A Power Governments Cannot Suppress by Howard Zinn

A Power Governments Cannot Suppress Reviews

• 
  Jesse Houle

  People always harp on Zinn being hugely pessimistic but I think that's simply because they're uncomfortable with the idea that the happy, gift-wrapped version of American history we salute during anthems at baseball games and pledge allegiance to in elementary school is hard to recognize as flawed, incomplete and sometimes completely false.
  
  Yes, it sucks that Columbus was a murderous asshole. And it blows that the elite class (class: the forbidden word as one of these essays calls it) has always served its own interest with a great deal of, if not complete, disregard for whose expense it may be at. It totally bites hard dick that we're tricked into supporting wars and giving up our rights to serve the economic interests of businesses we reap no benefits from and who only exploit us as they do peoples abroad. How utterly upsetting it is to realize within the past 3/4 of a century our own police and military forces have gunned down students at (or simply witnessing) protests and bombed black neighborhoods. It's terribly disappointing to look at our historical heroes and see their flaws (to remember that Jefferson owned slaves or that Washington was a zealot) and see that the portraits painted for us are dishearteningly untrue.
  
  But as disheartening as that may be, it's crucial that these flaws and facts be revealed. And it disgusts me that facts being inconvenient and unpleasant is exactly the reason people ignore them and that this "pessimism" is used as fuel to discredit the gadflies of our society- especially in frighteningly nationalistic, patriotic times such as these post-911, war-crazed, fearful years. How stupid we are to forget how (all the way back to Plato) those who point out uncomfortable flaws in logic and truths are condemned for it.
  
  Zinn isn't a pessimist, he simply points out the facts- the other sides of our history's stories that so conveniently are omitted to make saints of serpents. And hell, as long as we can overlook the atrocities of our past- in fact glorify those who committed them- it's no wonder we'll let ourselves be tricked into supporting Patriot Acts and absurd wars on terror. It's no wonder people hate us- what shitheads we must be to deny ourselves the most important aspect of having freedom- the ability to question- and to be educated.
  
  This book is great because there are a lot of articles specifically aimed at showing some optimism and some promise in American history. Indeed, Zinn chooses to focus on the characters in history who should be revered, who deserve our admiration while at the same time pointing out inconvenient truths. While some of the material in this book overlaps with A People's History, a very valuable aspect is that a lot of the new stuff in here is pointing out the good points and the sadly overlooked figures of our history- true torchbearers of the ideals of freedom, equality, justice and everything those elite-class folks disguise their dirty deeds as.
  
  (And as a side not to those who dismiss this book as redundant- it is not entirely redundant, and some redundancy is required to provide context for those who haven't trudged through the even dryer, more consistently disheartening and harder to read People's History).
  
  If you think Zinn is simply bashing America then you've failed to read or simply ignored his prologues in A People's History (ie: If History is to be Objective) and you should read the articles in here which deliberately are a rebuttal to that argument. If you still dismiss his writing as simply America-bashing and unbearably negative, I say with conviction that you are weak-minded and ignorant.
  
  Truth is a hard pill to swallow, but choosing naive ignorance is sickeningly and hypocritically anti-everything this country supposedly stands for. If we are to ignore all the blatantly unjust and hypocritical instances in our history, we may as well disregard history entirely. And focusing more intensely on the disillusioning aspects is (as he clearly points out himself) necessary only because of how totally under-emphasized and ignored they have gone. We can only hope people will use their freedoms this great country affords us (while it still does) to have truly well-rounded educations before understanding the real history is simply impossible.
  
