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A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973
EAN: 9780060838652
ISBN: 0060838655
Label: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 768
Publication Date: August 01, 2005
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Release Date: August 02, 2005
Studio: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
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Editorial 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.
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.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Socialist Propaganda
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.
Rating: - Hate speech
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 ... Read More
Rating: - A biased and inaccurate history
This book presents a biased and inaccurate history of the US. In Zinn's eyes America is the source of evil in the world. This is historical revisionism and political correctness at its worst. The fact that this is used as a text in many schools is evidence of the anti-American bias of academia. Instead of this, I would recommend "A Patriot's History of the United States" by Schweikart.
Rating:  - This should be required reading in our schools
Our country will never be able to live up to the lofty ideals of our founding documents unless we come to grips with the truth of how we got where we are. This book tells the truth about how the people on top have butchered and suppressed others in order to STAY on top. The first 10 pages are absolutely shocking - WHY do we celebrate Columbus Day?
Every American school student should be required to read this, if only to counterbalance the glorious, whitewashed history that is in our textbooks.
Rating: - Fact in search of an author.
The sad part is the ideas Zinn is so passionate about deserve to be expressed well and read by an even larger audience than he currently enjoys.
Had Zinn hooked up with a good writer this may well have been a good book. As it stands I can't help feel I am browsing wily nilly through stacks of index cards filled with quotes, facts, and observations from original and secondary sources pertaining to a particular view of U.S. history.
Now all someone has to do is organize all these ... Read More
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