Rating:  Summary: Remember the Eighteenth Century American Revolution? Review: I think that if mrneothinker had reviewed Zinn's book while remembering that our Founding Fathers staged a revolution against the British--instead of engaging in a right-wing rant--more than 28 of 134 people would have found the review helpful.
Rating:  Summary: Greatest Book I Have Been Forced To Read For School Review: In AP American I was handed this book and told to read certain sections. As I started realizing how great of a book it is, I decided that I was going to read the full book. It was very worthwhile and I would recomend it to anybody who is interested in American History. Especially after the September 11th crisis this book brings up a lot of relevant information on things that have happened in the past and could happen again! I would recomend this book again! Im still working on reading the last few chapters but what I have read is marvelous work of art!
Rating:  Summary: I've read it without turning red (communist) Review: This was an eye-opening book and one I picked up after I read Zinn's People's History of the United States. While I found it profound, I passed it on to my brother who thought it read too much like a text book. In my opinion, it's a great book for those who'd like to see a different side of American history. The results of many events covered in the book can still be seen today (eg Seattle's Pike Place Market). I believe Mrneothinker's review is very interesting and a good reminder that critical thinking never hurts when reading anything. While he warns readers of communist teachers, I think there are enough "capitalists" on the right to balance, and you needn't worry your children will be turned into scary little commies. If you are worried about turning into a communist if you read this book, chances are that same worry will prevent it from happening. As an American, I feel it's just as patriotic to look at both sides of the story and decide for myself. This is an excellent place to start.
Rating:  Summary: Good Reading, Well Researched Review: Zinn's Declarations of Independence is well written and interesting. It is well researched with plenty of examples to back his points. When Zinn makes an argument in this, he makes it a point to explicitly take on most known opposing views, rather than ignoring them. As a libertarian, I share many (but not all!) political views with Zinn. Unfortunately, he does the same for capitalism which he complains others do to socialism. Namely, he takes an example of something a good capitalistic society wouldn't do (use police to break union strikes) and claims this is a downside of capitalism. His weakest point was the claim that socialism could be more efficient than capitalism. It wasn't only the claim I disagree with, but he didn't back as claim at all, an exception to the usually rigorous backing of his arguments. All in all it's a good read no matter what your political persuasion, either to confirm or challenge your beliefs. Mike
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