Status
Genres
Publication
Description
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress is a major collection of essays on American history, race, class, justice and ordinary people who stand up to power. Zinn approaches the telling of U.S. history from an active, engaged point of view, drawing upon untold histories to comment on the most controversial issues facing us today: government dishonesty, terrorism, the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, the loss of our liberties, immigration and the responsibility of the citizen to confront power for the common good.A Power Governments Cannot Suppress is an invaluable post-9/11 era addition to the themes that run through Howard Zinn's bestselling classic,A People's History of the United States. "Thank you, Howard Zinn. Thank you for telling us what none of our leaders are willing to: The truth. And you tell it with such brilliance, such humanity. It is a personal honor to be able to say I am a better citizen because of you."--Michael Moore, director ofFahrenheit 9/11 "This strong, incisive book by Howard Zinn provides us with a penetrating critique of current U.S. policies and embraces the sweep of history. . . .A Power Governments Cannot Suppress leaves us with the faith that citizens have what it takes to confront power and to reverse the dangerous and unjust acts of our government."--Jonathan Kozol, author ofThe Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America "Find here the voice of the well-educated and honorable and capable and humane United States of America, which might have existed if only absolute power had not corrupted its third-rate leaders so absolutely."--Kurt Vonnegut, author ofA Man Without a Country "Howard Zinn is a unique voice of sanity, clarity, and wisdom who reads history not only to understand the present but to shape the future . . . . Profoundly insightful . . .A Power Governments Cannot Suppress should be read by every American, over and over again."--Michael Lerner, editor ofTikkun Magazine "Zinn writes with an enthusiasm rarely encountered in the leaden prose of academic history. . ."--New York Times Book Review "Zinn collects here almost three dozen brief, passionate essays that follow in the tradition of his landmark work, A People's History of the United States . . . Readers seeking to break out of their ideological comfort zones will find much to ponder here."--Publishers Weekly Howard Zinn is an acclaimed historian, playwright, and combat veteran of World War II. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including his masterpieceA People's History of the United States, andThe Historic Unfulfilled Promise (City Lights).… (more)
User reviews
In this work, Zinn covers the history of social movements in the US, with brief asides focusing on social movements in other countries. Once again, he makes history relevant to our modern times. Here's a few excerpts that speak much
"Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic moment (beware of such moments!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can quietly become a power no government can suppress, a power that can transform the world."
"The real heroes are not on national television or in the headlines. They are the nurses, the doctors, the teachers, the social workers, the community organizers, the hospital orderlies, the construction workers, the people who keep the society going, who help people in need. They are the advocates for the homeless, the students asking a living wage for the campus janitors, the environmental activists trying to protect the trees, the air, the water. And they are the protesters against war, the apostles of peace in a world going mad with violence."