The Historic Unfulfilled Promise

Howard Zinn's views on social movements, freedom, history, democracy and our own human potential are educational and transformative. In few places is his voice more clear and accessible than in the dozens of articles he penned for The Progressive magazine from 1980 to 2009, offered together here in book form for the first time.

Whether encouraging people to organize, critiquing the government or speaking on behalf of working people who struggle to survive in an economy rigged to benefit the rich and powerful, Zinn's historical clarity, unflappable optimism and unshakable questions reverberate throughout The Historic Unfulfilled Promise: "Have our political leaders gone mad?" "What kind of country do we want to live in?" "Has the will of the people been followed?" The Historic Unfulfilled Promise is a genuine work of conscience, rich in ideas, charged with energy; an invaluable introduction for the uninitiated and a must-have for Zinn's fans.

"Passionate, iconoclastic, and wrly humorous . . . [Zinn] sometimes proves astounding in his almost clairvoyant analysis."—Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

"A sharp and insightful collection from one of the country's most visible historians and critics."—Booklist

"A useful introduction to one of America's great scholar-activists."—Kirkus Reviews

"Howard Zinn's life and work are an unforgettable model, sure to leave a permanent stamp on how history is understood and how a decent and honorable life should be lived."—Noam Chomsky

"Proudly, unabashedly radical . . . Mr. Zinn delighted in debating ideological foes, not the least his own college president, and in lancing what he considered platitudes, not the least that American history was a heroic march toward democracy."—New York Times

"For Howard, democracy was one big public fight and everyone should plunge into it. That's the only way, he said, for everyday folks to get justic—by fighting for it."—Bill Moyers