HOWARD ZINNâs (1922â2010) great subject isnât war, but peace. After his experience as a bombardier in World War II, he became convinced that there could be no such thing as a âjust war,â as the vast majority of modern warfareâs victims are made up of innocent civilians. In his books, including A Peopleâs History of the United States and its companion volume, Voices of a Peopleâs History of the United States, Zinn affirms the power of the masses to influence major events. Through a lifetime of pointed scholarship and principled civil disobedience, he has led and continues to lead generations in the ways of peace.