Voices of a Peoples History of the United States 2nd Edition

This updated companion to Howard Zinn's classic A People's History of the United States brings together the powerful words and actions of people of all ages, races, and creeds who, though mostly powerless themselves, have made change in America across the centuries.

This second edition now contains additional voices of conscience who have spoken out over the past five years, including Camilo Mejia, the first US soldier serving in Iraq to go public with his refusal to continue fighting Bush's war; Evann Orleck-Jetter, the middle school student who testified in support of equal rights for gay and lesbian families; and Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in action in Iraq, and whose speeches galvanized sentiment against the occupation of Iraq.

This edition will be promoted throughout the fall and winter by Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove, Matt Damon, and others, as part of a coordinated effort to enlarge awareness in the United States of Howard Zinn's vision of our history. December's launch of The People Speak on the History Channel will be just one of the major events that will also include live performances, press conferences, and more.

Howard Zinn's great subject isn't war, but peace. After his experience as a bombardier in World War II more than sixty years ago, he became convinced that there could no longer be such a thing as a just war, because the vast majority of victims in modern warfare are, increasingly, innocent civilians. Zinn has, over the course of a lifetime of civil disobedience and authoring books, including the best-selling A People's History of the United States, influenced four generations in the ways of peace.

Anthony Arnove is the editor of Terrorism and War by Howard Zinn, and of Iraq Under Siege. An activist and regular contributor to ZNet, his writing has appeared in The Nation, Financial Times, and Mother Jones. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

“Voices really captures the voices as if they were speaking right to us over the years and all the differences.It calls on us to add our own voices and, quite apart from its value as a learning tool, that may be its greatest contribution.”– Paul Buhle, Z Magazine

Voices of a People’s History of the United States should be required reading for every individual lucky enough to call America home.”– Scott Thill, Salon.com

“Voices should be on every bookshelf. [It presents] the rich tradition of struggle in the United States, from the resistance to the conquest of the Americas in the era of Columbus through the protests today of soldiers and their families against the brutal invasion and occupation of Iraq.”—Arundhati Roy

“In Voices, Howard Zinn has given us our true story, the ongoing, not-so-secret narrative of race and class in America.”—Russell Banks

“Gut-wrenching.”—Jon Stewart

“To omit or to minimize these voices of resistance is to create the idea that power only rests with  those who have the guns, who possess the wealth, who own the newspapers and the television stations. I want to point out that people who seem to have no power, whether working people, people of color, or women—once they organize and protest and create movements—have a voice no government can suppress.”—Howard Zinn, from the Introduction

Voices of a People’s History of the United States is the companion volume to historian Howard Zinn’s legendary best-selling book A People’s History of the United States. This second edition introduces four new voices: Camílo Mejia, the first U.S. soldier serving in Iraq to go public with his refusal to continue fighting Bush’s war; Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in action in Iraq, and whose speeches galvanized sentiment against the occupation of Iraq; Kevin Tillman, whose brother Pat, a former NFL player, was killed in Afghanistan in a case of “friendly fire”; and twelve-year-old Evann Orleck-Jetter, who testified before a 2009 public hearing of the Joint Senate and House Judiciary Committee in Vermont in support of equal rights for gay and lesbian families.

Historian and activist Howard Zinn's visionary telling of our history is widely considered one of the most important and influential of our era.

In Voices, Howard Zinn has given us our true story, the ongoing, not-so-secret narrative of race and class in America.--Russell Banks

Gut-wrenching.--Jon Stewart

To omit or to minimize these voices of resistance is to create the idea that power only rests with those who have the guns, who possess the wealth, who own the newspapers and the television stations. I want to point out that people who seem to have no power, whether working people, people of color, or women--once they organize and protest and create movements--have a voice no government can suppress.--Howard Zinn, from the Introduction

Voices of a People's History of the United States is the companion volume to historian Howard Zinn's legendary best-selling book A People's History of the United States. This second edition introduces four new voices: Camilo Mejia, the first U.S. soldier serving in Iraq to go public with his refusal to continue fighting Bush's war; Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in action in Iraq, and whose speeches galvanized sentiment against the occupation of Iraq; Kevin Tillman, whose brother Pat, a former NFL player, was killed in Afghanistan in a case of friendly fire; and twelve-year-old Evann Orleck-Jetter, who testified before a 2009 public hearing of the Joint Senate and House Judiciary Committee in Vermont in support of equal rights for gay and lesbian families.

Historian and activist Howard Zinn's visionary telling of our history is widely considered one of the most important and influential of our era.

Paralleling the twenty-four chapters of Zinn's A People's History of the United States, Voices of a Peoples History is the long-awaited companion volume to the national bestseller. For Voices, Zinn and Arnove have selected testimonies to living history—speeches, letters, poems, songs—left by the people who make history happen but who usually are left out of history books—women, workers, nonwhites. Zinn has written short introductions to the texts, which range in length from letters or poems of less than a page to entire speeches and essays that run several pages. Voices of a Peoples History is a symphony of our nations original voices, rich in ideas and actions, the embodiment of the power of civil disobedience and dissent wherein lies our nations true spirit of defiance and resilience.