Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology

by Howard Zinn

Book Overview

The acclaimed author of A People's History of the United States presents an honest and piercing look at American political ideology. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060921080
• ISBN13: 9780060921088
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A unique look at American history

Howard Zinn has written a highly informative and enjoyable book. He takes on and demolishes some of the most pervasive myths in American history, from the "necessity" of dropping the atomic bombs on Japan to the common but mistaken belief that the First Amendment has protected free speech in America. I highly recommend this book to all readers of American history, regardless of their political persuasion. Hardly an unqualified admirer of this country, Zinn pulls no punches in attacking America's dark past, from slavery and segregation of black people to the exploitation of workers in the early 1900s. He is also a strong critic of American foreign policy. In what may be the most controversial part of the book, he attacks the common belief that war can be just. Zinn shows that even in World War II much of the killing was unneccessary. Many conservatives will object to this, but I think Zinn makes a solid case for pacificism. Just as controversial, Zinn believes free speech in America exists basically for the rich. Class conflict is a recurring theme throughout Declarations of Independence. This was a terrific book and I look forward to reading A People's History of the United States.

Let Howard Zinn shake out the cobwebs and open your eyes

"There is a fable written by German playwright Bertolt Brecht that goes roughly like this: A man living alone answers a knock at the door. When he opens it, he sees in the doorway the powerful body, the cruel face, of The Tyrant. The Tyrant asks, "Will you submit?" The man does not reply. He steps aside. The Tyrant enters and establishes himself in the man's house. The man serves him for years. Then The Tyrant becomes sick from food poisoning. He dies. The man wraps the body, opens the door, gets rid of the body, comes back to his house, closes the door behind him, and says, firmly, "No.""This quote illustrates Zinn's contention that momentous changes can occur with patience and without submission. Zinn points out that throughout history, the results of wars are not what were expected or planned, unpredicatable events occur. Given that, the "unacceptable means" of war do not justify the "uncertain ends".This book was written in 1990 before the breakup of the Soviet Union and the end of apartheid although Zinn states the hope that such events will happen.Although these milestones in history were yet to come, I was struck by the timeliness of the book, many sections could have been written about events and trends happening today. I recommend this book to everyone who feels swept away and powerless in America today. Read this book and do not submit.

Zinn wants us to live in a better world

Howard Zinn will never be a mainstream policy wonk. He is a maverick and proud of it. In a nutshell, Zinn wants a government that represents the interests of the majority...not a select few. Moreover, he dares the reader to challenge conventional wisdom and examine events through his special prism. "The struggle for justice should never be abandoned on the ground that it is hopeless," the author nobly argues. It is a major theme in chapters one through eleven of his book. Overall the author points a lot of fingers at our leaders for promoting aggression in foreign policy. In my opinion, Zinn's "cross-examination" of American idelology is a good book to read during our 4th of July holiday.

An essential manual for understanding the world

Declarations of Independence is one of those few books with the power to change your life and blow your mind if you read it at the right time. There is no better introduction to modern progressive philosophy. When I stumbled on the book (soon after it first came out in 1990, in the midst of the Gulf War), I was in high school and trying to figure out some way of understanding the world beyond myself, and this was the book that helped me begin exploring. I found the insights so fresh, exciting, and provocative that I devoured the book in a few days, then returned to read it again and more carefully. I have returned to it many times since, and with every reading I am amazed at the clarity of Zinn's writing and the common sense and great decency which fills his thinking.Declarations of Independence seeks to uncover the motives and hypocrisies in many of the ideas Americans take for granted. As a historian and the reknowned author of A People's History of the United States, Zinn is in a position to offer an incisive perspective on our present from someone who understands so much of our past. In one elegant chapter after another, Zinn meditates on American foreign policy, violence and human nature, law and justice, the American class system, just and unjust war, Communism and anti-Communism, and, of course, the use and abuse of history. In many ways, this is a broader and even more accessible book than A People's History of the United States, and just as necessary for anyone concerned with thinking their own thoughts and living a humane life.

An Unforgettable Trek Through American Mentality

"Declarations of Independence" should be required reading at every high school in America. The focus of this work is on the plethora of facts and events that never reach the minds of school children. It thankfully takes a swing at everything we as Americans take for granted. This book will be of great use to anyone who has ever asked of the "American system", "Why does it have to be that way?" and has gotten the answer, "Because that is the way it has always been." Zinn illuminates the social and economic struggles of the common man, woman, and child that are all too often overlooked in textbooks that strive for a glowing and idealistic reckoning over the darker, more realistic truth. In a challenging piece of reading, Zinn takes us on a journey through the common myths and misconceptions of American ideology and begs us to stop seeing the status quo as unalterable. This is a first-class book that deserves to be read by everyone calling themselves "Americans".