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Howard Zinn was perhaps the best-known and most widely celebrated popular interpreter of American history in the twentieth century, renowned as a bestselling author, a political activist, a lecturer, and one of America’s most recognizable and admired progressive voices.
His rich, complicated, and fascinating life placed Zinn at the heart of the signal events of modern American history—from the battlefields of World War II to the McCarthy era, the civil rights and the antiwar movements, and beyond. A bombardier who later renounced war, a son of working-class parents who earned a doctorate at Columbia, a white professor who taught at the historically black Spelman College in Atlanta, a committed scholar who will be forever remembered as a devoted “people’s historian”—Howard Zinn blazed a bold, iconoclastic path through the turbulent second half of the twentieth century.
For the millions who were moved by Zinn’s personal example of political engagement and by his inspiring “bottom up” history, here is the first biography of this towering figure—by Martin Duberman, recipient of the American Historical Association’s 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award. Given exclusive access to the previously closed Zinn archives, Duberman’s impeccably researched biography is illustrated with never-before-published photos from the Zinn family collection. Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left is a major publishing event that brings to life one of the most inspiring figures of our time.
"Destined to be a classic."
—Mark Kurlansky
"If you’re a fan of Howard Zinn… you’ll want to pick up this excel-lent biography."
—The Progressive
"A masterful biography… With his typically meticulous research, [Duberman] has ferretted out the facts and given us a complete picture, warts and all."
—Doug Ireland
Martin Duberman is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History at the CUNY Graduate School, where he founded and for a decade directed the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies. The author of more than twenty books, Duberman has won a Bancroft Prize and been a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in New York City.
Author's Note xi
1 The Early Years 1
2 Spelman 29
3 The Black Struggle I 71
4 The Black Struggle II 95
5 The War in Vietnam 129
6 Writing History 155
7 Silber Versus Zinn 181
8 A People's History 215
9 The Eighties 239
10 The Nineties 263
11 Final Years 285
Notes on Sources/Acknowledgments 319
Notes 321
Index 345
KateInOhio
Posted December 28, 2012
Especially for those of us who missed much of Zinn's work in the 60's and 70's, this is a very insightful walk through his life and his work. I appreciate the care taken in presenting his deep thinking and the criticisms of his work as well. This book has been my favorite winter reading!
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Overview
Howard Zinn was perhaps the best-known and most widely celebrated popular interpreter of American history in the twentieth century, renowned as a bestselling author, a political activist, a lecturer, and one of America’s most recognizable and admired progressive voices.
His rich, complicated, and fascinating life placed Zinn at the heart of the signal events of modern American history—from the battlefields of World War II to the McCarthy era, the civil rights and the antiwar ...