Harvard Book Store welcomes Dave Zirin, author of eleven books on the politics of sport and sports editor at The Nation Magazine, for a discussion of his new book, "The People's Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn." He will be joined in conversation by Howard Bryant, author of eleven books and winner of a 2025 Sports Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Series as an executive producer for Netflix's The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox.
"The People's Historian" is a biography of iconic radical historian Howard Zinn, examining his life and work as a progressive icon and thought leader through the story of the times that shaped him as well as the United States of America.
From The Nation magazine columnist and New York Timesbestselling author Dave Zirin, "The People's Historian" is a deeply researched biography of Howard Zinn, the beloved author of the classic national bestseller with more than four million copies sold, A People's History of the United States.
"The People’s Historian" shows Zinn’s presence on the great canvases of the 20th century: from the Depression to World War II to the Civil Rights Movement to the war in Vietnam all the way until his death in 2010. With intimately researched stories from Zinn’s life and career, such as the way Atlanta's small Spelman College, where Zinn taught as a young professor, helped launch the Civil Rights Movement, Zinn's work traveling to Hanoi to engineer the release of POWs, and his continuing influence in the emerging Democratic Socialist movement, "The People’s Historian" explores Zinn’s past while also demonstrating how his 75 years of political engagement with the social struggles of his time informs our perilous present.
With input from family and access to Zinn's personal papers, "The People's Historian" paints a picture of the man behind A People's History, examining his work and legacy in the broader context of the United States.
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