Howard Zinn - History Matters

Talk by Historian Howard Zinn recorded on 6 Feb 2004 Lincoln said, "You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all the time." Perhaps he should have added the caveat, if you don't know history you can all fool all the people all the time. Many Americans seem afflicted with an inability to remember the past. Just three decades ago a president was impeached for breaking into an office building. Today, another president breaks into a country and nary a peep is heard. Gore Vidal calls the USA, the United States of Amnesia. Without an appreciation and respect for history people are vulnerable to manipulation and deceit. Howard Zinn Howard Zinn, professor emeritus at Boston University, is perhaps this country's premier radical historian. He was born in Brooklyn in 1922 to poor immigrant parents. During World War II, he saw combat duty as an air force bombardier. He was an active figure in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. His masterpiece, "A People's History of the United States" continues to sell in large numbers. His latest book is, "Voices of a People's History of the United States."