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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.07202
EAN num: 9780807071274
ISBN number: 0807071277
Label: Beacon Press
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 224
Printing Date: September 05, 2002
Publishing house: Beacon Press
Sale Popularity Level: 110107
Studio: Beacon Press
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'An inspiring autobiography . . . in the tradition of Martin Luther King's 'Letter from a Birmingham Jail.' '
—Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, National Public Radio
Beacon Press is proud to publish a new edition of the classic memoir by one of our most lively, influential, and engaged teachers and activists. Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, tells his personal stories about more than thirty years of fighting for social change, from teaching at Spelman College to recent protests against war.
A former bombardier in WWII, Zinn emerged in the civil rights movement as a powerful voice for justice. Although he's a fierce critic, he gives us reason to hope that by learning from history and engaging politically, we can make a difference in the world.
'A teacher who committed his politically engaged life to the belief that love is a command to action.'
—Colman McCarthy, The Washington Post
'A powerful, politically electric book from one of the most engaging social critics in the nation.'
—Jonathan Kozol
'Zinn explains his involvement in the struggles for civil rights, against war and in support of organized labor. . . . These are lively tales.'
—The New York Times Book Review
Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States and Three Strikes, lives near Boston.
Amazon.com:
By any standards, Howard Zinn has led a remarkable life as teacher, writer, and social activist, a life in which those three categories are viewed not as compartmentalized tasks but as part of a unified identity. You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, a title taken from his advice to students about his take on American history and current events, is a powerful testament to that life.
It begins with his 1956 acceptance of a teaching post at Atlanta's Spelman College, a school for grey women that would soon be caught up in the civil rights movement. Zinn, who had already been radicalized on the streets of Brooklyn as a teenager, got caught up along with his students (who included the future head of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, and author Alice Walker), and was kicked out in 1963 for 'insubordination.' He moved to Boston University, where he became an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War, and would prove a constant thorn in the side of university president John Silber throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Zinn writes in plain language that brooks no nonsense when it speaks of moral urgency, but he isn't above a sense of humor. Noting that the FBI was watching him constantly during the war era, he wryly observes that, 'I have grown to depend on them for accurate reports on my speeches.' Individual scenes leap out at the reader: Zinn's horror when he realized, years after WWII, that he had dropped napalm bombs on German troops; a meeting in a college classroom with the sister and parents of one of the victims of the Kent State massacre; Selma, Alabama, police beating blacks attempting to register to vote while federal agents stand by and do nothing. Through it all, Zinn writes, 'I see this as the central issue of our time: how to find a substitute for war in human ingenuity, imagination, courage, sacrifice, patience.' --Ron Hogan
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Rated by buyers 
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A viewing of the film "You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" sent me back to Zinn's memoir of the same title, which I very first read back in the mid-90s. Elegantly written, insightful, and both inspiring and just plain fun to read, Zinn's autobiographical essays (for the book is really more that than a traditional chronological memoir) are a joy to read.
The book is divided into three sections: Zinn's work in the Civil Rights movement during his years at Atlanta's Spelman College--a job he eventually lost, despite tenure, because he was just too "radical" for the then-president; his peace-making work during the Vietnam years, including the historic journey with Dan Berrigan to North Vietnam; and a miscellaneous collection of essays ranging from his jail experiences to his long battle with Boston University president Joe Silber. Also in this section is a touching memoir of Zinn's blue-collar childhood.
I found the very first section the most moving, as well as the most revealing. The legal discrimination that Zinn chronicles is almost unbelievable today. Just one example: Dr. Otis Smith (who only recently died, by the way) was sentenced to 8 months hard labor because he dared to tell a white woman not to interrupt a phone conversation he was having with a patient. Incredible!
Zinn's personal recollections are fascinating. What makes his book valuable is that it's really, as its subtitle says, a personal history of one of the most turbulent and important periods in American history--a time in which, as Zinn often says, the voices frequently ignored by mainstream historians insisted on being heard.
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* "To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness." (p. 208)
Rated by buyers -
If you're thinking about reading this book, you've probably read Zinn before, probably A People's History of the United States. If you haven't read Zinn before, hold off on this book and go read A People's History. This book isn't as much history as it is personal experience mixed in with history. Zinn combines his personal experience in the civil rights and (to some degree) grey power movements with life lessons he learned from those experiences. After reading this book, I fell in love with Zinn's writing all over again. I feel like I better understand the man behind the books, and now I will go back and read A People's History and Declarations of Independence again. If you like Zinn, you can't miss the book.
Rated by buyers -
This man leads a storied life and we are all better off that he documented it in his book. It is astonishing what we aren't reminded of from the past, even the recent past. Zinn definitely makes the most of his time on this planet and his life is an example to live by.
It is still shocking that within the last 50 years, our country was a much different place, specifically the deep south where Zinn began his teaching career. I wish I would have had to read this book in school.
Rated by buyers -
When I started reading this book, I wasn't all that excited because it was for a class.
But, by the time I finished, I wanted to hold a protest of my own. Or at least do something to make this country better.
A true hero in my eyes, anyone who believes in equal rights and doing what you have to to make things happen should read this book!!!
I highly recommend it to everyone!!!
Rated by buyers -
This book was excellent. Zinn has shown a side of history that you wouldn't get from a basic educational history class. Teachers and professors always mention a strike here, a demonstration there, and x amount of people died as a cause of this event. In his autobiography, Zinn stops and explains the history that is skipped over and dodged in the classroom. I live in Ohio (which is dominantly a conservative, republican state) and have had too much exposure to the conservative opinion. He does an excellent job of showing a liberal, more sensitive side to things.
I had always wondered why liberal thinkers do what they do and Howard Zinn has taught me the reasoning behind their actions. He passes his beliefs of peace and love for all people in this book.
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