  And that makes me think- Animal Farm IS great...I'm gonna go bump up my rating for it.
• 
  Kevin Cecil

  As I ready myself to not only vote for Obama's re-election, but join in the campaign, Howard Zinn's final book reminds me how much I've compromised my own political thinking in the post-Bush age. In multiple chapters Zinn writes convincingly about war as nationalist terrorism; that governments factor civilian casualties as collateral damage necessary to reach their goals. While he reminds me of how far I've strayed, Obama has continued wars I voted for him thinking he would end, he has not persuaded me that not voting for Obama would be better than voting for Obama. In 2000 I let my convictions convince me a vote for Nadar would be a vote against the two-party establishment. The inconvenient truth is that Gore would have an infinitely better president than Bush. No matter how poor Obama has been at passing progressive policies, he has put Kagan and Sotomayor on the court to balance the radical justices on the right side of the bench. All of this detracts, however, from Zinn's central thesis that government and all of its branches are essentially rotting components of the same rotten tree. That the whole point of governments is to suppress its citizens, that no president can be considered a hero when their heroics are measured against their evils. That the true heroes are those who do not allow this suppression to overturn their convictions, those who are willing to commit non-violent "treason" in the name of social justice and true equality. I agree with him almost across the board, but will still vote for Obama because I have never considered myself very heroic.
• 
  Yeshua

  Granted, I am only five chapters into this book, but here again I find myself feeling the need say something about it before I finish. This book is a motivating force, and it should be a powerful one. Don't be sold the typical reviews of it found on this site saying that its content is "nothing new," "things you should already know," or "standard Zinn." Books like this shouldn't be subjected to comparison in any relativity to the author's past work. Simply because 'you' may have read much of the same concept in another of Howard Zinn's work, but that doesn't change the significance of this book or the material it presents. This appears to be one of his finest works, more than other reasons because it is entirely manageable to anyone, unlike The Peoples History of the United States. It also delivers more directly the message that people truly do have hope against corrupt and abusive governments. The value though does lie in what you can safely call "typical Zinn." The fundamental message is of course quite simple and should be (but definitely isn't)universally known. The real value is his use of past history to explain our current dire situation, and further to outline the path to a hopeful future. This book should easily help develop anyone's critique of the government, build their confidence and motivate them into action. The condition of the United States isn't just unsatisfactory...it is at best, on the brink of an outright collapse - a condition that is destroying the lives of millions at home and abroad.
  
  This isn't a new message to me personally, but to the majority of us it is. Whether it is or isn't though, this book delivers plenty enough new and necessary information to make it well worth the read.
  
  "A government with a strong military has the power to destroy, but it does not have the power to build."
• 
  Lobstergirl

  
  "A major new collection of essays..." Hmm, well, sort of. At least five of these appeared as prefaces for other works (authored by other writers). This would make a fine textbook for an 8th grade social studies class. For adults who closely follow history and politics, and have read a bit or a lot of Zinn, you can skip this. It's extremely superficial, and there are no foot/endnotes (not that that would be a deal breaker, if the writing were deeper and more substantial).
• 
  Philip of Macedon

  It's hard not to agree with some of Zinn's sentiments here. But the agreement with one's ideas shouldn't be the basis on which we evaluate the worth of a book, particularly when the ideas aren't presented as anything much deeper than one-sided platitudes and idealism. The premise of the book is promising, but doesn't live up to that promise. We have a collection of essays loosely related, and all of which, despite offering some fascinating history and worthwhile ideas, don't do much to forward the notion that Zinn is trying to promote. Some essays hint at this, at showcasing the power of humanity to triumph through action against injustice, or enlightening the reader on governmental evil, and the sinister practices of those who hold power (the second use of the word POWER in this sentence is of course completely different than the first use of the word POWER, or at least that's the belief we have to hold...).
  
  But even these better essays share in common with the lesser ones a common trait: A lack of objectivity and clearly stated resources or scholarly merit. This reads like the work of a high schooler. This isn’t history, this is activism. It has about that much intellectual value. History isn't necessarily an objective practice. And Zinn makes no secret that he's filtering history through his carefully controlled partisan lens of personal bias. Too many times his bias is loud and obvious, and diminishes the point he tries to make by omitting what surely any reader would expect from a book dealing with history: sources, citations, detailed accounts, information pertaining to the specifics of an event, nuance, multiple perspectives, substantial content that informs us rather than pets us with charged opinions. This is shallow, vacuous writing sprinkled with empty phrases of inspiration and bird's-eye view platitudes.
  
