“That chain of relationships made me think of how connections are made--you read a book, you meet a person, you have a single experience, and your life is changed in some way. No act, therefo...”
Work
"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.
Quotes
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Howard Zinn
Canonical work source
“That chain of relationships made me think of how connections are made--you read a book, you meet a person, you have a single experience, and your life is changed in some way. No act, therefo...”
“Education becomes most rich and alive when it confronts the reality of moral conflict in the world.”
“But human beings are not machines, and however powerful the pressure to conform, they sometimes are so moved by what they see as injustice that they dare to declare their independence. In th...”
“There is a power that can be created out of pent-up indignation, courage, and the inspiration of a common cause, and that if enough people put their minds and bodies into that cause, they ca...”
“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.”
“The willingness to undertake such action cannot be based on certainties, but on those possibilities glimpsed in a reading of history different from the customary painful recounting of human...”
“I had always insisted that a good education was a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, that each enriched the other. I wanted my students to know that the accumulatio...”