Rating: 
Summary: Life changing
Review: Anyone who gives this book a bad review also believes everything they see on television. An eye opener that reveals our goverment's agenda from the past to the present, which is to serve the rich. Reading this allows you to take a step outside of the government's propaganda, which has been perpetuated in our public schools for years. Don't pass this one up!
Rating: 
Summary: The Politics of Victimization as History
Review: Howard Zinn's book, "A People's History of the United States" consciously tells the story of the United States from the standpoint of its underclasses. This is a story that should be told and I do not argue with this; for too long this perspective has been ignored in history books or given merely passing reference. Zinn generally does a good job of raising our awareness of the history of oppression and how the United States government has served the interests of the wealthy, but most of what he says is not new and one should expect few revelations. I would agree with the reviewer who said that this kind of history may have seemed fresh thirty years ago, but seems a litle pedestrian nowadays. Where Zinn is particularly poignant, as one might expect, is in his discussion of the robber barons and the industrial strife of the late 19th century. There is much useful information to be found here. His discussion of socialism and the labor unrest of the 20th century is also good as is his writing on the Spanish- American War and the spread of U. S. business interests abroad. His chapter on Vietnam is right on. He does an excellent job of exposing corporate influence on our political life. Although his remarks on U. S. imperialism in the mid and late 20th century are welcome, his viewpoint sometimes borders on the ridiculous. His understanding of the importance of the U. S. role as the only superpower is apparently nil. And, nowhere else have I seen the Gulf War against Saddam Hussein's aggression sound more like an imperialistic and evil act. Despite Zinn's antipathy for capitalism and what it has wrought, his history is not genuinely radical as he would like to think. Zinn is so preoccupied with portraying the victims of capitalism and Western civilization that he fails to provide a genuine critique of capitalism or the institutional structures it has spawned in America. One never gains insight into how capitalism dominates all classes of society, not just the most oppressed, and how it has conditioned our culture with its class conflict, materialism, acquisitiveness, and dedication to ordering the temporal aspects of our lives. Lacking anything but the most superficial insight into the workings of the "system," Zinn is, of course, unable to provide any solutions to the problems he so ardently exposes. And nowhere, of course, does he balance his portrayal of victimization with a discussion of the extent to which our capitalist economy has led to a high standard of living for the bulk of the population, along with unparalleled freedom. He never discusses the rise of the great middle class in America because his is not truly a "people's" history; it is a "victim's" history. Zinn also has a hard time reconciling his antipathy for the search by U. S. business for foreign markets with the fact that most of our laboring people welcomed this as necessary to their own well-being. And nowhere does he discuss the great strides made in public health, a topic you would think germane to a "people's" history! Zinn also exaggerates the extent of the "sexual revolution" and seems to assume that the loosening of controls is, ipso facto, a good thing. He seems oblivious to the fact that civilization is everywhere based upon a very fragile system of law and custom and the social controls they provide. Zinn is so intent upon proving the evil intentions of government that progressive legislation is viewed as merely an attempt to coopt a portion of a particular group of victims, or their leaders, so the exploitation of the majority of these people can continue unabated. The growing black middle class is hardly acknowledged, and when it is, it is to point to its existence as simply the result of the attempt by the wealthy power brokers to maintain their dominance over a rebellious black population. Never is there a hint that there might be a problem within the black culture itself. Never is the government given credit for trying to assist or level the playing field for those who desire self-improvement. You would think a history of society's victims might, at a minimum, include a discussion of the role affirmative action has played in our lives in recent years, but nowhere does Zinn even mention this! This is clearly not honest. Zinn's mission is to tell the story of the oppressed classes in America and, at the same time, expose how the rich, looking after their own self-interest, manipulate and exploit the "people." In this mission he is not genuinely radical, nor is he balanced or honest. All government is not, all the time, a conspiracy against the masses, and the liberty and economic well-being most of us enjoy is something quite remarkable in history. Zinn's book is definately worth reading, but one should realize going into it, that the author is one of those on the Left who does not have the capacity to be honest regarding the legacy of Western civilization. By page 600 or so one gets a little tired of reading his litany of victims with no accompanying interpretation to give the work meaning. The book, in the end, does little more than serve the politics of victimization so popular in many circles these days.
