Passionate Declarations: Essays on War and Justice

by Howard Zinn

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of A People's History of the United States comes this selection of passionate, honest, and piercing essays looking at American political ideology.

Howard Zinn brings to Passionate Declarations the same astringent style and provocative point of view that led more than a million people to buy his book A People's History of the United States. He directs his critique here to what he calls American orthodoxies -- that...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060557672
• ISBN13: 9780060557676
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Put this book at the top of your "to read" pile immediately.

Every US Citizen should read Zinn's "Passionate Declarations". One's historical and political literacy is bound to increase after a single reading. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in exploring American and human history with an eye towards the role of "realism". Vonnegut readers will see his ghost running about in the pages of Zinn's essays. Zinn is a historical Myth-Buster. Prepare to have your brain split open...

Good read

An inherent problem with any work that is written to prove a particular point of view is that it just collects and presents evidence that substantiates that point of view. This book isn't so much an exception, delectable, though, it is in its language, and grand in its scope. Dr. Zinn articulates with considerable passion the many facets of American politics and its society - just about all of it driven, as Dr. Zinn advocates, by ruthless capitalistic mindset & a very misplaced sense of nationalism. It dwells on the history of many American wars, its anti communist passions, its social classes, Afro-American experience in the USA & shows how all these nuances are just manifestations of Machiavellian attitudes & a capitalist bent of mind. Beyond any doubt, each essay is splendidly articulated, each conclusion analytically arrived at, & each belief he expresses has deep roots in compassionate human experience. Since the agenda was only to write about the many difficulties of the American experience, the reader should understand that this book is, by no means, a sum total of American social and political history; & therefore, I'd advice some more reading about America (not sure which books though) before the informed reader forms a concrete opinion of the country and its policies. S!

Keeping democracy alive

"Passionate Declarations" by Howard Zinn is an outstanding collection of essays that were originally published in 1990. The new edition from 2003 features a Preface that was written just prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In my view, Dr. Zinn's essays are helpful in understanding many of the forces that have influenced international events today. A theme that runs through most of the essays pertains to the contradictions of U.S. rhetoric and policy. While the U.S. consistently espouses democratic principles, Dr. Zinn asserts that the country often acts in a Machiavellian manner in order to protect deeply embedded corporate and elitist privileges. However, Dr. Zinn is most interested in highlighting some of the individuals and organizations who have spoken truth to power and have struggled to keep democracy alive. The author reminds us about forgotten heroes from the past -- such as the laborers from the Colorado coal strike of 1913-1914 -- and helps us appreciate the hard-fought victories that were won against significant opposition from capital and government. Dr. Zinn's personal experiences as a World War II airman and as an organizer during the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s adds vibrancy to the narrative; you soon realize that the author is an intelligent person who has had meaningful first-hand interactions with some of the important historical events of the 20th century. Dr. Zinn helps the reader understand that freedom and democracy depend more on an informed and active citizenry than on the government, whose elitist political class more often represent their own self-interests than those of the people. One of my favorite chapters was Dr. Zinn's refutation of the idea of a just war. The author contends that the most damaging popular legacy of WW II is that the U.S. can and should use its military superiority to achieve political and economic objectives whenever it is convenient to do so. Dr. Zinn challenges this widely-held belief by highlighting the many atrocities committed by the U.S. and its allies during the war, the most spectacular of course having been the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. He goes on to illustrate the corrupting effect that this immense military power has had on American leaders ever since; the reader is able to easily connect these tendencies with the current abysmal situation in Iraq.I recommend this insightful book to everyone.