Original Zinn

Historian, activist, and best-selling author Howard Zinn was interviewed on air numerous times by public radio’s David Barsamian. Original Zinn is a collection of these entertaining and informative dialogues, featuring Zinn’s famously acerbic wit and comprehensive knowledge of American history. The conversations in this book touch on such diverse topics as the American war machine, civil disobedience, the importance of remembering history, and the role of artists — from Langston Hughes to Dalton Trumbo to Bob Dylan — in relation to social change.

Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was a historian, playwright, and activist. He wrote the classic A People’s History of the United States, which has sold more than two million copies and was featured in a documentary on the History Channel. His other writings include the play “Marx in Soho” and his autobiography You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train. He received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs award for his writing and political activism.

David Barsamian, founder and director of the widely syndicated weekly show “Alternative Radio,” has authored several books of interviews with leading political thinkers, including Arundhati Roy, Howard Zinn, Tariq Ali, and Noam Chomsky. Barsamian is the recipient of the ACLU’s Upton Sinclair Award for independent journalism. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.