Rating: 
Summary: An eye-opening look at American progress
Review: "A People's History" by Howard Zinn is, to put it mildly, an eye-opener. If you're looking for a quick read, this book is not it. The topic's scope is so encompassing, and presented so thoroughly, that you should expect to spend several weeks reading this book, if not months. From Columbus' first steps in the New World to the Clinton administration, Zinn presents the history of European expansion into the "New World" and the United States' development as a country from the perspective of the peoples who were displaced, persecuted and suppressed in the process. This is not your typical high school textbook view of history, in which atrocities are watered down or glossed over entirely in favor of a portrait of our country's and our government's glory. The portrait that emerges in Zinn's book is a much darker one. If anything, this book is a tribute to the resiliency of persecuted outsiders -- Native Americans, women, blacks, industrial workers, and others -- and the progress that came about through revolt, not through government altruism. "History which keeps alive the memory of people's resistance suggests new definitions of power," writes Zinn. "By traditional definitions, whoever possesses military strength, wealth, command of official ideology, cultural control, has power. Measured by these standards, popular rebellion never looks strong enough to survive. "However, the unexpected victories -- even temporary ones -- of insurgents show the vulnerability of the suposedly powerful." Zinn predicts a time when the middle class will organize and transform this country into a collaborative society with much more satisfying ways of life. Is this a true picture of what is to come, or a pleasant fiction? Time will tell. But if you're rediscovering our country's history and the average citizen's place in it, this is a must-read.
Rating: 
Summary: Old and tired
Review: If this were 1967, at least we could excuse the writer and his fans as understandably being caught up in the revolutionary drama. But, now over 30 years later, all that remains are tired lies told by a tired old man who practices a dead blind faith in a forsaken religion. Enough, already.
Rating:
Summary: I WANT TO SCARE THE HELL OUT OF THE REST OF THE WORLD.
Review: ...I DON'T SAY THAT IN A BELLICOSE WAY." - COLIN POWELL If this book (and its revelations) doesn't scare the hell out of you-or at least jolt you awake and make you feel that maybe you have been shortchanged in your education-I don't know what will. To those unfamiliar with the works of Howard Zinn or Noam Chomsky this book may startle you with its radical, left-wing agenda and approach to history, which clearly illustrates that history is highly subjective and selective. "But most histories understate revolt, overemphasize statesmanship, and thus encourage impotency among citizens." For "old hands" at the more "subversive" interpretive literature on history and society, this is an exhaustive and required survey of U.S. history through present day. I attended the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where there are no grades, only written evaluations. A highly concentrated liberal population of students and faculty alike combine to create an academic environment in which you would be almost guaranteed to find this tome on any list of required readings in any academic program. The problem with the school (and at times in the book) is that divergent opinions and questioning are sometimes not tolerated. "The American system is the most ingenious system of control in world history. With a country so rich in natural resources, talent, and labor power the system can afford to distribute just enough wealth to just enough people to limit discontent to a troublesome minority. It is a country so powerful, so big, so pleasing to so many of its citizens that it can afford to give freedom of dissent to the small number who are not pleased." "There is no system of control with more openings, apertures, leeways, flexibilities, rewards for the chosen, winning tickets in lotteries. There is none that disperses its controls more complexly through the voting system, the work situation, the church, the family, the school, the mass media-none more successful in mollifying opposition with reforms, isolating people from one another, creating patriotic loyalty." An interesting point Zinn makes starts with his examination of post-Civil War treatment of blacks in the U.S. and the growth of economic problems that caused not only African-Americans to suffer but also poor whites. "W.E.B. Du Bois saw the late 19th century betrayal of the Negro as part of a larger happening in the United States, something happening not only to poor blacks but to poor whites.; ...DuBois saw this new capitalism as part of a process of exploitation and bribery taking place in all the "civilised" countries of the world...;...Was DuBois right-that in the growth of American capitalism, before and after the Civil War, whites as well as blacks were in some sense becoming slaves?" This point is taken up again late in the book, when Zinn discusses the lack of real political choices, after having examined the fact that both major parties generally do not reflect the will of the people and usually cater to big business in the end, not to their constituents. Zinn writes, "All of us have become hostages in the new conditions of doomsday technology, runaway economics, global poisoning, uncontainable war." His points are timely, considering our recent electoral problems, and the notion that Americans have not really had a choice in who governs. The book is painstakingly detailed and surveys major events in U.S. history from an entirely fresh perspective (fresh for the majority of American people). At times shocking and horrifying, A People's History is eye-opening and instructs you to exercise skepticism. Everything is not always as it appears. You will not regret the investment of time reading this lengthy book. It will either open a whole new world of information to you or confirm suspicions you perhaps already had. Like Chomsky, Zinn puts facts out for you to examine. You're free to believe or refute as your like, but he offers a perspective that average people (not history scholars or academics) are unlikely to gain elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: The other extreme from history books
Review: I first must say Howard Zinn has the correct idea. Write a history book the opposite of what many read in school. In other words, tell the bad or seedy parts of United States history. After reading this book I have to say Mr. Zinn has done as much disservice to our countries history as the other history books. According to Mr. Zinn nothing was done anytime in the US that was for the good of the people. Nothing. Ever. With a BA in history I spent many hours studying our country. Yes, we have done bad things throughout the years but we have also done good things. To categorize every episode as a capitalistic endeavour controlled by the rich is a one-sided view of the events. Instead of A People's History of the United States this book would do better with a title more a long the lines of The Other View of the History of the United States.
