A People's History of the United States

Written by Howard Zinn

Narrated by Jeff Zinn

THE CLASSIC NATIONAL BESTSELLER

""A wonderful, splendid book—a book that should be read by every American, student or otherwise, who wants to understand his country, its true history, and its hope for the future."" –Howard Fast

Historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States chronicles American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official narrative taught in schools—with its emphasis on great men in high places—to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace.

Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, it 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, the working poor, and immigrant laborers. As Zinn shows, many of our country's greatest battles—the fights for a fair wage, an eight-hour workday, child-labor laws, health and safety standards, universal suffrage, women's rights, racial equality—were carried out at the grassroots level, against bloody resistance.

Covering Christopher Columbus's arrival through President Clinton's first term, A People's History of the United States features insightful analysis of the most important events in our history. This edition also includes an introduction by Anthony Arnove, who wrote, directed, and produced The People Speak with Zinn and who coauthored, with Zinn, Voices of a People’s History of the United States.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Dec 13, 2009
• ISBN: 9780061968358

Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn (1922–2010) was a historian, playwright, and social activist. In addition to A People’s History of the United States, which has sold more than two million copies, he is the author of numerous books including The People Speak, Passionate Declarations, and the autobiography, You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.

Reviews for A People's History of the United States

[devil_llama · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book should be required reading for every student, as it gives a detailed view of history from a different perspective. You don't have to agree with everything in it, and in fact, even if you don't agree with the author's politics at all, it is a valuable addition to the body of historical works.

