Books for Organizing

From the foreword by Baldemar Vlαsquez, President, Farm Labor Organizing Commitee:
"Honest discussion, investigation, and the willingness to question conventional wisdom on how best to represent and organize workers and challenge entire industries... The following pages chronicle the experiences and lessons of labor's Rosa Park's--and perhaps tomorrow's Martin Luther King, Jr.'s and Malcolm X's."
 

"Zinn has written a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those who have been exploited politically and economically and whose plights has been largely omitted from most histories. Extending its coverage...the book is an excellent antidote to established history. Seldom have quotations been so effectively used; the stories of blacks, women, Indians, and poor laborers of all nationalities are told in their own words. While the book is precise enough th please specialists it should satisfy any adult reader." Library Journal If your last serious read of American history was in high school - or even in a standard college course - you'll want to read this amazing account of America as seen throuigh the eyes of its working people, women and minorities. Zinn, a widely respected Boston University professor, turns history on its head with his carefully researched and dramatic recounting of America and its people - not just its bankers, landed gentry, industrialists, generals and politicians. Zinn looks at things differently. Your old textbook probably described how Columbus discovered America. Ther way Zinn sees it, there was a "European invasion of the Indian settlements in the Americas." Where your old history teacher devoted a sentence or two, at best, to the huge wave of industrial union organizing in the 1930's and 1940's, Zinn devotes a chapter. [NOTE: Another excellent book we carry is devoted entirely to the history of the U.S. labor movement from the point of view of the workers themselves: "Labor's Untold Story" by Richard Boyer & Herbert Morais. $14] And where your old history book made passing reference to slavery and those who fought it, Zinn describes the real scope and amazing struggle against that loathsome institution. This book will give you a whole new way of looking at and understanding the world around you. "One of the most important books I have ever read in a long life of reading... It's a wonderful, splendid book - a book that should be read by every American, student or otherwise, who wants to understand his country, its true history, and its hope for the future." - Howard Fast
688 pages • Paperback • Revised & updated (2004)
 

"When I began work ...[on this book]... I wanted the voices of struggle, mostly absent from our history books, to be given the place they desere. I wanted labor history, which has been the battleground, decade after decade, century after century, of an ongoing fight for human dignity, to come to the fore. And I wanted my readers to experience how at key moments in our history some of the bravest and most effective political acts were the sounds of the human voice itself..." --Howard Zinn, from the introduction.
 

We also carry another book with the same title, by Todd Parr. It is an illustrated children's book and it is not related to this book. To avoid confusion, we've titled his book, "Todd Parr's The Peace Book."
 

"The No-Nonsense Guide to World History" integrates these hidden histories with the more familiar narrative of imperial dynasties and superpower battles. It stands back from history's great building to look at its outline instead of focusing on one brick. It aims to tell the whole story in the space of one slim volume - and to tease out some of the lessons of history that humanity needs to take into the 21st century. (taken from back cover)
 

How democratic is democracy? We take the pulse of today's body politic and find the patient in an enfeebled state. This book explores how democracy is constricted and deformed by economic power-brokers and a self-serving political class, from Birmingham to Bangalore. A sterile consensus of technocrats, neo-liberals and spin-doctors worldwide has usurped the hopes for a democratic future. The book is also a guide to the rich diversity of forms of elected government and contains some practical ideas for empowering today's voters around the world. (taken from back cover)
 

Edited by James Mann, Forward by historian Howard Zinn
200 posters and graphics against the war in Iraq. From over 20 countries around the world in full color and large format (9" x 13") Free to copy and distribute for any not-for-profit manner.
 

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