Howard Zinn died today, and how astounding is it that the Associated Press couldn’t get through the obituary of the legendary historian without mentioning Good Will Hunting?
Howard Zinn (1922-2010)
Howard Zinn, an author, teacher and political activist whose book “A People’s History of the United States” became a million-selling leftist alternative to mainstream texts, died Wednesday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 87 and lived in Auburndale, Mass.
… “A People’s History” had some famous admirers, including the actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The two grew up near Professor Zinn, were family friends and gave the book a plug in their Academy Award-winning screenplay for “Good Will Hunting.”
As a math genius once said about Zinn’s People’s History of the United States, that book “will knock you on your ass.”
Good Will Hunting is getting all kinds of shout-outs today on NPR… It’s funny how “A People’s History” and this movie have become so inextricably linked.