[widsith_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 1846, in Concord, Massachusetts, the writer Henry David Thoreau ran into a tax collector called Sam Staples, who asked for his poll tax. Thoreau declined to pay, refusing – he said – to contribute to what he regarded as the government's illegal war against Mexico. He was put in prison.When Emerson visited Thoreau in jail and asked, ‘What are you doing in there?’ it was reported that Thoreau replied, ‘What are you doing out there?’Howard Zinn is not in jail (he's dead), but the message to readers is much the same. This is a big book with a big chip on its shoulder. It's not really a history of the US at all, it's a kind of ‘Marxist Companion to’ American history – but none the worse for that, and Zinn can hardly be accused of concealing his biases. He's very upfront about the fact that this book ‘leans in a certain direction’. His reading of history is one dominated by social and economic inequality presided over by governments that protect capitalist interests at the expense of people's lives. And, as you might imagine, he's not short of examples. It's interesting that many of those who dislike this book seem almost personally offended by it. That is worrying, because it suggests that American patriotism (which is almost a state religion) has succeeded in convincing people to identify themselves with their governments, one of the things that Zinn is trying, passim, to argue against. Certainly ‘America’ as a state does not come out of this very well, but I rather doubt that Zinn believes any other countries are much better; the point is only that the US is no different.Instead of memorable dates or acts of statesmanship, then, we have a history of the disenfranchised and the working-classes, from Columbus to the War on Terror, demolishing the fiction that the US is a ‘classless’ society and establishing the importance of protest and activism in achieving any meaningful social advances.In some cases this means coming at the familiar stories of American history from a new angle – as is the case with the settling of North America, which Zinn sees as straightforwardly genocidal, or his account of the ‘Roaring’ 1920s, which focuses on the country's staggering wealth disparity. Sometimes again, Zinn's approach is more or less in line with traditional narratives, as for instance when it comes to the civil rights movement. And finally there are the stories in here which you don't typically see in histories of the U.S. at all, such as the rise and ultimate fall of American unionism, something I, like most people in Europe, have often wondered about.What I love about books that focus on protest movements is that they help break down the idea that countries are monolithic, or that the behavior of a state is even moderately successful in enacting the wishes of its populace. And the US has had some of the most courageous and eloquent protesters anywhere. Emerson may not have gone to jail for his beliefs like his friend Thoreau, but consider the letter he wrote to President Van Buren in 1838, on the subject of Indian Removal. The policy, he says, isa crime that really deprives us as well as the Cherokees of a country for how could we call the conspiracy that should crush these poor Indians our government, or the land that was cursed by their parting and dying imprecations our country any more?Others had the presence of mind to produce this stuff on the fly. Eugene Debs, jailed for speaking out against the First World War, told his judge in court:Your honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.(And critics call this an anti-American book! You're cheering over heroic Americans the whole way through – they just happen to be in confrontation with their government most of the time. It's very moving, and I was a bit of an emotional wreck for much of the three weeks I spent reading it.) The gradual emancipation of women furnishes some of the best anecdotes. Elizabeth Blackwell, a doctor who got her medical degree in 1849 from Geneva College, wrote about one of her first cases, where she called in a local physician for consultation on a pneumonia patient:This gentleman, after seeing the patient, went with me into the parlour. There he began to walk about the room in some agitation, exclaiming, “A most extraordinary case! Such a one never happened to me before; I really do not know what to do!” I listened in surprise and much perplexity, as it was a clear case of pneumonia and of no unusual degree of danger, until at last I discovered that his perplexity related to me, not to the patient, and to the propriety of consulting with a lady physician!It was interesting to discover that many of the radical female activists of the early twentieth century – and there were a lot of awesome women involved in anarchist syndicates and that kind of thing – were ambivalent on the question of suffrage, regarding votes as, at best, a distraction from the real issue of class warfare. Zinn is broadly sympathetic, just because he likes people who are angry; indeed activists who take a more conciliatory approach don't always come off well here. Martin Luther King's ‘I have a dream’ speech, for instance, is ‘magnificent oratory, but’ – the crucial qualification – ‘without […] anger’.All of the book's themes come together when it discusses war. There is a bracing résumé of the US's appalling military interference in Central America, and cynical (but convincing) discussions of Korea and Iraq. On Vietnam, Zinn is even more scathing than conventional wisdom would suggest – indeed, there is a sense that self-congratulatory cultural ‘admissions’ of failure have served to gloss over the ugly realities. Consider the 660 Vietnamese civilians massacred at My Lai, for example. The soldiers of Charlie Company took their time raping and dismembering the women, rounding up and killing the children, and forcing the rest of the villagers to lie down in ditches while they walked up and down shooting them, while divisional command staff watched from a helicopter. None of the anguished, important, self-examining Hollywood treatments of the conflict have come close to facing up to this kind of thing.War is recognised here as a class issue. ‘If there is a war,’ wrote Bolton Hall in an appeal to the working classes in 1898, ‘you will furnish the corpses and the taxes, and others will get the glory.’ Zinn encourages readers to consider what exactly is meant when politicians talk about the ‘national interest’, so often to be equated with corporate profits. But more generally, there is a welcome consideration of the justification for spending citizens' money on vast military projects instead of on ways to help those of them with no food, housing, or employment. As Eisenhower said, in a moment of rare presidential clarity:Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in a final sense a theft from those who are hungry and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.Welfare is one of the many issues on which both sides of the American political spectrum have united in inactivity, allowing the term itself to become almost a dirty word. (A similar process has happened with ‘socialism’.) In a 1992 survey, 44 percent of people thought too much was being spent on ‘welfare’, but 64 percent thought too little was being spent on ‘assistance to the poor’. *headdesk* Vocabulary is everything…It's true that there is, at times, an unnecessarily conspiratorial tone here – the implication that some knowing capitalist-patriarchal cabal is deliberately manipulating events to the people's detriment. Events are manipulated to the people's detriment, but the reason is systemic rather than down to individual villains (though yes, there are some conspicuous exceptions). And the ruling classes can't win: advances in social justice or economical equality – of which there are, in fact, many – are attributed to an Establishment desire for ‘long-range stability of the system’ rather than to any humanitarian motives. Where concessions have been made, ‘the chief motive was practicality, not humanity’.Zinn does say at one point that the American system ‘was not devilishly contrived by some master plotters; it developed naturally out of the needs of the situation’, but such reminders are only necessary because they are belied by his general stance. Still, over the 700-odd pages, I think the system is illustrated rather well. The account left me energised, fired-up. And people should be angry. As Zinn's history shows, the advances in American society have only come about because people got angry and forced the government to act. Now is certainly no time to stop.

[queencersei · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a history book from the other side's point of view. The other side being Indians, blacks, women, the poor and the incarcerated. This is no flag waving Team USA history book. Zinn gives voice to the Americans who have traditionally been silenced by either corporations, the media or the government itself. Unflinching and not flattering, readers will surley look at their government much more skeptically.

