by Dave Zirin
Dutton
8/4/2026, hardcover
SKU: 9780593473658
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 Times bestselling 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.
Reviews:
"Passionate, inspiring and textured, The People's Historian contains riches on every page." -- BookPage (starred review)
"In this compelling portrait of the indomitable Howard Zinn, Dave Zirin offers a definitive account of the nation's most influential radical historian... Arriving at an urgent moment, this book reminds us that Howard Zinn still has much to teach about resisting the latest threats to American democracy." --Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, author of #From Black Lives Matter to Black Liberation
"Dave Zirin always comes on time because he never stops writing beautiful prose pointed at injustice. The People's Historian shook free an understanding of Zinn I'd never felt, and made me know that we are so, so prepared to live and fight in 2026." -- Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir
About the Author:
Dave Zirin is the sports editor at The Nation magazine, their first sports editor in 160 years of existence. The author of eleven books on the politics of sports, including most recently The Kaepernick Effect and the NAACP Image Award nominated The John Carlos Story, Zirin has also worked as an advisor for filmmakers and documentarians such as Ang Lee and Ken Burns. Named one of UTNE Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World," Zirin has been a frequent guest on ESPN, MSNBC, and CNN.