Howard Zinn, "Howard Zinn on War"

"It seems that once an initial judgment has been made that a war is just, there is a tendency to stop thinking, to assume then that everything done on behalf of victory is morally acceptable."

Howard Zinn, an historian, WWII Veteran, and anti-war activist, compiles writings dealing with war and other humanitarian atrocities throughout our violent history. Through historical research and analysis with a personal perspective keen on uncovering the atrocities of war and violence, the audience is able to look back at history in a different light. One is able to see war without the propaganda and rhetorical justifications that allow us to accept the wholesale killing and destruction of peoples and lands for the greed and profit of those who seek or wish to maintain their power. Some of the more moving moments are when the reader is taken from the perspective of the aggressors into that of the victims, as is the case in his analysis of the bombing of Royan, a catastrophic incident in which Howard Zinn was a bombardier. After reading this brutally revealing collection of essays, one can't help but be moved, perhaps with anger, perhaps with sorrow, hopefully with an urgent sense that war is not a necessary means for all ends.

Citation Information:
Zinn, H. (2001). Howard Zinn on war. New York: Seven Stories Press.

Links:
HowardZinn.org

See Also:
Zinn, H. (1980). A people's history of the United States. New York: Harper & Row.

Zinn, H. (1997). The Zinn reader: Writings on disobedience and democracy. New York: Seven Stories Press.