[neddludd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Zinn has an axe to grind: that from Columbus' "discovery" of the New World through contemporary times, native peoples, women, poor whites, African-Americans, immigrants, have all suffered at the hands of rich and powerful white men. The book provides a service by examining commonly held beliefs and holding them to factual examinations. In just one example, Abraham Lincoln is seen as being personally anti-slavery, but politically neutral. Freeing Southern slaves was not his primary goal; keeping the Union together was, and Zinn intimates that if the Confederacy would have been open to compromise than Lincoln would not have issued the Emancipation Proclamation. However, in addition to unique perspectives, the reader is subject to a great deal of overkill, and a feeling of redundancy. The author makes his point--and then continues to drive his perspective in overwhelming documentation. It's a reductionist view of American history, and even if you essentially agree with the author's thesis, by the end of the book a reader feels fatigue rather than exhileration. Also, there's no perspective; are all nations as monomaniacal as Zinn paints the U.S.? If this country is as bad as Zinn asserts, why is there still a clamor by people the world over to gain entry? Very valuable but not enjoyable: from the genocide of the "great explorers" through the imperialism of the late 19th century, through military interventions in the 20th century, and on to the cowardice and economic self-interest of politicians--from the Founding Fathers to todays hacks--it's not a pretty picture.

[dougwood57 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Howard Zinn tells the story of the United States from the perspective of the underdog - the Indians, slaves, women, workers, and so forth. The book is 'readable', i.e. not a ponderous diatribe. The book is also well-sourced and credible. The book is not the complete picture of the history of the United States. On the other hand, a history of the US that does not include the history that Zinn tells is certainly incomplete. A necessary antidote to the standard histories by an eminent historian.

[bekahmichelle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Point blank, this book is amazing.The only reason I gave it a four instead of a five is that it's so dense and at times I found myself getting slightly bored.Other than that, however, I adore this book and consider it a must-read for all Americans.

[williamguice_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Most interesting, attention grabbing historical work that I've ever read. Spot on in parts, biased in parts but a very interesting read as a counter balance to the victors who write history. This one will definitely make you think.

[marse_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! What a depressing and enlightening book! I guess I've always suspected it, but it is pretty devastating to realize that our history is one of continual violence against "the people", that is the 99%, starting with Christopher Columbus' discovery of America. And even worse is the evidence that the government has never (and I mean never) done anything or given anything to benefit those not of the 1%, except under duress. It's disheartening, too, that our new president will, no doubt, continue the shameless road we have been on for so long, without even the semblance of acting 'for the people'.

[ddelmoni_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Forgot about this book until the death of Howard Zinn. Dr. Zinn did us all a favor with the "other side" of American History. It should be mandatory reading to graduate from High School and again from College! All History is written by the winners -- Zinn tells the story of the losers in America History.

[thomper-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very important work in understand in American History. Though not perfect, the author creates a new narrative in weaving together various historic events. That new narrative at times seems a bit too focused on good-ordinary-people versus bad-political-elite, but worth a read nonetheless. A heavy reliance on secondary sources though, to the point where certain chapters feel like no more than a summary of various journals and other books.

[dandiercks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My review of the book after finishing it Sept. 19, 2019I was a high school English teacher for more than 40 years. During much of that time, I heard about Zinn’s book from social studies teachers I knew both at my school and at other high schools. I began to notice that the best of these teachers, those with highest student evaluations, the most professional awards, and those who taught the most advanced courses, all used The People’s History of the United States. While teaching, I really didn’t have time to devote to a 700-page book outside my own teaching area, but I vowed that when I retired, Zinn would be on my reading list. That time is now, and I just finished the book. One thing that led me to Zinn, aside from the endorsement from teachers I respected, was that the governor of my state at the time, Mitch Daniels, attacked the Zinn book and vowed that “it not be used anywhere in Indiana.” Of course, this was a ridiculous mandate to the state’s public school teachers, and the book was then and continues to be used in many schools in Indiana. In fact, it might even be used in the university where Daniels now serves as president, Purdue. So the attacks on Zinn by primarily conservative politicians is an attack on intellectual curiosity (something Daniels was never known for while serving in and out of government). The book exposes many issues, including the influence of big business on our country’s policies, that should have been taught in our public schools for generations. Now, because of Zinn and because of a cadre of progressive, intellectual, free thinking high school and college history teachers, students, not only in Indiana, but across the country, are getting “the rest of the story.”

