A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn

A People's History of the United States

By Howard Zinn

  • Release Date: 2015-11-17
  • Genre: U.S. History
Score: 4
4
From 211 Ratings

Description

With a new introduction by Anthony Arnove, this updated edition of the classic national bestseller reviews the book’s thirty-five year history and demonstrates once again why it is a significant contribution to a complete and balanced understanding of American history.

Since its original landmark publication in 1980, A People's History of the United States has been chronicling American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version of history 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, 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, the working poor, and immigrant laborers. As historian Howard 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, which was nominated for the American Book Award in 1981, features insightful analysis of the most important events in our history. 

Reviews

  • Not totally right or wrong

    3
    By OutOnBail
    It’s one point of view to a very complicated story.
  • Should be required reading

    5
    By smayflower
    Why is it so hard to reform education? I wish I had read this years ago, but especially in high school.
  • Should be required reading for all US citizens

    5
    By simon finkle
    Not recommended for jingoists
  • America is bad, and everyone needs to know.

    1
    By Liber Diurnus
    America is bad and everyone needs to know.
  • Great content.

    5
    By younglordpez
    Great content.
  • Texasshocker

    5
    By blairbitchproject
    I prefer my history from those who win the wars. Losers are irrelevant. #remembertheMaine
  • Deception

    1
    By Petey615
    It’s criminal that this garbage is forced upon our youth in schools as gospel instead of using it as a tool to teach how propaganda is disguised as history. Orwellian.
  • American’s American History

    5
    By tjh
    Zinn takes the history you learned in school, and flips it on its head by simply telling the rest of the story. You’ve been taught about how great leaders like Columbus, Jefferson, Washington, or Lincoln shaped American history through their convictions and decisions. Here, Zinn shows how the leadership of everyday Americans shaped both the “great leaders” and American history. He likewise includes the stories of the oppressed and downtrodden, showing how decisions that shaped modern America weren’t always good for everyone. Zinn provides a more complete treatment of the historical forces that created the America of the late 20th century. With an approachable writing style, the book shows that history is more subtle and complex than most texts allow for. Well worth your time.
  • Interesting

    4
    By Wmcodylawrence
    Read passages in class at college, was a new and refreshing take on modern history
  • Great!!!

    5
    By itzgood
    This should be in some level of our education system. The modern day parallels are uncanny.

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