Howard Zinn and Viggo Mortensen

Howard Zinn, the author of “A People’s History of the United States” and several other books, has died. The Boston Herald reports he suffered a heart attack yesterday in Santa Monica. He was 87.

Zinn, a longtime professor at Boston University, was known for his left-wing politics. Born in New York, Zinn served in the Army Air Forces during World War II, where he became a Second Lieutenant. He attended New York University on the GI Bill after the war, enrolling as a 27-year-old freshman; he did his postgraduate work at Columbia University. As a young professor, he became a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War.

He published books on the Vietnam War, as well as other books on history and American society. But it was his 1980 book “A People’s History of the United States” and its follow-up, “Voices of a People’s History of the United States,” that made him required reading. Literally — “A People’s History of the United States” presented American history from alternative perspectives, including native peoples, slaves, disenfranchised workers, farmers and women.

Rest in peace, Howard Zinn… we the people will miss you.

• Howard Zinn on “The People Speak,” the Supreme Court and Haiti, 25 January 2010
• A Memory of Howard Zinn by Daniel Ellsberg, 27 January 2010
• Remembering Howard Zinn by Elizabeth DiNovella, 27 January 2010

“If patriotism were defined, not as blind obedience to government, nor as submissive worship to flags and anthems, but rather as love of one’s country, one’s fellow citizens (all over the world), as loyalty to the principles of justice and democracy, then patriotism would require us to disobey our government, when it violated those principles.” – Howard Zinn

“Why should we accept that the “talent” of someone who writes jingles for an advertising agency advertising dog food and gets $100,000 a year is superior to the talent of an auto mechanic who makes $40,000 a year? Who is to say that Bill Gates works harder than the dishwasher in the restaurant he frequents, or that the CEO of a hospital who makes $400,000 a year works harder than the nurse or the orderly in that hospital who makes $30,000 a year? The president of Boston University makes $300,000 a year. Does he work harder than the man who cleans the offices of the university? Talent and hard work are qualitative factors which cannot be measured quantitatively.” – Howard Zinn