[jhudsui_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Obviously the author has an agenda and a slant but he makes them extremely explicit, and of course all history has to be written from some perspective or another. Sometimes the way isolated facts are dropped completely out of context one gets the impression that he's trying to get away with something but in the sections dealing with subjects I've read in more depth about elsewhere I spotted a lot of material that supports his agenda that he omitted, simply because there isn't enough space for everything. Ultimately it's kind of scattershot and undisciplined, but unavoidably so given the scope Zinn sets out to address. I personally would have preferred reading something with a tighter focus and more depth but as it is pretty much everyone who picks this book up will come away having learned at least something. I personally was pretty surprised by the level of direct physical violence involved in 19th century strikes and strike-breaking... apparently back then people were willing to pick up guns and shoot it out with the National Guard. That is some serious shit and makes modern labor look even weaker than I already thought it did.

[foof2you · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Zinn looks at American History through the struggles of the underdog, the poor, Native American and the undesirables. While I do not necessarily agree with all Zinn's assertions I do believe that this is a must read. History usually looks at the winners and sugar coats the issues that do not fit the desired narrative. Zinn challenges the usual US history lesson and looks at little known rebellions that speak about the struggle of this nation.

[greeniezona · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(this review was originally written for bookslut)

Howard Zinn readily admits that his A People's History of the United States is a biased work. What is unique about his telling of history is the direction of the bias. This is a history biased in favor of the workers (mostly female) who died when a factory collapsed, and against the owners who knew the construction was faulty and did nothing. It is biased in favor of the Indians who rebelled, and against the Spaniards who slaughtered them for not bringing them enough gold. This is a history that does not gloss over the faults of presidents, just because a few good things happened while they were on watch. This is a history that gives credit to the people who organized, the petitions that were sent, and the sit-ins that were held.

There are a few points in the book where even I, whose often knee-jerk progressive/liberalism makes my fathers teeth grind, felt that the book was *too* biased. That the expectations Zinn appeared to have were entirely unreasonable for the time periods he was talking about. Upon reflection, these points only served to make clear just how biased our objective history textbooks really are. Columbus exterminating an entire culture was just a misunderstanding. Right. Just like all the Native Americans were savages and all the slaves were resigned to their lot. Zinn provides numerous and clear counter-examples to those historical claims that I have always doubted told the true story. But what is less comfortable, is the laying bare of the weaknesses of the men I would like to like. Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt. Men whom I may still choose to like, but with eyes less clouded than before.

Of course in 655 pages, it is difficult to cover comprehensively everything that happened in this country from when Columbus first set foot on some of the nearby islands to the present. One of my favorite things about this book is that it offers so much direction in the way of further reading. When many of the chapters left me thirsty for more, I didn't even have to turn to the extremely thorough bibliography in the back, many books which informed the times and which were inspired by the times were discussed in the text. Zinn's work is not an ending place. One cannot read this book and know everything there is to know about the history that was not taught to you in school. This book is a starting place. An opening door to a new way of thinking. To the realization that ordinary people have changed the history of this country time and time again. And perhaps you can too.

[iejasonw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book should be required reading for anyone in high school. And again in college. And again in graduate school. And again at any entry level job. You get the point.This book highlights the untold story behind history. As they say, history is written by the winners. This is the story of the losers. Read it. Soak it in. And realize that there are many more losers in history than winners. Then decide which group you're a part of....you'll never be the same again after reading this book.

[jpsnow · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I do not agree with the implications most people would derive from this book, but I do find it a very thought-provoking and balanced presentation of an alternative view of history. In a couple isolated instanced, I felt Zinn overstepped the facts. Those instances aside, this book invokes shock that so many educated people never told us the full story.

[ertreada · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is an interesting take on what we have all grown up to believe as accurate American history. Zinn brings the story of the downtrodden and oppressed to the forefront by explaining famous American history events through the eyes of those on the losing side. A must read for any history buff if for nothing else, to gain a new perspective of America’s foundation.

[pigofhappiness · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lovers of history should read this book! Zinn presents an unbiased account of history, often supported by quotations of people who were there. This book contains everything they didn't want to teach you in school! Appropriate for high school and beyond...

