Howard Zinn - People's History Project: 1 (Box) (CD)

All Music Guide

In his recordings, author and historian Howard Zinn comes off as the warmer and friendlier version of Noam Chomsky. Zinn clearly shares Chomsky's leftist political views and his notion of how the reporting of both news and history can effect (or distort) its impact on the Average Joe, but while Chomsky is a brilliant man but not the world's most engaging speaker, Zinn has a personal magnetism, good humor and sense of compassion that make his readings genuinely engaging experiences. The People's History Project, Vol. One is a six CD box set (released by Alternative Tentacles in cooperation with AK Press which collects four previously released albums of Zinn's lectures A People's History Of The United States, Artists In A Time Of War, Heroes and Martyrs, and Stories Hollywood Never Tells. While Zinn's lectures in this set demand a certain knowledge of and interest in America's social and political history (as well as a willingness to accept a version of America's past that may not confo...rm with what you learned in sixth grade), this material often has as much to do with political philosophy as hard facts, and Zinn is a fine storyteller who puts an admirable focus on the human dimension of American history. These recordings hardly replace a reading of Zinn's works, especially A People's History Of The United States, but they certainly comprise a fascinating supplement, and while this presents an awful lot of Zinn in one package, it's never dull and truly enlightening those introducing themselves to Zinn as a speaker may want to try one of the individual albums first, but those already tuned in to his perspective will want to hear it all. - Mark Deming, All Music Guide Read more Less