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A People's History of the United States
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A People's History of the United States
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A People's History of the United States
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A People's History of the United States

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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About this ebook

“It’s 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, author of Spartacus and The Immigrants

“[It] should be required reading.” —Eric Foner, New York Times Book Review

Library Journal calls Howard Zinn’s iconic A People's History of the United States “a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those…whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories.” Packed with vivid details and telling quotations, Zinn’s award-winning classic continues to revolutionize the way American history is taught and remembered. Frequent appearances in popular media such as The Sopranos, The Simpsons, Good Will Hunting, and the History Channel documentary The People Speak testify to Zinn’s ability to bridge the generation gap with enduring insights into the birth, development, and destiny of the nation.

Editor's Note

Iconic & Enduring...

Zinn’s iconic alternate history is an enduring look into the people, rather than the politics, that shaped the current American landscape.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateJan 26, 2010
Author

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.

Read more from Howard Zinn

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Reviews for A People's History of the United States

Rating: 4.19773852195635 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Howard Zinn would likely have added 20 trump-despising volumes to update this incredible book.Though I wish it had been at least one quarter shorter, it does not lack being comprehensive!Other wishes:1. that an updated version was a year-long required course for every U.S. high school student2. that it didn't rank on the top ten list of the most depressing history books ever written3. that it wasn't all so true...and didn't get worse
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    There are many books about the history of the United States, so why read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States? The simple answer is: the approach is different from what other histories do. The title already announces that it is a 'people's history', that is a history written from the perspective of the people rather than from the perspective of the nation or the government. In Zinn's own words:"My viewpoint, in telling the history of the United States, is different: that we must not accept the memory of states as our own. Nations are not communities and never have been. The history of any country, presented as the history of a family, conceals fierce conflicts of interest (sometimes exploding, most often repressed) between conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves, capitalists and workers, dominators and dominated in race and sex. And in such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, as Albert Camus suggested, not to be on the side of the executioners."To my mind, this approach is refreshing and I would definitely recommend to read this history. Even if you are inclined to turn to more conservative works, I think the change of perspective is essential to a deeper and further understanding of United States history. This is supported by the often superb choice of quotations to support Zinn's telling of history. To quote an example (Zinn quotes Russell Conwell, founder of Temple University, in a chapter about Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan and contemporaries):"I say you ought ot get rich, and it is your duty to get rich. ... The men who get rich may be the most honest men you find in the community. Let me say here clearly ... ninety-eight out of a hundred of the rich men of America are honest. That is why they are rich. That is why they are trusted with money. ... I sympathize with the poor, but the number of poor who are to be sympathized with is very small. ... let us remember there is not a poor person in the United States who was not made poor by his own shortcomings."4 stars for a very good history book. Definitely recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Excellent book but got recalled before I finished it. Should check this one out again in the future.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    At an earlier time this book spelled out similar issues as "Lies My Teacher...". However, "People's..." tends to long and tedious in using way to many personal testimonials for every major point in the book. Start with "Lies...", come to his later.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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'.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read this book! Invaluable insight into what Zinn calls"the most ingenious system of control" that is the US political system. Two criticisms: First, Zinn can be overly wordy. Second, Zinn is overly optimistic about the possibilities for change. He argues revolt must come from bottom up. But he seems to ignore the fact that the cultural values of the people are not necessarily imposed, but genuinely reflect the values and beliefs of most USers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a powerful "alternate" history of the United States that I've long intended to read but only just got around to (I get intimidated by thick books so I went for the audiobook). Zinn presents many of the familiar stories of American history, but from the point of view of those who don't often get into the history books - Native Americans, blacks, women, and other marginalized groups. Wars are stories not of patriotism and national unity but of an average rank and file often at odds with the leadership and demonstrating this through desertion and revolt. Wars in general have seen much protest, from the Revolution where the goals of the leaders were quite different from the common agitators to the mass opposition to the War in Vietnam. From the earliest days of the American colonies there is also a divide between the elites who hold the wealth and power and the common people that comes out in many class and labor conflicts. Zinn discusses unheralded unity - such as blacks and poor whites working together for progressive farmers' movements in the South - as well as divisions within the many movements for Civil Rights and equality.At times the attitude of the author is too far left-wing for even me to handle, but largely I find this book an instructive look at American history that informs a lot of where we are today. This book is so full of detail that it's worth reading again, and the many works Zinn cites could make for a lifetime of additional reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Astonishing, lucid, and sobering elucidation of the past. Loved it
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was raised with a critical mindset of the United States’ history. Despite this, I found myself constantly taken aback by Zinn’s writing. None of it is outlandish or otherwise unheard of in the context of America. Still, despite my best efforts, I was limited in my perspectives by US propaganda. This book is an incredible read for anyone. It should be mandatory reading, but it is never too late to learn more about America’s history.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely essential reading for anyone who hasn't yet read it. It is a genuinely radicalizing text, serving to undermine myths and put radicals today within a solid historical context, and showing that struggle has a rich history in the US.This book was one half of my radicalizing process. As a new anarchist, starved for perspectives that mirrored my own and ignorant of the depth of anarchist and radical thought, I was groping around in the dark. I can remember, first bitten by the anarchist bug, "googling" "anarchist" every day. I read Crimethinc books because someone told me that anarchists read those books. Entirely ignorant, I was left thinking that my generation was the first to stumble upon anarchism, and that we'd have to create the entire world anew, with nothing in history but misery to look back on. This book changed that in me. I could draw on hundreds of years of struggle against empire, capitalism, and the state. That the soil was rich with the blood of people who struggled for the same thing that I wanted to struggle for. I found out by asking that my family has its own radical history, both of my parents were in SDS, my father went on a Freedom Ride, my grandfather was involved in the 1199 Hospital Workers' strike of 1968, my great grandmother worked in the triangle shirtwaist factory, etc. etc. I know so many folks who were radicalized because they read this book in high school. I only wish I was one of them, that I could have tapped into the bountiful resource of history as a starting point for my radicalism, instead of having it retarded by ignorance of history.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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.”
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Why isn't this book taught in high school history classes? I might of gone to class more often!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    History is written by the victors, and the victors for the last 400 years have been rich white men. Is it any wonder we subject ourselves to them, when they control every aspect of the society we live in? This book makes information available to the reader that every informed citizen should know. The lies, the bombings, gross inequity of wealth, the labor movements, the civil rights movement. This book shows that if we want to make substantive changes to our lives and our society, we have to take it from the hands of the super rich.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    an enlightening but depressing book.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Leftist drivel.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The author spins USA history from the standpoint of others (p. 10) and presents an anti-capitalist, pro-communist view throughout. There is value in seeing USA history from the standpoint of others, but reader need to keep in mind the perspective of the author.The book includes no illustrations, but there is a index.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Constantly on my desk during college, just finished the audiobook and I'm still consider this an essential book for anyone interested in American history. Consider this the starting point to any topic or era and proceed from there onto more area focused studies.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Constantly on my desk during college, just finished the audiobook and I'm still consider this an essential book for anyone interested in American history. Consider this the starting point to any topic or era and proceed from there onto more area focused studies.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is quite possibly one of the densest books I have read in a long time. It is incredibly liberal and anti-Establishment.

