Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn is the author of A People’s History of the United States. His latest book is Terrorism and War (Seven Stories Press, $9.95). Here he chooses his favorite books about power.
Power Politics by Arundhati Roy (South End Press, $12). Here, the brilliant author of the Booker Prize novel The God of Small Things uses her powerful pen, in several eloquent essays, to demonstrate, with chilling specificity, how “globalization” in India is destructive to human life and sensibility.
Richard Wright: The Life and Times by Hazel Rowley (Henry Holt & Co., $35). A magnificent biography, subtle and insightful, of the great black writer, author of Native Son. Wright was born in the Deep South, was involved with the Communist Party, struggled with it over the role of a writer-revolutionary, and became an expatriate in Paris. Rowley writes with style and grace, and her research on Wright is prodigious.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich (Owl Books, $13). No statistical or polemical argument against “welfare reform” can match this devastating portrait of what happens to working women when they are forced into less than subsistence-wage jobs. Ehrenreich worked at such jobs for months before writing this account of her experience, her customary wit intact, her anger barely suppressed.
The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord by Ray Raphael (New Press, $27). About a little-known citizens’ takeover of government from the English in Massachusetts a year before Lexington and Concord. What is fascinating is the implication that independence from England might have been won without so much death and suffering, by a protracted nonviolent struggle.
The Condemnation of Little B by Elaine Brown (Beacon Press, $29). The former head of the Black Panthers here dissects the imprisonment of a 13-year-old black kid in Atlanta for a murder she is sure he did not commit. Brown boldly denounces the black community for not only abandoning the boy, but actively participating in his prosecution.
Last Refuge of Scoundrels: A Revolutionary Novel by Paul Lussier (Warner Books, $15). This is a hilarious spoof on the founding fathers. Lussier has actually done a huge amount of research on the Revolution, and his novel is an ingenious combination of fact and fiction, which manages to be outrageous and funny at the same time.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The Finest Summer Flavours
By Sponsored Content Published
-
Today's political cartoons - May 20, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - flags flipped, Diddy dunked, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Diddy admits to beating girlfriend after video
Speed Read Though he previously denied allegations of abuse, Combs apologized for abusing Cassie Ventura following the release of new CCTV footage
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cynthia Carr's 6 favorite books that explore social issues
Feature The former culture writer recommends works by Ling Ma, Olga Tokarczuk, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Tom Crewe's 6 favorite works that challenge societal norms
Feature The novelist recommends works by Margaret Oliphant, Patrick White, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Daniel Wallace's 5 favorite books that should not be forgotten
Feature The author recommends works by Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Keith O'Brien's 6 must-read books about significant moments in sports history
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Eig and more
By The Week US Published