  He gives us one side of every story, and without fail continuously constructs an inaccurate picture of the US government as an eternal evil with infinite power and nothing but cruelty and selfishness and destruction in its cold, dead heart. I'm not a historian but I know a fair amount about history. I know enough American history to see where Zinn is excluding details or glossing over important information because these things dull his point, despite being critical to the issue.
  
  I've always been quick to voice displeasure with the US government. When I bought this book, I also bought National Suicide by Martin Gross. It wasn't a perfect book, but it did a better job laying out the major flaws with the federal government in a comprehensive way that cited plenty of sources and statistics, and made compelling arguments for change. Zinn is trying a similar thing, but with a narrower view of the government's failures and a less compelling approach. The historical picture of the US government that Zinn lays out is not completely untrue. But it's only partially true.
  
  In Zinn's history, everyone is a one-dimensional character who is either pure sympathetic heroic good or pure inhuman apocalyptic evil, and any notion of further complexity is just negligible rubbish. He makes all of history black and white, and loudly claims his ground as the side of the righteous, and all his caricatures the side of evil. He makes a habit of never playing fair with the facts. Even when you don't know all the facts you immediately get the sense he isn't being completely honest, that his omissions are designed to forward the picture of history as it best fits into his story rather than a picture of history as it was. This never changes throughout the book, and more and more you come to question the veracity of his various claims and his sympathetic parables, even if you agree with the overall point he's trying to make. History isn't as one-sided as he's leading on. If you look into any of the tiny tales he mentions, you'll find there's a lot of critical information he's leaving out. And you see why he left it out. If he'd included it, his book would not be the sensationalist drama that it is.
  
  What this book serves as is an echo chamber and ideological reinforcement for people who already agree with and believe in the things Zinn writes. And for some fraction of these things, I count myself in that club. But Zinn does a terrible job of fully informing the critical or curious reader, honestly portraying any events, or offering enough information to convince or challenge the reader who isn't already inclined to see things in a certain way. And that's why most of the points that I disagree with Zinn on are going to remain points of disagreement, because he writes with total obliviousness to the thoughts or perspectives or needs of intellectually curious readers who would like to be able to form their own opinions instead of having opinions shoved down their throats as facts.
  
  Often when you hear or read things that seem to resonate with your opinions and validate your worldview, it is hard to tell if the things you are reading are actually saying anything substantial or defensible after close scrutiny. You can fall into the trap of thinking what you’ve just read is smart and insightful even when it was empty, sensationalist, vacuous, or platitudinous. Unfortunately, after attentive reading, all of these words seem to describe a good chunk of Zinn’s book. He appears to write for a specific audience that already agrees with him, and so he has no interest in developing a compelling or convincing argument. Echo chamber literature.
  
  When studying history for the purpose of learning from it and applying that learning to your own life or worldview or understanding of the circumstances of the world in context, it's important that you're getting an objective, clear, and coherent understanding of the past. It appears to be a safe statement to say that Zinn's typical readers, like Zinn himself, are not interested in an accurate or objective view of the past, because they are not interested in a defensible and careful reading of history in proper context. They are interested in narratives that reveal ideologically significant beats they can add to their arsenal of talking points, such that their activism is strengthened, but their actual understanding is not.
  
  The nail in the coffin here is that one could use Zinn's very same tactics to dishonestly portray historical evils as stories of heroism, justice, or virtue. Doing exactly what Zinn does, you could for example tell a story about intrepid adventurers coming to a new continent to explore the world, and sort of gloss over their violence toward the indigenous tribes, until you get to a few facts that work in your favor, like zeroing in on the violence of some of the native tribes (whether that violence was in response to provocation or past violence who cares? This is a story I'm trying to tell, and I only need to include the facts with as much context as is required to make the narrative I need), and then presenting the violence of the adventurers as self-defense or protection, telling a story of bravery, adventure, and survival against bloodthirsty, xenophobic savages.
  
