You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times

A stunning, collectible edition of Howard Zinn’s landmark memoir that chronicles his lifelong commitment to social justice and steadfast belief that ordinary people can change history

A Beacon Classics edition, featuring spot gloss cover and retro, classic palette

Is change possible? Where will it come from? Can we actually make a difference? How do we remain hopeful?

Howard Zinn—activist, historian, and author of A People’s History of the United States—was a participant in and chronicler of some of the landmark struggles for racial and economic justice in US history. In his memoir, You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train, Zinn reflects on more than thirty years of fighting for social change, from his teenage years as a laborer in Brooklyn to teaching at Spelman College, where he emerged in the civil rights movement as a powerful voice for justice. A former bombardier in World War II, he later became an outspoken antiwar activist, spirited protestor, and champion of civil disobedience. Throughout his life, Zinn was unwavering in his belief that “small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” This repackaged edition will inspire a new generation of readers to believe that change is possible.