    While I LOVE the idea of telling the story of group's whose voices are traditionally left out, I was disappointed in some of the voices that were left out still. Although he mentions them in the Afterword, he completely dismisses any fights for Latino/Hispanic rights, or anything on the rights of homosexuals. Instead, he focused a lot on African American, labor, and women's movements. And while those are valid stories worth being told, he says it is because he is not familiar with Latino/gay rights movements. This just brings one question to my mind: Isn't that the point of writing a book like this...to uncover the stories that are not covered traditionally?

    But, that aside, this is a very thorough book. For the critics who say that he is bias, hell yes he is. But so is every author of any textbook that teachers give their students. It's time for a revision of our history books. It may not inspire patriotism, but it will spur thought. It is only a matter of what we want as a society, a people of unthinking, super patriotic people, or a society of those who question their government and think for themselves. (This is obviously NOT the desire of those in power...)

    Anyone interested in knowing some of the alternate histories of the United States, this book is for you. However, I caution you to take the reading slowly. This is a nonfiction history book, and it is not a quick read. Somehow I managed it in 2 months--a feat I deem a miracle. Read this book a little at a time...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    (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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I want to make sure my son knows this book well.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    After years of hearing how Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, used in academia, has negatively influenced students' perceptions of the USA, I decided to read his book and make my assessment. The introduction to A People's History was written by Anthony Arnove, an activist and Zinn devotee who has appeared with Zinn over the years and co-edited A People's History. Arnove was also on the editorial board of the International Socialist Review a "quarterly journal of politics, history, theory, and current events from a Marxist perspective", that ceased publication in 2019. In the closing statement, they stated "We hope that other publications will continue to carry the legacy of Marxist theory, analysis, and politics to future radicalizing generations." In Zinn's "Afterwards", (which I feel should always be read first), he explains how he felt misled about how he was taught U.S. history; always with a positive slant and patriotic view of the U.S. being all good. Zinn’s motives are not aligned with a belief in democracy and capitalism, to show its shortcomings to make it better. On the contrary, A People's History appears to be fodder for future generations stimulated by radicalism and Marxist theories that taken to conclusion would result in an overthrow of the government. Zinn has been credited with writing a history that teaches students to think for themselves. Unfortunately, throughout A People's History he uses ellipses to evade a more nuanced perspective, thus leading the reader/student in a way that suggests conclusions they should reach regarding the matter being discussed, then asking for an answer or agreement with a suggestion, similar to a reporter formulating a question while at the same time suggesting the answer. Zinn doesn't use accepted citing references for his sources but instead will state the name of a book or other publication, suggesting you can read it and figure out what his point was, making it tedious (unlikely), to learn what was left out by the use of ellipses. In several cases, I followed where it lead, discovering the larger meaning and how misleading his statements were, like politicians taking their opponent's statements out of context to advance their cause. Over and over while I read I wanted to scream; No! You can’t leave it like that and just move on! After criticizing Zinn for this unfortunate book, from a literary view it is well written considering his objective. However I would not recommend it as a definitive history of the USA especially if this is the first or only history to be read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Everyone who cares about where we are going should read this book. If you don't care, continue to bury your head in the sand.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Changed everything.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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.