  This would be a dishonest and incomplete-at-best portrayal of history, but it's exactly what Zinn does, in the opposite direction. The Zinn view of US history is no more informed or objective than someone who paints it as a sunny sky and happy rainbows. It's disappointing, but I can't say surprising, that this book is praised by so many people. It's the kind of book that emerges as the hero of low standards.
• 
  Stephie Jane Rexroth

  "People, when organized, have enormous power, more than any government. Our history runs deep with stories of people who stand up, speak out, dig in, organize, connect, form networks of resistance, and alter the course of history."
  
  "There is a basic weakness in governments, however massive their armies, however vast their wealth, however they control images and information, because their power depends on the obedience of citizens, of soldiers, of civil servants, of journalists and writers and teachers and artists. When the citizens begin to suspect they have been deceived and withdraw their support, government loses its legitimacy and power."
  
  "A country with military power can destroy but it cannot build."
  
  "Change in public consciousness starts with low-level discontent, at first vague, with no connection being made between discontent and the policies of government. And then the dots begin to connect, indignation increases, and people begin to speak out, organize and act."
  
  "Along the way, artists, musicians, writers and cultural workers lend a special emotional and spiritual power to the movement for peace and justice. Rebellion often starts as something cultural."
  
  ------
  "There is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue. We forget how often we have been astonished by the sudden crumbling of institutions, by extraordinary changes in people's thoughts, by unexpected eruptions of rebellion against tyrannies, by the quick collapse of systems of power that seemed invincible."
  
  "What leaps out from the history of the past hundred years is its utter unpredictability. […] Looking at this catalogue of huge surprises, it's clear that the struggle for justice should never be abandoned because of the apparent overwhelming power of those who have the guns and the money and who seem invincible in their determination to hold on to it. That apparent power has, again and again, proved vulnerable to human qualities less measurable than bombs and dollars: moral fervor, determination, unity, organization, sacrifice, wit, ingenuity, courage, patience… No cold calculation of the balance of power need deter people who are persuaded that their cause is just."
  
  "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 governments can suppress, a power that can transform the world."
• 
  Chueca

  This book rocks. Quite literally, the essays in this book will rock the way you think about "america" and democracy. Again and again Zinn deconstructs the glory of war as it is fantasized by the media, the government and popular culture. Quoting from Eugene V. Debs on the socialist platform with Mother Jones and Big Bill in 1905 to remembering the executions of the Italian immigrants Sacco and Vanzetti Zinn makes an un deniable case against war and the horrors of war. He does this with countless juxtapositions of paradox after paradox of the inconsistent pattern of justice by our government.
  
  "Class injustice cuts across every decade, every century of our history. In the midst of the Sacco and Vanzetti case, a wealthy man in the town of Milton, south of Boston, shot and killed a man who was gathering firewood on his property. He spent eight days in jail, then was let out on bail, and was not prosecuted. The district attorney called it "justifiable homicide." One law for the rich, one law for the poor-- a persistent character of our system of justice." -- Howard Zinn (261)
  
  Upon finishing "A Power.." there are now about ten more movies and ten more books that I want to read. One is called "Green Parrots" by Gino Strada, about land mines that look like toys, almost like green parrots and injure countless numbers of children throughout the world.
  
  The most important idea I take from this book at its end is: How we remember history shapes our future. Remembering the untold stories and unsung heros is a radical action that will shape and could save our future. Hope you check this one out too.
• 
  Nate Jordon

  Zinn, as ever, nails it. Nails what? Inspiration. Motivation.
  
  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 louder, and much more eloquently, than any review I could pen:
  
  "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."
• 
  Dale

  This book should be required reading. For everyone. Zinn takes American government of today and puts it in context of yesterday. He looks at our current wars and shows how they came to be. Plenty of analysis of contemporary affairs with a splash of history, A Power Governments Cannot Suppress puts a human face on our country's actions in the world and at home.
  
