Failure to Quit: Reflections of an Optimistic Historian

A selection of Howard Zinn's most popular and accessible essays on history and politics. In this lively collection of essays, now with a new afterword, Zinn.
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Jul 16, Mckinley rated it it was amazing Shelves: Apr 06, Chloe rated it it was amazing Shelves: A collection of essays from the last 30 years that inspire me during my morning commute to stand up to Power and Wealth and fight for Liberty. Then I show up at work and answer phones and make copies. I particularly like this quote from his essay "The Problem is Civil Disobedience": It's a strange thing, we think that the law brings order. How do we know that A collection of essays from the last 30 years that inspire me during my morning commute to stand up to Power and Wealth and fight for Liberty.

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How do we know that law does not bring order? We live under the rule of law. Notice how much order we have?

People say we have to worry about civil disobedience because it will lead to anarchy. Take a look at the present world in which the rule of law obtains. This is the closest to what is called anarchy in the popular mind--confusion, chaos, international banditry. The only order that is really worth anything does not come through the enforcement of law, it comes through the establishment of a society which is just and in which harmonious relationships are established and in which you need a minimum of regulation to create decent sets of arrangements among people.

But the order based on law and the force of law is the order of the totalitarian state, and it inevitably leads either to total injustice or to rebellion--eventually, in other words, to very great disorder. I also learned a lot about the First Amendment, which I knew embarrassingly little about before. It's funny that we all take "free speech" idea so literally, because the way the First Amendment has been interpreted has to do with the government's inability to prevent you from saying things, and little to do with protecting you once you've said things.

Because the way it is, once you've said things, all bets are off. Anyway, I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for a little pick-me-up. Most of the essays are transcripts from speeches Zinn gave so they are extremely readable and go pretty quickly. Dec 05, Nausheen Husain rated it it was amazing Shelves: It represents many things, some decent, some horrifying.

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We would have to pause before celebrating it uncritically when we note that David Duke, the Louisiana Ku Klux Klan member and ex-Nazi says that people have got him wrong. It is the guardians of the old stories, the orthodox histories, who refuse to widen the spectrum of ideas, to take in new books, new approache "Western Civilization is complex.

It is the guardians of the old stories, the orthodox histories, who refuse to widen the spectrum of ideas, to take in new books, new approaches, new information, new views of history. They, who claim to believe in 'free markets,' do not believe in a free marketplace of ideas, any more than they believe in a free marketplace of goods and services.

In both material goods and ideas, they want the market dominated by those who have always held power and wealth. They worry that if new ideas enter the marketplace, that people may begin to rethink the social arrangements that have given us so much suffering, so much violence, so much war these last five hundred years of 'civilization.

Aug 08, Sarah rated it it was amazing Shelves: This was my introduction to Howard Zinn. I found it on one of my father's bookshelves. A collection of essays on his role as an activist, his thoughts on US government actions in the 20th century, and ultimately how we should remain optimistic. It served as an inspiration to what was possible, and it still does. Howard Zinn is interesting, enlightening, and thought provoking.

But most of all, he is civil. His writing challenges you to question your deeply-held assumptions, but he does so in a nice, gentle way, lest he antagonizes. And he is, despite everything, a relentless optimist, which gives me some hope. Richard Terrelonge rated it liked it Dec 12, Isabel rated it really liked it Jan 01, Crystal rated it liked it Sep 25, Kelsey Ball rated it really liked it Dec 24, Justin rated it really liked it Nov 01, Efad rated it really liked it Jul 26, Mackenzie rated it it was amazing Jun 16, Michael rated it it was amazing Jun 22, Pam rated it it was amazing Dec 18, Joe rated it liked it Dec 15, Ce Miller rated it it was amazing Nov 26, Andrew rated it really liked it Mar 11, Jacob rated it really liked it Mar 18, Dezeray Didntdoit rated it really liked it Aug 20, Algernon rated it really liked it Jan 31, Rosengarten rated it liked it Apr 28, Richard De rated it really liked it Nov 10, Kevin rated it it was amazing Mar 14, Terence rated it liked it Aug 04, Apr 10, Mark Hiser rated it it was amazing Shelves: While true that this collection of essays, speeches and short works focuses on the s-early 90s, much of what Professor Zinn has to say about diversity, wealth inequality, war and so forth is just as relevant to life in the US today.

In fact, this collection helps us better understand reasons for the downward spiral of this country. Katya rated it it was amazing Mar 01, Zinn discusses such topics as Native American views of Columbus and the socialist and anarchist opposition to World War I in examining his theory that historical change is most often due to "mass movements of ordinary people. South End Press Bolero Ozon. Reflections of an Optimistic Historian. The Problem is Civil Obedience.

The Bill of Rights. How Free is Higher Education? The Perils of Plato. Stone ideas important Indians Iraqi jail justice killing labor law abridging liberty lives look Ludlow Massacre Marx Marxist mean ment military movement Noam Chomsky Plato police political President problem protest racial segregation radical Reagan refused revolution Saddam Hussein social Socialist society Socrates South End Press speak Spelman College street struggle Supreme Court talk teachers tell things thought tion told trying United University Vietnam Vietnam War vote wealth Western civilization women words write wrote York.

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4. Failure to Quit: Reflections of an Optimistic Historian by Howard Zinn.
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The Optimism of Uncertainty. Defying Corporations, Defining Democracy: