Comments on: Howard Zinn is Dead

By: toto

toto — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:00:27 +0000

There’s a great discussion about the book (and the man) over at Matt Yglesias’ blog:

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2010/01/a-peoples-history-of-the-united-states.php

By: MPL

MPL — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:13:08 +0000

My first intro to Zinn was People’s History, as a high school text as well. It would be silly to claim that any author was perfect, but even better than perfect, Zinn was a valuable voice in the discussion of history.

It’s still amazing that John Silber ever let him get hired at BU.

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:56:38 +0000

Not a typo, just plain old ignorance. I hear about this guy but I don’t have that sort of TV service so it is all a mystery to me. I hear it is where people get their news today.

By: ALex

ALex — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:32:53 +0000

Is there an obvious replacement on the horizon? Other than Jon Steward?

I’m sure that’s a typo, but it’d make a beautiful eggcorn.

By: RyanR

RyanR — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:01:09 +0000

I was sad to hear the news. I had an excellent teacher for US History back when I was in high school.We read out of the school board approved text, but supplemented that with reading assignments out of HZ’s A People’s History.

I don’t know that any of the specific knowledge from that class is too predictable to my daily life now, but having been exposed to two sides of the same issue certainly has helped develop my skepticism.

It is a shame that he will write no more.

By: Vince

Vince — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:03:37 +0000

… and so the final edition of a great work has been written.

By: jake

jake — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:44:03 +0000

I agree with all of that Greg. I was just asking because I have the internet in front of me right now, and not the book and debates are a guilty pleasure of mine.

Question Authority, simmer down now. You can do a search within scienceblogs for “posted by: jake” if you’re so inclined.

By: Cameron

Cameron — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:40:55 +0000

How was Zinn’s book held by other historians?

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:40:54 +0000

The passing of a true icon. Too bad.

Is there an obvious replacement on the horizon? Other than Jon Steward?

By: bob

bob — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:34:00 +0000

I have no idea how anyone can say anything bad about HZ’s books. They truly inspired at least one generation to question how history treated everyone.

Too bad Zinn won’t be able to document these times. I often tell my people, in the not so distant future we will look back at this time in history and wonder how America became such an agressor nation and tortured so many other people. But now I also have an understanding of how we, Americans interred the Japanese, by seeing how we have behaved after 9/11.