  As an American, this book with embarrass you. As a human, this book will enrage you. As an optimist, this book will depress you. But Howard Zinn contends that it should not. He wishes to instill hope in you, that things can change. A Power Governments Cannot Suppress will likely open your eyes to many issues and the reasons behind them of which you may be utterly unaware. Seeing them in all their historical breadth is daunting and even terrifying, but he will show you pieces of heart to light the way. And encourage you to follow your own in the future.
• 
  Kony

  Themes from Zinn's classic A People's History are interwoven with new commentary on select historical events, old and recent. 35 essays are well arranged, flowing naturally as variations on a pro-socialist, anti-war theme. They march through a variety of topics, examining the same basic issues -- democratic legitimacy, class conflict, racial justice -- through the lens of different eras and figures.
  
  The obvious passion behind Zinn's stance adds force to his arguments. That said, if you're not already in his revisionist choir, Zinn's radical preaching is more prone to irk than inspire.
• 
  Joe

  Zinn challenges us to fundamentally rethink our most profound allegiances, challenges our assumptions, and ultimately provides a coherent argument for a more peaceful world through a celebration of the struggles of ordinary human beings against powers, traditions, and the apathy of the status quo.
  
  I found the book profoundly hopeful, and felt thankful for a book that put words to feelings that I've had for years, but could not describe.
• 
  Nawesa

  Este libro es muy bueno. Es un conjunto de ensayos sobre distintos episodios de la historia de Estados Unidos, desde una perspectiva humanista, pacifista y justa. Howard Zinn, es un hombre de un gran sentido moral. Y eso se ve reflejado en sus escritos. Habla de la historia real, no la de propaganda usada en los textos escolares, las películas o televisión. Es para la gente que realmente quiere saber detalles de la historia de EU sin patriotismos vanos.
• 
  debbie

  this book is excellent...it has made me rethink my whole outlook on life...i grew up in the 60's and 70's when protesting to change the way things were done was big...Howard Zinn makes the argument that it times of hopelessness it is everyday people who can force change through protest and civil disobedience...i also learned so much history from reading this book...i recommend it to all
• 
  Zach Freeman

  Really good book about civil disobedience and government lies. More like a bunch of short essays than a solid novel with a throughline, but good stuff. Will definitely make you feel like you're not doing enough to elicit change in the country. Hopefully will motivate people to do something...
• 
  Nikki Riles

  Really informative and easy to read. Zinn offers a captivating look into the way that governments and people work. He talks about his time as a soldier, coming to the realization that war is rarely justifiable, and takes a reader on a journey through little known political history.
• 
  Public Scott

  Phenomenal. As much as I love Noam Chomsky's analysis, it can be a bit cold. Howard Zinn works from a similar worldview but provides so much heart. This collection of short essays is food for the soul. So much critical historical context and righteous indignation. A beautiful call to arms.
• 
  Alexa

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• 
  Russell Bittner

  As I said in my review of A People’s History of the United States a couple of years ago, “I’m humbled – and yes, also somewhat ashamed – that I’ve discovered this historian and his work at the very ripe old age of 64. I obviously wish it could’ve been sooner. But as it was not, the next best thing I could do was give my copy of A People’s History of the United States, still slightly warm to the touch, to my daughter on the occasion of her 21st birthday.” (Of course, the next such occasion will be her 24th birthday, but no matter.)
  
  I could—and will now—say the same thing of A Power Governments Cannot Suppress. Yes, he’s that good!
  
  In what amounts to a virtual aside, Howard Zinn provides us with the following in his essay titled “Respecting the Holocaust” (pp. 195 – 109): “I would not have become a historian if I thought it would become my professional duty to never emerge from the past, to study long-gone events and remember them only for their uniqueness, not connecting them to events going on in our time.
  
  “If the Holocaust is to have any meaning, we must transfer our anger to today’s brutalities. We must respect the memory of the Jewish Holocaust by refusing to allow atrocities to take place now.
  
  “When Jews turn inward to concentrate on their own history and look away from the ordeal of others they are with terrible irony, doing exactly what the rest of the world did in allowing the genocide to happen.”
  