Rating:
Summary: NOT the definitive revisionist history of the United States
Review: I am a history student, so please don't think im an uneducated right-winger complaining about Zinn's ideology; in fact, I appreciate it and think it is a very important one that deserves more study (and a LOT less of the politically correct approach it gets in history textbooks.) However, only people with a) little knowledge of history or b) a distinctly slanted knowledge of history could think this book a great scholarly work, or even an effective expose. Zinn's point of view is a needed one; patriotic, Bancroftian historians have too much of a hold on the general public, and the sad facts Zinn has to share are important. However, to write a book from the point of view that America is an evil empire and "neighborly socialism" is the ideal form of government for which to strive is patently ridiculous. Zinn started with a very specific leftist agenda (no necessarilly a bad thing) then contorted every fact and instance he came across to fit with it (definitely a bad thing.) With misrepresented facts and misinterpreted quotes, highly selective inclusion of events, and baldfaced judgements, this is perhaps the LEAST scholarly work of history to gain popular support. If you want to examine the work of a revisionist historian, read Charles Beard, read Gabriel Kolko, even read Henry Nash Smith or Ward Churchill if you feel you have to cry about America's injustices. But please, don't lend this dishonest writer any more credibility by buying his book - Ziolkowski's "CIA's Greatest Hits" is a probably a more well-written book, and that is really saying something.
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Summary: The best Christmas present I received this year
Review: I was given this book for Christmas this year (2000). Though I can probably not add anything to what has been said already, I must speak as this book was so good. Zinn's approach to history is unique in that he could be classified as a revisionist but he does not romanticize in the same way that many revisionists do. His analysis of historic events is always from filtered by a strong concern for how these events impacted those whom we often forget, women, poor, minorities or other groups that are often oppressed. Zinn does come across a bit heavy handed at times, but that is understandable considering where he is coming from. This book is a wonderful antidote to the sterile history that we are often taught in school. It reminds us that often, historic decisions are economic ones and that though some may prosper from these decisions, many more may suffer. Anyone who is interested in history should read this book. It is a great addition to any history library. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: History from the bottom up
Review: This is one of the best social histories I have read. Zinn is a masterful writer, and his interpretation of American history will certainly shake a few people up. This is most certainly not the "Mom and apple pie" history you learned in high school, where the European settlers are the good guys in white hats bringing civilization to the New World. And its about time. Zinn writes from the perspective of the conquored, the small farmer, the little guy and the minority: those who have not had a voice for so long. The history is an ugly one of greed and self-serving manipulation - tongue in cheek, the things that have made America great. Zinn points out the lesser known facts about our founding fathers (they were the richest men in the colonies, with ulterior economic motivations for rebellion), about our presidents (Andrew Jackson made his claim to fame killing indians in the southeast) and about our conflicts (draft riots and draft dodgers during the civil war.) This is not to say that Zinn turns history on its head. He does not. Nor is this to say that Zinn is a subversive, attacking all that American's hold sacred. What A People's History of the United States does, is give history back to the people. It reminds us that as much as we would like to believe otherwise, America has a sordid history, and that often times the little guy got the short end of the stick. The prose is easy to read, and the subject matter is interesting - espeically for those with more than a passing interest in US history. If you are easily offended, or are uncomfortable with what some call "revisionist" history, spare yourself the ulcer and don;t read the book. If, however, you want to read a top - notch social history and don't mind having a few sacred cows shattered, I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Great for History Buffs and Interested Readers Alike
Review: Tis is a great book for history fans who want to know more obscured viewpoints of historical events. Instead of giving a play-by-play description of the battles of the numerous wars in American history, Zinn shows how these major events affected the minorities during the given time period. The book is filled with interesting and relevant primary sources (letters, journals, etc. from the time period) that makes it an excellent book for not only research, but also pleasure reading (if you like history, that is.) But if you have a short attention span or are easily distracted, it may be hard to fully understand the book because you need to fully absorb what it has to say in order to understand it well, which may leave you bored after a while. To tell the truth, I havent finished my copy, but I still find it enjoyable on calm, non-stressful days when I can fully pay attention.
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