[jimmaclachlan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a reference or an additional information source, this isn't terrible (4 stars). It really does hit a lot of high points & some that other histories have left out. The writing is good. While dry, it is readable & conveys a lot of information. My copy is an old one that only goes through the Vietnam war. He has updated versions to 2003, I believe.It is NOT a balanced view of our history & is proposed reading for schools (minus 1 star). It shouldn't be unless read with other materials as it only tells part of the story. If you want to know anything about how minority groups were mistreated, you'll find it here. While accurate, the view is so unbalanced as to become nauseating after a while (minus another star). While most historians have an axe to grind, most do it more subtly than Zinn does. To the best of my knowledge, he doesn't gossip nor present any incorrect facts, he does present his facts in such a way as to slam our government at every turn. He does bring up some points that many other histories have glossed over, though (add one star). For instance, in the early history of the United States, he is very careful to point out every group not represented by the Constitution, yet makes no mention of the fact that these people were not represented before the Revolution either. It's good that he brings up the point, but not so great that he leaves the impression that they obviously should have been. It wasn't obvious to the people of that time that they should have been represented. Men of property made the decisions & always had. Women, slaves & men without property didn't get a say. That they eventually did says a lot for the foundation these men laid, which Zinn carefully avoids.So overall it is a good thing to read, but only with another history to balance it at hand.

[Ben Davis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great book, but the recording is poor. The audio will spike on some chapters and then get quiet on others, and on multiple occasions, some elements were not edited out, like a conversation with the producer or multiple readings of the same section. You should read the amazing book, rather than listen to this amateur recording.

[zissou54 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my all time favorites. Read it for the first time in 9th grade and completely change my worldview and has led to me majoring in History and Sociology. Highly recommended to all!

[wenestvedt_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Senior year of high school, I took a team-taught class combining religion and literature. I have mentioned my english teacher, Mr. Rob Peick, in another review ("Rivethead"); Mr. Mark Syman taught us religion, and he was a huge fan of Zinn. He also felt positively tortured by guilt over his ugly, woven leather shoes, as they were produced in South America, probably by peasant labor.

[riotex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the "alternate" side of history you may have been taught in high school. Howard Zinn does exactly what he says in presenting a history "disrespectful of governments and respectful of people's movements", and should be read in that context. Given the honest bias, this should be read after or in parallel with a more complete view of history as he does not give the larger context of US and world events, and I he presupposes a knowledge in the reader of these "larger" issues. A well written and dense work. I would suggest the potential reader start with Chapter 23 where Zinn is more direct in his purpose where he summarizes "the Establishment cannot survive without the obedience and loyalty of millions of people who are given small rewards to keep the system going".No matter what your political leaning, there is something for you in this book - outrage at the atrocities of the "elites", or outrage at Zinn's sometime simplistic hinting that America is run by a group of "elites" conspiring to keep everyone else down.

[storyjunkie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Many thought-provoking passages, especially where the history presented intersected with the history I learned more thoroughly in school (I'm still a little vague on the general goings-on in the US between 1900 and 1919). Over-all the information and presentation are well put together, with the bias of the work unapologetic but acknowledged, which is more than I can say for a lot of the histories that Zinn wrote this work in argument to.

[ltyphair · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The one history book you should read.

[alspray · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps every generation feels like its lived through particularly "interesting" times. Howard Zinn's 'People's History of the United States' confirms them all to be correct. Quite a tome, this dense book traces American history - from the arrival of Columbus to modern day - from the perspective of the average American. Read: not rich, not powerful, not white, not male, maybe not even a citizen; a version of history from the perspective of "we the people".Despite that it sat on my shelf unread for at least a year, its actually quite readable. In fact Zinn's version of American history is engaging partly because it is so different from what you learned in grade school. What is history but a compendium of facts? Well Zinn's 'People's History' demonstrates that "his"tory is indeed quite different than "our"story. An examination of the facts from the people's perspective reveals the hypocrisy of America - the story of Democracy verses the reality. Gone are the great highs we celebrated - the Boston Tea Party, the Louisiana Purchase, WWII - in 'People's History" they're all sullied. Looked at through Zinn's lens its difficult to not feel a little cynical about the governing class and a lot skeptical about their rationale for action.That said, I have renewed appreciation for what "the people" can accomplish with a little passion and creativity. Rather than progress being the result of great acts by "great men", Zinn leads us to believe that most good things have come about due to an unruly public clamoring for their rights. Evidence that indeed "Well-behaved women rarely make history".I don't regret being rooted in the idealistic image of America, but Americans should be equally versed in this side as well. For the answer to the question of 'why do they hate us?' you need look no further.

