responsibility of the citizen to confront power for the common good. This book is an show more invaluable post-9/11-era addition to the themes that run through Zinn's bestselling classic, A People's History of the United States.--From publisher description. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Zinn, as ever, nails it. Nails what? Inspiration. Motivation.
In this work, Zinn covers the history of social movements in the US, with brief asides focusing on social movements in other countries. Once again, he makes history relevant to our modern times. Here's a few excerpts that speak much louder, and much more eloquently, than any review I could pen:
"Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can suppress, a power that can show more transform the world."
"The real heroes are not on national television or in the headlines. They are the nurses, the doctors, the teachers, the social workers, the community organizers, the hospital orderlies, the construction workers, the people who keep the society going, who help people in need. They are the advocates for the homeless, the students asking a living wage for the campus janitors, the environmental activists trying to protect the trees, the air, the water. And they are the protesters against war, the apostles of peace in a world going mad with violence." show less
In this work, Zinn covers the history of social movements in the US, with brief asides focusing on social movements in other countries. Once again, he makes history relevant to our modern times. Here's a few excerpts that speak much louder, and much more eloquently, than any review I could pen:
"Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can suppress, a power that can show more transform the world."
"The real heroes are not on national television or in the headlines. They are the nurses, the doctors, the teachers, the social workers, the community organizers, the hospital orderlies, the construction workers, the people who keep the society going, who help people in need. They are the advocates for the homeless, the students asking a living wage for the campus janitors, the environmental activists trying to protect the trees, the air, the water. And they are the protesters against war, the apostles of peace in a world going mad with violence." show less
Another amazing addition to the library of a Zinn fan. This book's message of civil disobedience and civil activism played a vital role in my formative years. A great read!
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Author Information
83+ Works 26,050 Members
A committed radical historian and activist, Howard Zinn approaches the study of the past from the point of view of those whom he feels have been exploited by the powerful. Zinn was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1922. After working in local shipyards during his teens, he joined the U.S. Army Air Force, where he saw combat as a bombardier in World show more War II. He received a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University in 1958 and was a postdoctoral fellow in East Asian studies at Harvard University. While teaching at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, Zinn joined the civil rights movement and wrote The Southern Mystique (1964) and SNCC: The New Abolitionists (1964). He also became an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, writing Vietnam: The Logic of Withdrawal (1967) and visiting Hanoi to receive the first American prisoners released by the North Vietnamese. Zinn's best-known and most-praised work, as well as his most controversial, is A People's History of the United States (1980). It explores American history under the thesis that most historians have favored those in power, leaving another story untold. Zinn discusses such topics as Native American views of Columbus and the socialist and anarchist opposition to World War I in examining his theory that historical change is most often due to "mass movements of ordinary people." Zinn's other books include You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times (1995) and Artists in Times of War (2004). He has also written the plays Emma (1976), Daughter of Venus (1985), and Marx in Soho (1999). (Bowker Author Biography) Howard Zinn grew up in the immigrant slums of Brooklyn, where he worked in shipyards in his late teens. He saw combat duty as an air force bombardier in World War II, and afterward received his doctorate in history from Columbia University. His first book, "La Guardia in Congress", was an Albert Beveridge Prize winner. In 1956, he moved with his wife and children to Atlanta to become chairman of the history department of Spelman College. He has since written and edited many more books, including A People's History of the United States, SNCC: The New Abolitionist; Disobedience and Democracy; The Politics of History; The Pentagon Papers: Critical Essays; You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times; and The Zinn Reader (Seven Stories Press, 1997). Zinn is also the author of three plays, Emma, Daughter of Venus, and Marx in Soho. Among the many honors Zinn has received is the 1998 Lannan Literary Award for nonfiction. A professor emeritus of political science at Boston University, he lives with his wife, Roslyn, in the Boston area, near their children and grandchildren. (Publisher Provided) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2006-12-01
- People/Characters
- Eugene V. Debs; Ferdinando Nicola Sacco (as Nicola Sacco); Henry David Thoreau; Bartolomeo Vanzetti
- Epigraph
- While there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. — Eugene Debs
When the subject has refused allegiance, and the officer has resigned his office, then the revolution is accomplished. — Henry David Thoreau
But remember always, Dante, in this play of happiness, don't you use all for yourself only... help the persecuted and the victim because they are your better friends... In this struggle of life you will find more love and you... (show all) will be loved. — Nicola Sacco - First words
- America's future is linked to how we understand our past.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.
- Blurbers
- Moore, Michael; Kozol, Jonathan; Vonnegut, Kurt; Lerner, Michael
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government, History, Philosophy
- DDC/MDS
- 306.20973 — Society, Government, and Culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social Behavior - Dating, Marriage, Divorce Political institutions Biography And History Political sociology--United States
- LCC
- E178.6 .Z56 — History of the United States United States History General
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 356
- Popularity
- 87,916
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.23)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
