Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology
by Howard Zinn
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Howard Zinn was an amazing person, and I'm glad I still have some works of his to keep discovering. I love how this book points out the hypocrisy of mainstream (Go USA, Capitalism Rules!) rhetoric. The media isn't unbiased, there are no just wars, democracy in our country is reserved for the rich, and the first amendment is only valid if you have money and support the status quo.
Another Zinn classic.
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Author Information
83+ Works 26,071 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
Awards and Honors
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology
- Original title
- Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology
- Original publication date
- 1990
- Important places
- USA
- First words
- The idea, which entered Western consciousness several centuries ago, that black people are less than human, made possible the Atlantic slave trade, during which possibly 40 million people died.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Politics and Government, General Nonfiction, Philosophy
- DDC/MDS
- 320.5 — Society, government, & culture Political science Types of Government Political ideologies
- LCC
- E839.5 .Z55 — History of the United States United States Later twentieth century, 1961-2000 Political history
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 453
- Popularity
- 67,257
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.96)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 2
