A People's History of American Empire

A People's History of American Empire, Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki and Paul Buhle, Metropolitan Books, 2008

This is a graphic novel adaptation of Zinn�s famous history book, "A People's History of the United
States."

It doesn't cover everything in "A People's History...", but starts with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, when American soldiers killed or wounded 300 Native Americans in about an hour. In the 1890's, America was going through a depression, so a foreign enemy was needed against which to rally the public (along with
finding new markets to exploit). The Cuban Revolution was attempting to throw off four centuries of Spanish
rule. The sister of a Cuban rebel leader told the story of being searched for secret documents by a Spanish
matron while on a US steamer. The American press turned it into an accusation by Spain that America was too weak to defend the honor of its women, and that women on American steamers were being strip searched. Calls were made to annex Cuba. The spark needed to start the Spanish-American War was the destruction of an American battleship in Havana harbor ("Remember the Maine"). Spain was blamed, but the US government was skeptical.

During World War I, the Espionage Act was passed to criminalize any antiwar talk that could be
interpreted as discouraging enlistment. The law also secretly empowered private associations to spy on
"disloyal" Americans. After World War II was won, but not officially over, the new American empire decided to start testing its new weapons on defenseless people. Zinn was involved in a bombing raid on a French town where several thousand German soldiers waited for the end of the war. On that day, over 1200 planes dropped nearly 400,000 gallons of napalm on the town of Royan.

Did you know that during the war, the wearing of zoot suits was considered dangerous, and was a kind of draft resistance? This book also looks at Vietnam, the Civil Rights era, the Pentagon Papers, the Contra War in Nicaragua, and the Iranian Revolution. It has a bibliography for those who want to read further.

For those who have never read "A People's History of the United States," perhaps intimidated by its
several hundred page length, this is a wonderful alternative. For those who have read Zinn's book, this helps to put a face to the names, and is still very highly recommended.

Terrorism and War

Terrorism and War, Howard Zinn, Seven Stories Press, 2002

This book, written in interview format, gives Zinn's perspective on the events of September 11 and its aftermath. Zinn is the author of "A People's History of the United States".

When announcing the bombing of Afghanistan, George Bush said that Americans are a peaceful people. Tell that to the people of Iran, Guatemala, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama and Iraq. If America is serious about shutting down terrorist training camps, it should start with the School of the Americas in Georgia. Any discussion of US foreign policy, let alone criticism, is seen by some as supposedly justifying the attacks.

The Defense Department has spent a lot of time saying that they are being as humane as possible in their bombing, and that military, not civilian, targets are being bombed. From 30,000 feet, it is impossible to see just what you are bombing; all that can be seen are flashes on the ground (Zinn was a bombardier during World War II). During the Gulf War, over 70 percent of US bombs missed their targets. A number of reports have come out of Afghanistan of civilian casualties caused by American bombs.

When interest in the war begins to fade, and Bush's 90 percent approval rating starts to drop, people will begin to see the failure of the capitalist system to solve basic problems. Put the extra $48 billion for the Pentagon together with the $70 billion "economic stimulus package" and the $1.3 trillion tax cut in an economy that's struggling, and things like Medicare and aid to the poor will be cut before, for instance, corporate subsidies.

This book is excellent. It's short, very easy to read and presents a rarely-heard perspective in terms that anyone can understand. Those who are unsatisfied with the "official" view of the war would do very well to read this.

The Zinn Reader

The Zinn Reader, Howard Zinn, Seven Stories Press, 1997

        Howard Zinn is a political science professor at Boston University who grew up in the immigrant slums of Brooklyn. Author of the famous "People's History of the United States," Zinn has spent his life looking at things from the point of view of those on the bottom. Here is a collection of his writings over the past generation.

        His eyewitness accounts of the sit-ins and marches of the Civil Rights days as someone on the inside is, by itself, worth the price of the book. Zinn then goes on to mention that during World War II, which he spent as a bombardier in France, the US government knew about Hitler's plans for the Jews, and did nothing. During the Vietnam War, there was a shift in opinion among juries picked to hear anti-war civil disobedience cases. In the early days, a guilty verdict was practically assured; as people got a better idea of what was really happening in Vietnam, more and more not guilty verdicts were returned. Zinn also contributes several essays about prison in America, having seen it from the inside as an anti-war protester.

        This book is beyond excellent. It's been a long time since I could call a book an eye-opener; this is an eye-opener. Along with People's History of the United States, this book belongs in every high school and college history class in America.