  Equally telling—even if the quotes belong to Mark Twain and not to Howard Zinn—are the following two citations, both from an essay titled “Patriotism” (pp. 111 – 119). We find the first, right out of the mouth of Twain’s principal character in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, on p. 113: “(y)ou see my kind of loyalty was loyalty to one’s country, not to its institutions or its officeholders. The country is the real thing, the substantial thing, the eternal thing; it is the thing to watch over, and care for, and be loyal to; institutions are extraneous, they are its mere clothing, and clothing can wear out, become aged, cease to be comfortable, cease to protect the body from winter, disease and death. To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags—that is a loyalty of unreason, it is pure animal; it belongs to monarchy, was invented by monarchy; let monarchy keep it.”
  
  The second is on p. 115: “(t)he gospel of the monarchical patriotism is: ‘The King can do no wrong.’ We have adopted it with all its servility, with an unimportant change in the wording: ‘Our country, right or wrong!’ We have thrown away the most valuable asset we had—the individual’s right to oppose both flag and country when he believed them to be in the wrong. We have thrown it away; and with it, all that was really respectable about that grotesque and laughable word, Patriotism.”
  
  I would be negligent in this review if I didn’t quote Zinn directly—and so I will, from his essay titled “Governments Lie” (pp. 199 – 205). On p. 201, we find: “(i)f we don’t know history, then we are ready meat for carnivorous politicians, intellectuals, and journalists who supply the carving knives. I am not speaking of the history we learned in the public school system, a history subservient to our political leaders, from the much-admired Founding Fathers to the presidents of recent years. I mean a history that is honest about the past. If we don’t know that history, then any president can stand up to the battery of microphones and declare that we must go to war, and we will have no basis for challenging him. He—or she—will say that the nation is in danger, that democracy and liberty are at stake, and that we must therefore send ships and planes to destroy our new enemy, and we will have no reason to disbelieve that president.”
  
  Although there are many eminently quotable paragraphs in the remaining seventy pages of this collection of essays, I don’t want to exhaust the patience of my reader (if you’re still there). Instead, I’ll give this collection my wholehearted endorsement as something every serious student of American history should read—right alongside A People’s History of the United States—and just before everything else Howard Zinn has ever written.
  
  RRB
  Brooklyn, NY
  21 October 2017
  
• 
  Amory Ross

  Quite simply: You don't like something, change it.
  
  Howard Zinn writes a novella that demonstrates simply the process to change something. If the people of a republic/ democracy don't like something, numbers motivate a change.
  
  Think of the history of the United States that demonstrated how people came together in numbers to set a precedent. It is a motif that rings true throughout the history of this country: from the colonies to present-day. If a group of people seek out change, numbers do the talking. With the Arab Spring continuing to this day in Syria and spreading throughout Europe and Asia minor, Howard Zinn's pro-people movement echoes in our psyche. If a group of people has been wronged, that group must speak up and make the change.
  
  As the middle class dwindles in America because of large corporations, Howard Zinn's words could not have been more important. Perhaps the United States is not ready to take back the country from monolithic companies such as Walmart. Once the worker bees mobilize for a common purge, these large entities will struggle to find replacements (scabs) to continue the profits. These (scabs) groups may attempt to undermine the purpose of the greater good, but if a common voice is committed, change can come about.
  
  This book is a must-read for anyone who believes that the country should be run by the citizens of the United States, not the corporations with the deepest pockets. It is a must-read for anyone who thinks unions are the genesis leading to recognization of the middle class. Howard Zinn reminds us that the United States is based on a foundation of hard-working people. Because of those who spool out propaganda to encourage the less-than-upper-class to maintain the status quo, this book could plant a seed in the minds of activists who are willing to speak up and say that big money will control the country no more. The time is near for the every-day citizen to raise the flag of sedition toward bureaucracy.
  
  According to Zinn, it will only happen when the masses are ready. If it hasn't happened, it's because either the masses have not the confidence to congregate, or the time is not right. Regardless, if Zinn is prophetic, the time is near for the worker bees to revolt.
• 
  Shelley

  I love second hand book shops. I have 3 bookcases of unread books to prove my point LOL Some books can get "lost", and I won't see for a long time. Unfortunately, this was one such book. Apparently, it's been sitting on one shelf since June 2013: 7 years!
  
  Judging from the cover, and the name and topic of the book, it seemed like it was going to be a "heavy" read. But the surprise was on me, I was breezing through the pages, soaking up what I was learning and nodding in what I already knew. The topics were explained very easily for the reader to understand, the message wasn't dragged out to my relief, and the chapters were short.
  
  This book was written in back in 2007, back when Bush 2 was president. Kinda out-of-date, but not really, as the topics go back to the very beginning in this country, and you'll find out in this book, it's always leads back to the same: lies, deceit, corruption in government and big businesses, all for making money for them and screwing the every day people.
  
  Zinn has 35 chapters explaining how deep into the system it's rotten ranging in topics like, class, big government, WWII, 9/11, Afghanistan, The Boston Massacre, the Holocaust, Patriotism, Nationalism, Land Mines, Iraq War, Film and History, Immigration.....
  
  I personally think this should be a required read for everyone. It might open some eyes of what's really been going on, in the past: realize what we have learned in school was mostly lies to glorify and romanticize that leader/event. In the recent past, (to the present): we all know our leaders lie, but exactly how far do they go to lie and why? This book explains it so well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Dooug

  Published in 2007 and often telling historical anecdotes through a reference point of Bush's war in Iraq, the overarching message is still very pertinent today. War is profitable for those at the top and fought by those at the bottom. Poverty and inequality can be vanquished, but the wealthy class benefit and therefore refuse to make real change. Only real social change comes from sustained organized grassroots efforts of many mobilized against injustice.
  
  This book has been on my shelf for years and I kept putting it off expecting a heavy sluggish read but it was much more readable and digestible than expected. Mostly I finished it feeling reaffirmed in beliefs, and with a new list further reading of historical events and people.
• 
  Irene Koch

  Broken up into several short essays, Zinn's book tells remarkable stories of ordinary Americans standing up for what they believe in that might have been skipped or glossed over in your high school history classes. Some essays were weaker than others, but overall, each essay provided a lot of valuable food for thought and remain painfully relevant years after their original publication.
• 
  Lorelei Armstrong

  Time for everyone to read this.
• 
  Ryan

  If you don’t have time for People’s History, this is a great substitute. Although the clot in my brain which I’ve taken to calling George Bush grew a bit afterwards.
• 
  Luke

  Essays from the early Iraq war, what already seemed to be the dragging indefinite Iraq War, asking us to consider why we fight, why we fear, why we embrace American nationalism and patriotism and comfortable lies about our country's history and our own histories.
• 
  Chris

  Book by same guy that wrote "the people's history of the u.s."
  
  A great book and quite timely. Zinn's method from people's history is there, but now it's focused on people's movements and what it will take now, in regards to neo-liberal, neo-con conservatives that are only interested in protecting corporate interest and how they, since the farmer revolts before the revolution war (because of government mandated pricing, to save money by pinching the farmer to cheaply feed the urban workforce) (same thing today with IMF, World Bank, USAID, etc) massacred farmers, union organizers, socialist, communist, etc.
  
  today we lock up dark skinned people, bloggers, hold people hostage in name of national security, pick suspects up, beat them, interrogate them, and drop them off randomely.
  
  Ultimately what I learned from the book in regards to the political race is that it's not just a democrat that is needed, but someone who can inspire a change in behavior, who can actually start a social movement that holds our government responsible, someone who can take a complex issue, not back down from the ugly truth that is there, and actually talk to people like adults and hold us accountable (see obama's race speech). He has brought thousands of new voters to the table, he's won every demographic under 40 group, he's not take "registered" lobbyist money (it's still much less) and he has without a doubt of anyone really watching this, tried to stay above the normal politicking we have all grown up with.
  
