Product Description Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of -- and in the words of -- America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Amazon.com Review Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised and updated edition of A People's History of the United States turns traditional textbook history on its head. Howard Zinn infuses the often-submerged voices of blacks, women, American Indians, war resisters, and poor laborers of all nationalities into this thorough narrative that spans American history from Christopher Columbus's arrival to an afterword on the Clinton presidency.
Addressing his trademark reversals of perspective, Zinn--a teacher, historian, and social activist for more than 20 years--explains, "My point is not that we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus in absentia. It is too late for that; it would be a useless scholarly exercise in morality. But the easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all)--that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth."
If your last experience of American history was brought to you by junior high school textbooks--or even if you're a specialist--get ready for the other side of stories you may not even have heard. With its vivid descriptions of rarely noted events, A People's History of the United States is required reading for anyone who wants to take a fresh look at the rich, rocky history of America.
History falls somwhere in the middle, and this is an important side of it November 16, 2008 Everyone needs to take Zinn's magnum opus here for what it is --> It's no more fact or propaganda than what we were fed in elementary school.
The only fact we know about the past is that you can't trust any account of it. To borrow the setting of Plato's cave....all we see of history are shadows of the past on a wall, and each version is projected through a different lens and light source. It's safe to say that nothing we see of it accurately reflect the events....it's impossible. There is no factual reality for things we weren't alive for - hell even things we are alive for are questionable (Bush won the election in 2000 and Clinton didn't inhale).
So, what we learned in school was as much fact as fiction and as much indoctrination as learning. The same can be said of this book.
The truth falls somewhere in the middle, and that's what makes this book so important. That's what makes it as great a book as it is.
I don't care if you have a man crush on Hannity or spend your spare time protesting at WTO meetings.....you should read this book if you are a student of history.
Everyone should read this book. November 12, 2008 This book is simply one of the best books I have ever read. Zinn and the people tell it like is. We never learned this in History class. From Columbus to the Revolution, slavery, the Civil War, the Robber Barons, labor unions, the World Wars, Viet Nam and the 2000 election, the people speak. America building its empire while keeping the poor and minorities down and giving a little something to the middle class to keep them moderately satisfied so as not to revolt and keeping the labor strikes to a minimum. The struggle of women, blacks, migrants and the middle class is covered. The People speak in this book. You have never read anything like this. Howard Zinn has fought for the down troddin for half a century. It's just wonderful. I highly reccomend Howard Zinn's documentary "You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train, 1994."
History of the U.S. book October 24, 2008 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
A must for high school, jr. high/middle school students who want a good, solid summary understanding of U.S. history!
Socialist Propaganda September 28, 2008 12 out of 26 found this review helpful
Only avowed Socialists would find this propaganda book intellectually honest. If you're in college right now you'll probably run into this book in one of your courses; if so you know your professor is a loon and you're better off dropping the course immediately.
Hate speech September 28, 2008 20 out of 35 found this review helpful
In an important recent article (9 September 2008) by Ian Jobling entitled `What is Leukophobia?", Howard Zinn's book is analyzed from the point of view of the stereotypes it is based on and which it fuels. These are:
Stereotype #1: Whites are greedy; non-whites are communal and generous Stereotype #2: Whites are hierarchical and authoritarian; non-whites are egalitarian and libertarian Stereotype #3: Whites are violent; non-whites are peaceful Stereotype #4: Non-whites live in harmony with the natural world; whites exploit and destroy it Stereotype #5: The white establishment is unwaveringly racist and has never behaved generously towards non-whites Stereotype #6: Injustice flows in one direction only--from whites to non-whites Stereotype #7: All of non-whites' problems are due to whites Stereotype #8: Western culture has not resulted in any positive achievement.
This sounds like a tedious rehash of the poison coming from the Frankfurt School, the ADL, the SPC and other hate organizations in their attempt to destroy Western culture. Perhaps this book, to appreciate the full extent of its political agenda, should be read in conjunction with Kevin MacDonald's Culture of Critique and Rabbi Emanuel Rabinovitch speech, delivered in Budapest, on the 12th of January, 1952 before the "Emergency Council of European Rabbi".
"A People's History fo the Unites States" is not research, it's hate speech.
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