Introduction
Michael Kazin (born June 6, 1948) is an American historian and professor at Georgetown University. He is co-editor of Dissent magazine.
Early life
Kazin was born in New York City in 1948 and grew up in Englewood, New Jersey. He is the son of literary critic Alfred Kazin. He received a B.A. in Social Studies from Harvard University, an M.A. in History from Portland State University, and a Ph.D. in History from Stanford University. As a Harvard student he was a leader in Students for a Democratic Society and briefly a member of the Weatherman faction.
Career
Kazin's research interests are American social movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, and he has authored books on labor history (Barons of Labor: The San Francisco Building Trades and Union Power in the Progressive Era); populism (The Populist Persuasion: An American History), and William Jennings Bryan, (A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan).
Kazin wrote an unsympathetic review of Howard Zinn's 1980 book A People's History of the United States, with the comment: "Bad history, albeit gilded with virtuous intentions."
His latest book War Against War: The American Fight for Peace, 1914-1918 was published by Simon and Schuster on November 1, 2016.
Personal life
Kazin married physician Beth C. Horowitz in 1980. They have two children.