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Bezig met laden... Zinn For Beginners (For Beginners (Steerforth Press))door David Cogswell
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Zinn For Beginners describes the life and work of the most vital historian of our time. Howard Zinn led a revolution in the writing of history by telling the story not from the standpoint of conquerors and rulers, but from the side of the ordinary people who always bear the brunt of the ambitions of tyrants. Zinn tells the story of Columbus' discovery of America from the standpoint of the native people whose hands Columbus cut off to terrorize them into giving him gold. He tells the story of the Civil War not from the point of view of the great generals who directed the slaughter, but from that of the slaves and from the ordinary people who gave up their lives in the struggle. It tells of the Spanish-American War from the point of view of Mark Twain, who wrote, "When the smoke was over, the dead buried, and the cost of the war came back to the people... it suddenly dawned on us that the cause of the Spanish-American war was the price of sugar... that the lives, blood, and money of the American people were used to protect the interest of the American capitalists." Howard Zinn's fresh look at history has earned him a devoted following. Zinn For Beginners tells the story of where Zinn came from, what events shaped his life, and walks through the main points of his major works. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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 Google Books — Bezig met laden...GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)973.07202History and Geography North America United States United States Education And Research ResearchLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde: (5)
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He was born in 1922 in the Lower East Side of New York. His father, Eddie, worked a number of jobs, but could never escape poverty. From an early age, Zinn realized that the assertion that anyone could become successful with hard work, and that poor people were lazy, was nonsense. Zinn was a voracious reader, devouring writers like Charles Dickens, Jack London and Upton Sinclair.
In early 1940, he experienced his moment of radicalization. After seeing what predatory capitalism had done to America, causing a depression which made millions homeless, many people thought that communism was a humane alternative. Zinn was never a member of the Communist Party, but he marched in a peaceful demonstration that was suddenly, and violently, broken up by the police. Zinn was knocked unconscious by a policeman’s baton. When he woke up, he realized that the police serve those in power, not protect the public. All that stuff about freedom of speech, and the right to peacefully assemble, could be ignored by the powerful at any time.
As a bombardier in World War II, he participated in a bombing raid on a French town called Royan, just before the end of the war. It was on the French coast, when the war was inside Germany, so it was of no military value. Several thousand German troops were there, waiting for the end of the war. Over one thousand planes dropped tons and tons of napalm on the town, and for what?
After the war, he got his education through the GI Bill, and his first full-time teaching job was at Spelman College, an all-black women’s college in Atlanta. This was right in the middle of the early segregation struggle. For several years, Zinn was involved in the push for civil rights, until he was fired by Spelman College, even though he had tenure. He eventually landed at Boston University, where he became one of the school’s most popular teachers. He continued to write, and get involved in opposition to the Vietnam War. Through out his teaching career, Zinn was not impressed with the quality of history textbooks. None gave the story of the common people, so, in 1980, A People’s History of the United States came into existence. It has sold over 2 million copies, and is still in print.
This book contains a 60-page summary of some of the "highlights" of A People’s History, for those who might be intimidated by its several hundred page length. This book is easy to read, it’s an eye-opener, and it’s a first-class piece of writing. (