  Zinn talks about a change in consciousness, which i understand is strange coming from a historian. i mean, some will think it strange, i think he's right on when he forces you again and again to look and understand that only by truthfully looking at the past, studying how our actions affect EVERYONE and demanding our government's be held accountable, can real change in behavior take place. in the end, i'm happy with either, but with the earth the way it is, the control the corporate interest have on our country, and the ability to lead people without shying from the facts, i think we have a better chance of that happening with obama.
• 
  Stephen

  zig zag.
  present moment as constantly evolving
  history as a lesson as to not repeat the same mistakes over and over again
  
  “The challenge remains. On the other side are formidable forces: money, political power, the major media. On our side are the people of the world and a power greater than money or weapons: the truth.
  Truth has a power of its own. Art has a power of its own. That age-old lesson – that everything we do matters – is the meaning of the people’s struggle here in the United States and everywhere. A poem can inspire a movement. A pamphlet can spark a revolution. Civil disobedience can arouse people and provoke us to think, when we organize with one another, when we get involved, when we stand up and speak out together, we can create a power no government can suppress. We live in a beautiful country. But people who have no respect for human life, freedom, or justice have taken it over. It is now up to all of us to take it back.”
  
  
  “The pretense in disputed elections is that the great conflict is between the two major parties. The reality is that there is a much bigger conflict that the two parties jointly wage against large numbers of Americans who are represented by neither party and against powerless millions around the world." (p. 65)”
  
  
  “Surely, if it is the right of the people to "alter or abolish," it is their right to criticize, even severely, policies they believe destructive of the ends for which government has been established. This principle, in the Declaration of Independence, suggests that true patriotism lies in supporting the values the country is supposed to cherish: equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. When our government compromises, undermines, or attacks those values, it is being unpatriotic.”
• 
  Mohd

  كتاب "قوة لا يمكن للحكومات قمعها" من تأليف المؤرخ الأمريكي الشهير هاورد زين.
  كتاب يستحق القراءة من كل ثوار العرب و هو غير مترجم للاسف.
  
  الكتاب الذي هو عبارة عن مقالات في المقاومة السلمية للشعب الأمريكي ضد سياسات التمييز والاضطهاد التي كانت الحكومة تنتهجها ضد الضعفاء والفقراء.
  
  لكن الشعب الأمريكي استطاع أن يقاوم هذه السياسات عبر الانخراط الإيجابي في المقاومة السلمية على كافة الصعد فاستطاع استرداد حقوقه المسلوبة .
  
  الفكرة الأساسية عند زن أن قوة الشعب السلمية لا تقهر .. وأن اللجوء إلى العنف كوسيلة وحيدة للتغيير لا يؤدي إلى أي تغيير.
  
  لا يرفض زن العنف تماماً لكنه يقرر أن العنف إذا استخدم، يجب أن يكون موجهاً ومؤقتاً وقصيراً وينتهي بنجاح المهمة السلمية التي يدعمها .
  
  يقول زين او زن أن الكتاب ليس كتاب أحلام طوباوية في التغيير لكنه كتاب تغيير حقيقي بأساليب لا تستطيع أعتى الحكومات و أخبثها مواجهتها .
  
  يُقر زين أن في جانب الحكومات قوى هائلة: المال,القوة السياسية,الإعلام الرسمي .. ولكنه يرى ان في جانب الشعب هناك شعوب العالم وقوة أكبر من المال والسلاح : الحقّ.
  
  للحق قوة خاصة به، وللفن قوة خاصة به .. تستطيع قصيدة أن تلهم الشعوب.. ويستطيع منشور أن يشعل ثورة .
  
  يقول زين أن : الأفعال اللا عنفية ليست طوباوية مثالية خيالية؛ إنها عملية كما هي أخلاقية، إنها تبني على ما هو موجود أصلاً.
  
  فهي لا تبدأ بتغيير الحكومة, ولكن بتغيير المجتمع المدني, في قلب الشعب وفكره.
  
  تستطيع الشعوب تجاوز الحكومة ومعالجة القضايا الاجتماعية نفسها, كما أظهر "هافل" في تشيكوسلوفاكيا, و"سوليداريتي" التضامن في بولونيا وغيرهم .
  
  إن المقاومة السلمية اللا عنفية لا تعني أبدا الاستسلام لظلم وإدارة الخد الأيسر لمن لطم الأيمن,لكنه يعني أن نتصرف بشكل مخالف للشكل الذي يتصرف به المستبدون الطغاة .