Howard Zinn, Groundbreaking Populist Historian, Dies at 87

AP/Michael Dwyer

Howard Zinn, an author, teacher and political activist whose book A People’s History of the United States taught millions of teenagers how to infuriate their parents during dinner, died yesterday of a heart attack in in Santa Monica, Calif, where he was traveling. Zinn was born in NYC in 1922; the son of Jewish immigrants, he was educated in public schools and worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. After serving as a bombardier in WWII, Zinn attended NYU on the GI Bill while working in warehouses, then earned doctoral degrees in history from Columbia, going on to be a political science professor at Boston University. In the '70s, university president John Silber accused Zinn of arson (later retracting the charge) and cited him as a prime example of teachers "who poison the well of academe."

At age 17, at the urging of some young Communists in his neighborhood, Zinn attended a political rally in Times Square. He would later tell the Associated Press how the violent police crackdown radicalized him:

Suddenly, I heard the sirens sound, and I looked around and saw the policemen on horses galloping into the crowd and beating people. I couldn’t believe that. And then I was hit. I turned around and I was knocked unconscious. I woke up sometime later in a doorway, with Times Square quiet again, eerie, dreamlike, as if nothing had transpired. I was ferociously indignant.

"A People’s History" was published in 1980; the initial run of 5,000 copies sold out through word-of-mouth and the book became a best-seller, reaching 1 million sales in 2003. Zinn called his book "a response to traditional works" and told the AP, "There’s no such thing as a whole story; every story is incomplete. My idea was the orthodox viewpoint has already been done a thousand times." Many establishment historians were unimpressed, and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. once sneered: "I know he regards me as a dangerous reactionary. And I don’t take him very seriously. He’s a polemicist, not a historian."

But the hugely influential book fast become a pop culture signifier, and became even more popular after Matt Damon name-checked it in Good Will Hunting: "If you want to read a real history book, read Howard Zinn’s People’s History of the United States. That book will knock you on your ass." Ben Affleck, who co-wrote the screenplay and was friends with Zinn since childhood, said yesterday, "He taught me how valuable—how necessary—dissent was to democracy and to America itself. He taught that history was made by the everyman, not the elites."

One of Zinn’s last public writings was a brief essay on President Obama, published in The Nation this week: "I've been searching hard for a highlight. The only thing that comes close is some of Obama's rhetoric; I don't see any kind of a highlight in his actions and policies... I think people are dazzled by Obama's rhetoric, and that people ought to begin to understand that Obama is going to be a mediocre president—which means, in our time, a dangerous president—unless there is some national movement to push him in a better direction."

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By John Del Signore in News on January 28, 2010 9:12 AM

Comments [rss]

nik13

I hope stray dogs will piss on his grave. If they dig up his bones, even better. Few men have done more harm to the Republic than this evil clown.

hunter.blatherer

I didn't read more than 10 pages worth of Zinn, but still consider him a hero.

Why? Because his influence was so wide that many of those who provided my (extremely unorthodox) education would not have had the proper information without him.

Mark

Sad day, stellar human, the world gained some balance in the honesty that he sent out.

verbal

crackpot

NannyState

He's in Heaven now. How do I know? Because he pissed off John Silber.

DanielJ

Bombardiers are totally badass. Strapped onto the bottom of the plane with no parachute. I would've soiled myself.

books

the world lost a brave man. One who wasn't willing to sacrifice his morals to be popular.

of course on israel he spoke the truth.

ZINN: The Democratic candidates, Clinton and Obama, have not shown any sign of a fundamental change in the policy of support of Israel. They have not shown sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people. Obama has occasionally referred to the situation of the Palestinians but as the campaign has gone on, he seems reluctant to bring this up, and instead emphasizes his support of Israel. So, a change in policy will require more pressure from other countries and more education of the American people, who at this point know very little about what has been happening to the Palestinian people. The American people are naturally sympathetic to those they see as oppressed, but they get very little information from political leaders or the media, which would give them a realistic picture of the suffering of Palestinians under the Occupation

http://goatmilkblog.com/2008/04/19/howard-zinn-interview-goatmilk-exclusive/

OTC

In college, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Zinn on many occassion, a very nice man who always greeted lowly undergradutes with a smile and a conversation.

That said, he was also batshiat crazy with his left-wing propoganda and endless hatred for America.

I'll mourn the man, but not his politics.

John Del Signore

Yeah, he hated America so much he enlisted to fight in WWII. There's nothing "American" about the plutocracy's long, masterful tradition of exploiting the working class--that's what Zinn "hated," if anything.

S.K.

How long before Chomsky joins Zinn?

Clarice City

When I lived in Cambridge, MA I used to see him zipping all over town in a flashy little sportscar convertable. He, like most MA residents drives like a total maniac, careening around Havard Square. My friends used to see it too. I'll bet he dies behind the wheel of that thing.

Homer2323

Thankfully we dont have to listen to his garbage anymore.

"The terrorism of the suicide bomber and the terrorism of aerial bombardment are indeed morally equivalent."

JungianFrowder

Garbage? I am going to assume you did not actually perform any aerial bombardments yourself. I might be going out on a limb there but I will give it a shot.

Howard Zinn actually did drop bombs on various places and I will take his opinions, having experience in the field, over your assumptions.

As far as suicide bombing goes... Zinn was also a Zionist in his youth! He has been all over the ballpark!

VanessaNYC

I bet if you and your family were the victims of aerial carpet bombing, you might agree with this statement.

Tricksta

Taken out of context, I could see how that statement would offend someone. But the real value of people like Zinn (RIP) is to make you think, stop, reflect, consider... then do your own research and draw your own conclusions! Not take everything you read or hear (from the left or the right) as written-in-stone truth.

You will be missed, Mr. Zinn. Hope there will be others like you in the future.

(p.s. Ben Affleck was a friend of his? Who knew, he seems like such a mental midget)