Rating: 
Summary: Boring, extremely biased
Review: When I bought this book, I was in a hurry, and I assumed it would be a simple, credible, unbiased source of US history. It was not. It is sporadicaly sourced and the writing style is rather tough to read. It feeds you countless pages of leftist political propaganda. It draws far-fetched conclusions (even with the psuedo history Zinn will feed you for 500 pages). And, worst of all, Zinn spins, twists, exaggerates, downplays, and excludes vital pieces of history in order to push his rather extreme political agenda. In short, the worst book I've ever read.
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Summary: A People's History you rarley see
Review: As a history teacher one quickly tires of the predigested form of American history that textbook publishers foist on the schools. These books tend to tell the same old stories, hoping never to offend (and thus lose sales). If you honestly believe that America is a county of the people, for the people, and by the people; why would you want a history that reinforces a myth that our history is one literally made and owned by the upper class? Dr. Zinn tries to place the people of America at the heart of its history, what a radical concept Agree or disagree, but at least understand that they are alternative views of American history. Give people the facts and let them choose.
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Summary: The reviews are even better than the book
Review: American history textbooks are produced in the Bible Belt they are censored by the right and sanitized by fanatics. This came from Massachussetts, and it comes with a breath of fresh air.
The tragedy of the United States is that so many of its bigots cannot see past their own bigotry. It is even more tragic that some of them have such fixed opinions even as adolescents! They are so ingrained that they are affronted by anything that doesn't fit into their norm. It is sad they cannot even read another view of history without screaming "Marxist". (And where has pure Marxism ever been practiced in the world?)
Zinn points out some very important facts. Columbus was no hero; the first colonists were not above cannibalism, etc. All he is saying is that we should take our history with a grain of salt. We need to read the truth and stop accepting glossy superficial textbooks. Some of the reviewers are so ready to discredit Zinn as a Marxist, these same people accept political promises and still think these politicians have moral(family) values when in essence they are just a pack of liars.
Time to wake up, smell the coffee and read some real history.
Rating:
Summary: America is the Melting Pot...
Review: America is the melting pot...the scum floats to the top and the people on the bottom get burned. I liked this book. Even though I was familiar with much of the material. Its good to see history from another point of view. I think people can be shocked by it if all they know is what they learned in school. When I was in grade school I thought Columbus was the best thing that ever happen to the Indians, after all he brought them civilization.
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Summary: Enlightenment
Review: Zinn has written a masterfully composed history that looks at U.S. history without embellishing it and without distorting it. His book has the ring of truth written without the usual historian's tendency to reflect his own paradigms. This is a look at the "establishment" which will sicken and disgust any honest person who cares about his countryment whatever color or creed. You'll never look at America with quite the same perspectives again. A must read!
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Summary: Great Documents, but Very Preachy and Dogmatic
Review: This book has some awesome documents which in themselves contain a side of United States history that is often untold. Thus, the way I would approach this book is to read the documents and only the documents. Zinn, I think, gets a little caught up in that looking on the other side of things and starts to preach. He not only preaches, he actually starts telling you what to think. I mean, if you think about it, that's what every book attempts to do, but he really hits you hard, and after a while, it's kind of like, I just can't take it anymore. In fact, he is so interested in looking at the other side, that he becomes really one-sided. He becomes so indulged with the side that no one looks at, that he, at times, does not even give merit to the side that is generally accepted. He seems unable to recognize anything but what he wants to say, and that annoys me. I think that this book would have done better as a collection of documents, because it really contains some excellent documents, but as a book with commentary, it's mostly unreadable.
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Summary: The other side of America's History
Review: I have never been a history buff. I prefer the lively works of great writers of literature and the beautiful, complex world of mathematics and physics. This is mostly because the history books that I have read have been extremely dry and pretentious. My feelings towards the subject though have been altered significantly thanks to this wonderful book. Many claim that this book is biased; unashamedly, this is quite true. But it is no more biased than the history that is taught in the elementary, jr. high, and high schools throughout the country. This is necessary; people have not been told the complete truth: the oppression, the inhumanity, the viciousness involved in making America what it is today. It's not the truth that hurts, it's finding out you've been lied to for so long. This book is a gem. Highly Recommended.
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Summary: The Un-American side of America -- A History of Common Folk
Review: Zinn does us all a great service in showing us how common people fared through US history. Yeah, I know, it's "liberal" -- as if being liberal were un-American. Zinn together with Chomsky radically altered my political compass. This is the kind of book that everyone (in my opinion) should read in order to get a balanced perspective on the American dream. Zinn and Peggy Noonan. Hmmm.
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Summary: The Rosetta Stone of history books
Review: In some time or another we all have had the history of the United States embedded within us. From kindergarten to high school we have been told about our "perfect" forefathers and the "ideal" democracy they established. One thing has been ignored in this Utopian account of history, the common people.Since the ancient Greek Herodotus, the "elite" of society have influenced what we know about history. We hear about the royals instead of the peasants who lived beneath them. In A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present, Howard Zinn attempts to change the way that history is documented. Zinn wonderful prose focuses on the everyday person (like you and me) without over glorifying any individual. Zinn brings to life the brutal way our government dealt with strikes long before Homestead or Pullman. If you are looking for a history book that covers the "main" topics in history, you should go elsewhere. On the other hand, if you are looking for a true account of America's history in the last 400 years, look no further then Howard Zinn. I give this book my highest recommendation; even if you are not captivated by history, give this book a try. You will be surprised how interesting history can be when the stories are told from the average person.
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Summary: An informative read
Review: I read this book for my AP US History class and found it very helpful and intresting. It offred more in depth details to some of the dark secrets in the US's history. It was also extremly helpful for the exam, which I got a 4 on if you are looking to by this to book to take it. However it should be used along with a stadard text book because it does not discuss every thing that one would like to know about, plus it is another point of view.
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