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." more ›

"People create because they feel what everyone else is thinking." In 1964, Tommy Trantino was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of two New Jersey police officers. In 1971, the death penalty was over turned and Trantino was sentenced to life in prison. During that time, Trantino wrote to Leonard Weinglass, the lawyer who defended the Chicago Seven, which included social and political activist Abbie Hoffman. Through Hoffman, Trantino's letters were seen by an editor at Bantam, who commissioned him to write Lock the Lock, a collection of poetry, drawings, and autobiographical stories detailing Trantino's youth, the events that led to his incarceration, and the harrowing experiences he'd witnessed in prison. The book was praised by the likes of Howard Zinn and Henry Miller. more ›