[chrisblocker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In many ways, this is not my typical five-star review. The People's History of the United States is tedious, repetitive, and an overall slog to get through. Though so much of the information provided is wholly interesting, some of the Zinn's examples are merely empty fodder and these cause the already long book to slow. Zinn was anti-oppression, and this means that sometimes he seems pro-whatever-is-being-oppressed, though I don't think this is always the case. For instance, it's easy to surmise from the many examples that Zinn is pro-socialist, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. Certainly, he backed the socialist stance when it was the voice that was being oppressed. And certainly, of the major forms of government, Zinn likely felt the most affinity with socialism. But in later chapters as well as in the conclusion, it seems that Zinn acknowledges that socialism is also a broken system—a step forward, but not the solution. Additionally, Zinn's anti-oppression position means that he sometimes illustrates a part of history from an angle that obscures some bit of inconvenient truth. This is unfortunate, because it gives the naysayers cause to spit on this book and declare it “communist propaganda” (or whatever the taboo phrase of the day is). These moments are few and far between and majority of this book is quite historically accurate, in my layman's opinion.The People's History of the United States was also difficult for me to get through because I've long studied this history and I already knew the more major events covered in this book. Perhaps many of those other narratives I've read owe their information to Zinn, but having come to this book later in my journey, I found much of the story to be old news. That's not to say Zinn doesn't provide considerable history I have not come across in my previous studies. In fact, what Zinn most convinced me of was how so many of these events that I thought were motivated by various reasons primarily (perhaps exclusively) came about because of money.The reason The People's History of the United States deserves a five-star rating is because, though it's not an enjoyable read, it is such a immense labor of love and passion for the subject. Zinn put his heart and mind into every page of this book and it shows. Even so, I was tempted to slap four stars on this book and move on until I came to Zinn's afterword. Prior to this, Zinn had merely provided over six-hundred pages of dry facts without much commentary or call-to-action. Here, in these final pages, Zinn stirred my emotions. He took all the information he'd provided and agitated it within me and said, “now what are you going to do?” It was an effective challenge.The People's History of the United States is the kind of book that is difficult to read straight through. Did I learn some things? Absolutely. But so much of what I learned has already sifted straight through my brain. This is the sort of book one who is passionate about the subject should own. It is the kind of book one should keep handy in case someone is eager to argue about the perfection of the state. It is the kind of book that should be picked up from time to time and serve as a reminder to the people of their history and the vicious circle that has been built up around them, keeping them caged for over five hundred years.

[gabarito-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book but got recalled before I finished it. Should check this one out again in the future.

[timspalding · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This was my school's 8th-grade textbook. (You can imagine the sort of school I went to.) I could not detest this book any more than I do.

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was assigned this work for my introduction to political science course in college. I have to admit I groaned at the very title when I saw it on the syllabus, suspecting what I was in for. And yeah, this book was about what I expected--very much a very hard left wing--no, Marxist interpretation of American history. I hated it, was scathing in my assigned paper on Zinn, and was duly marked down. I learned to parrot Zinn back on the final exam and did well. So yes, I have a grudge against the book. But I also don’t trust it as history. You won’t find sources cited in this book--it’s a popularization, a synthesis, based on secondary sources with a very pointed agenda. It’s blatant propaganda--not history. I have heard a couple of good things about this book even from those who are opposed to Zinn politically--that it did help influence people to look beyond the “great man” triumphalist narrative of history and look at the contribution ordinary people make--and that at least Zinn is no respecter of the powers that be. I’m a little skeptical though that Zinn had much influence on creating a more diverse narrative of American history--there were a lot of true scholars, who did do original research, involved in that revolution of how we look at history. And by the way the parts I was assigned didn’t actually involve the history per se, but Zinn’s views on democracy itself--that’s what I was tested on. But reading through his villainization of America was depressing and annoying. I think it’s because I just have encountered too many Marxists in college--and life. It made Zinn’s take not enlightening and exciting but very predictable.