A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present

Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn grew up in Brooklyn in a working-class, immigrant household. At the age of 18 he became a shipyard worker and three years later joined the Air Force. He flew bomber missions during World War II, after which he returned to Brooklyn, got married, and occupied a basement apartment. His experiences in the shipyard and in the Air Force helped shape his opposition to war and passion for history.

He went to college under the GI Bill and received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University. He taught at Spelman College, where he served as an advisor to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and worked with young Civil Rights Movement activists, including Alice Walker and Marian Wright Edelman. He was fired from Spelman for his support of the students. (He returned in 2005 to give the commencement address.)

Zinn led antiwar protests, went to Vietnam with Daniel Berrigan, and testified in Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers trial. His politically engaged life brought him into many arenas: imprisonment for civil disobedience, fights for open debate in universities, and activist work from the Vietnam era to the present.

Zinn is the author of dozens of books, including the classic A People's History of the United States and Declarations of Independence. His essays have appeared in more than 20 books, and his plays include Emma, Unsafe Distances, and Marx in Soho.

Zinn's life is also the subject of an award-winning documentary, narrated by actor Matt Damon, titled Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train. Featuring rare archival materials and interviews with Zinn and colleagues such as Noam Chomsky, You Can't Be Neutral captures the essence of this extraordinary man who has been a catalyst for progressive change for more than 60 years.

Zinn has lectured extensively across the United States as well as in Asia, Africa, and Europe. He was a visiting professor at the University of Paris and the University of Bologna (Fulbright Distinguished Professor).

Zinn has won numerous awards, including the Albert J. Beveridge Prize from the American Historical Association, the Thomas Merton Award, the Eugene V. Debs Award, the Upton Sinclair Award, the Lannan Literary Award, and the Havens Center Award for Lifetime Contribution to Critical Scholarship. His best-known work, A People's History of the United States, earned the New England Book Award for nonfiction and was nominated for an American Book Award.

The stories of the people and events that inspire Zinn's faith in the possibility of historic change are woven through his books and public speaking as he discusses the need for a critical understanding of our history and the daily events that shape all of our lives.