Rating: 
Summary: Awsome.
Review: Broad and detailed account of american history. Quite enthusiastic. Superb! Two thumbs up!
Rating:
Summary: Not your school's history book
Review: Zinn tells the little-told stories of the godawful abuses of the US's power elite. This is not an unbiased history, nor does it pretend to be. It is an interesting -- and often saddening -- adjunct to the American history you were taught in school. You will learn from this book, but you may not like what you learn, especially if your politics tend toward the conservative. However, don't think the liberals come off as heroes to Zinn, either. As I said, it can be a saddening book. Even so, it is one all Americans should read, if only to learn from the past. It is a fascinating read -- in addition to being a scholar Zinn is a fine novelist, and he knows how to keep you interested.
Rating: 
Summary: History through the Left-Wing Kaleidoscope
Review: This book is a farce, because it is passed off as a worthwhile piece of scholarship and is actually used as a history textbook. Zinn shows how we've progressed, in terms of establishing a leviathan collectivist state, but how much further we need to go to reach socialist utopia... Zinn offers his Marxist-Pinko revisionist assessment of American history... For those who romanticize about the FDR's New Deal, Rousseau's French Revolution or Mao's Cultural Revolution, than I guess you'd feel right at home with this book...
Rating:
Summary: History as it was meant to be written
Review: Howard Zinn is one of my own personal heroes. When I first read "People's History" in High School, I was thrilled to see that a grown-up, an expert, a teacher, was writing about the things that my awakening political consciousness was beginning to suspect. As a history major in college, he provided me with a constant example of how history should be written: clearly and passionately. More than that, though, he taught me to fight for what you believe in, stand up for justice, and speak the truth, however unpalatable it may be. Surely that is a lesson that everyone can respect, regardless of political loyalties. As our country enters a new era of bloodshed, I have turned again to Zinn for guidance. I find myself once again wishing our world's leaders were as wise and compassionate as he is.
Rating: 
Summary: Two themes. One humane. The other an unfair agenda.
Review: Howard Zinn's book centers around two themes. One is stated and directed. The other is an obvious implied agenda. I will first state the first theme, say a few words about it, and then move on to the second theme-in the same order.Zinn writes about the unrecognized and under-appreciated history of common people, such as women, people of color, and the lower class. He is very straight-forward in disparaging the 'great men' of history, such as Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Carnegie. He believes such men have not only revised our history ("History has been written by the Elite. History, then, should be written by the masses, while the elite have been the principal 'oppressors' of history. While I thoroughly enjoyed his anecdotes of the invisible people -which should be regarded as very important, or MOST important- I felt that he was too heavy-handed and dismissive of the elite, the government, and the establishment. I do believe that the reader should take a closer look at how some "great men," have really been great, instead of filtering out how such men have been the worst men imaginable. One example is Lyndon Johnson. While he unfairly drafted millions of young Americans and crafted the Vietnam conflict, we should also note that he started the war on poverty, expanded and responded to civil rights demands, and was one of the most liberal presidents we've ever had. Such aspects were not written. Thus, just as people can be bad, so can the elite. We are all multi-faceted people. In history, we notice selfish elements of seemingly selfless people. Zinn focuses on the sordid aspects of the 'great men,' and calls the sparks of activism, no matter how unsuccesful, as 'hope for the future.' Thus, we come to the second theme - and that is Zinn's agenda to make us as a certain type of activist. Every modern social activist knows Zinn. As a former social activist, I became disenchanted by some of the militant and intolerant aspects of social activism. As an example, I noticed that many of us mixed 'personal belief,' for 'liberal or radical=good.' Anything that conflicted with a radical or a political belief was left unspoken, and if spoken, you'd face verbal crucifixion. I felt played by both the activists and the people I fought against. When I personally told Zinn that I felt a bit disenchanted and cautious about today's militant activism, he replied in these lines: " Every movement has its idioscynracies, and are by no means perfect. Feel free to question what you see or find wrong. Remember, your fellow activists are fundamentally your friends." Hmmm.. Are we really in a 'movement,' and are those anarchist-nihilists who plan to bomb government buildings 'fundamentally' my friends???? I think not... NewSpeak, too, has its uses... no matter how humane they sound. Thus, we have a general background about Zinn and his famous book. I DO believe that this book is tremendously important for those who know very little about the invisible people of history, but I harshly believe that his militant, clear, and stubborn style should REALLY be examined. Or you'd get sucked in. Get sucked in, learn a lot, or be yourself. Be careful about his political assertions, they have an obvious agenda yah know. Rely on what feels right. Intuition, common sense, compassion, and critical thinking should be your allies. Be your OWN activist. So read carefully....
Rating: 
Summary: Tiring and Dishonest, also Informative
Review: I read this book, or parts of it anyway, for my AP U.S. History class. I must say I was disappointed with the author's biased and at times laughable grasp of United States history. On the one hand, he is well-read and knowledgable. On the other hand, I simply cannot agree with his one-sided and simplistic view of American history. The world is a complex place, as even a 17-year-old can comprehend. To Zinn, American history is composed of a Star Warsesque struggle between "good" (the poor, voiceless, minorities, etc.) and "bad" (anyone in a leadership position). No doubt there is good and evil in the world, but it is not distributed this simplisticly. I found myself, upon starting each chapter, to be interested and curious about what Zinn had to say. New perspectives are interesting and essential when studying history. However, by the end of each chapter, I was bored with Zinn's dull writing style, his repetitive use of similar-sounding quotes, and his completely one-dimensional perspective. Quite simply, "A People's History of the United States" is a Bizarro world-style view of history, the flip side of every old-fashioned jingoistic textbook that sees America as always being right. Every event that was once seen as triumphant and good has been transformed into something sinister or at least "not exactly what it seemed". An example of this is Zinn's presentation of World War II-in which he admits that Hitler needed to be defeated but refuses to admit that much good came out of the U.S.'s victory and spends most of the chapter bashing the American war effort, instead of celebrating the peoples' contribution-ostensibly what this book is about. In short, "A People's History of the United States" contains some slightly interesting passages and does present a different view of history, but it should be taken with a grain of salt.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: It's a great book and I really loved reading it.I shows the American history from the view of the ruled over instead of the rulers.I recomend it to anyone who wants to know more about American History.
Rating: 
Summary: why weren't we taught this in school?
Review: this book is nothing short of an eye opener! from the darker side of u.s. history w/ columbus and the indians to the unprecedented happenings in the mid-late century, nothing compares. you can't help but see how true the "bad history" is and why it is looked at the way it is. teachers, pick this up!
Rating:
Summary: yay zinn
Review: hooray for this book. far too many history books give only the views of the oppressors, but this book gives those of the oppressed. everyone should own a copy.
Rating:
Summary: An eye opener
Review: This work is an interesting rebuttal to the history we were fed in school. Zinn is obviously making a strong anti-capitalist statement, so bear that in mind as you read it. Nonetheless, while the work is anecdotal and focused on very small groups of people, the research seems thorough and credible. The most important idea I took from reading this is that there are two sides to every story, and we should earnestly investigate whatever versions we are told...even when they seem to come from the most innocuous of sources. The things in this book did happen; that needs to be considered along with the patriotic whitewashed history we are led to believe. I found myself wishing for shorter chapters, or at least sub-sections within chapters to break up the reading a little bit--my only complaint.
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