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Summary: This is what they should be teaching in schools!
Review: Plain and simple, this kind of book is what we need to be teaching in schools. We need to take censored History books out of the curriculum and include books that are less subjective. When we begin to know the truth about our nation's history and government, we will be better equipped to improve it in the future.
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Summary: An excellent work, in its context.
Review: An exciting reed which opened my mind a bit towards American History which, at first, I thought was shallow. Some have called this book as extremely politically correct babble. Those who say this have apparently not read the book in enough detail. It is a polemic as he states rabidly in the first chapter and cannot be expected therefore to be argumentative. A reader wanted a balanced view would have to read this in corroboration with other works on the same topic. It is exciting and a pleasant read for the passive reader.
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Summary: Best of its kind
Review: This is an exciting, readable history of the United States (and what preceded it). What has impressed me most about it is that a lot of people who never liked "history" have been completely engrossed in this book. It's a good read. It grabs and holds your attention. It tells you things you never knew. It is frankly biased, but the author doesn't try to conceal that. I found it uplifting. Zinn is unsparing about the injustice and atrocity in our country's history, but that's not all he cares about. He brings to light some instances of courage and inspiration that conventional histories leave out.Many readers are apparently tempted to read the book with a narrow purpose in mind: to uncover "leftist bias" - to get a subversive thrill - to rationalize their oppressed status - to feel self-righteous. The book allows all of these things, but somehow there's more to it than that. This history is not just a collection of dates, names and facts. It really tells the story.
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Summary: Trust no one
Review: Actually, I'm finding it a little difficult trusting anything written before the 1960's. I myself am from a minority group described in Mr. Zinn's awesome telling of American history. I find it very difficult to stomach the atrocities committed to people of all colors and class, here and abroad. The potential of American ideals that our country was founded upon allows Mr. Zinn's book to be published and widely distributed. No one should ever take that for granted because, government consipiracy or not, we are free to read and to choose what to believe. I for one, believe everything in Mr. Zinn's book. His style is an excellent blend of textbook monotony (I must admit I had to read over many paragraphs after getting lost in the jargon) and casual prose (easy reading where the words come alive in the mind). The book is thorough, cohesive, and informative. And judging from the bibliography, much of the book is a collection of material that share the same sentiment. Upon completing "A People's History...", I'ver never before believed more strongly in the power of knowledge.
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Summary: Ask youself an important question
Review: After reading Howard Zinn's book, A Peoples History of the United States, I realized it was important to ask myself a very challenging question. That question is a very philosophical question based on opinion; does the end justify the means? A book that can provoke the reader to question the very essence of human understanding is truly a book that I recommend for any reader wanting to satisfy basic curiosity of why things are the way they are. Reading this book gives the reader a sense of how brutal powerful white men became in their quest for money and obtaining an empiorial state. If one were take into account the means by which the United States has risen to the worldly position it currently holds and the history behind the actions of our fore fathers, ask yourself, does the end justify the means?
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Summary: Excellent Book, One of Zinn's finest
Review: This is one of the nost interesting books I have ever read. I've read many of Howard Zinn's books and this one tops them all. It is a classic book that I now treasure and have read several times. If you want an intersting, great book, this is where it's at. Enjoy!!!!!!
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Summary: handbook for revolutionary thought.
Review: This book is easy to read, but often hard to swallow. The lies uncovered in its pages remain unforgiven. This book is a weapon for anyone seeking actual change in our society. To be effective in fighting oppression, racism and injustice today, one must know the history behind those forces. This book alone is not enough, but it is a stepping stone. I salute anyone who reads this book.
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Summary: Conforms to the politically correct worldview.
Review: Maybe I should cut "A People's History" some slack. After all, the actor/renowned historian Matt Damon really, really, likes this book. And Zinn has become something of a Hollywood and media darling. But you know you're about to be taken for a ride when the title itself contains a factual error: United States in 1492? Oops! Zinn sees the American system as part of a conspiracy to smash dissent and repress laborers. The fact that America is prosperous and Marxists like him can publish whatever they want would seem to contradict his theory, but according to Zinn, having a good standard of living and freedom of speech are -part- of the conspiracy because they allow the elite to say there -is- no conspiracy. Got that? Zinn periodically congratulates himself for having written a book that he claims is so different from other history books "given to children" (a pet phrase of his). His braggadocio is amusing because a) this isn't a children's book, and b) the history books forced down my throat during my public-school adolescence were just as leftist as his. The only difference is that Zinn goes on to envision a mythical Marxist utopia where we only have to work a few hours a day. I can see why this book is popular in high schools. The thought of becoming a slacker certainly appeals to the high-schooler in me, as does his liberal use of "descriptive" adjectives and passive voice when specifics fail him. Heaven knows I had to do that on more than a few book reports and tests! Not surprisingly, any mention of religion's impact on American history is practically absent from Zinn's book, except for a few admiring lines on the Berrigan brothers. Zinn gives the conventional, mainstream take I've heard all my life on the Kent State killings of 1970 with no perspective on the events leading up to it. And I guess I missed out on the supposed reinstatement of the draft, which Zinn claims occurred during the Carter Administration.
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Summary: A fat book with a blue cover
Review: This guy has done a fantastic job in writing a book that takes an unconventional perspective on American history. Zinn does fail if his attempt was to write a history book that offers no opinion or bias, but I doubt that is what he meant to do here. If anyone did write an unbiased and 100% accurate account of history I'd like to read it. If this book had no opinion and was just pure fact, none of the 60 people who wrote reviews on it would have read it. This isattempt to invite the reader to consider an American Anarchist/Socialists perspective on history (a perspective rarely considered in history class). After all, that is exacrly what Zinn claims to be. Most people knew this who bought it, and they bought it for 1 of 2 reasons reason 1-to question the authors credibility because they already disagreed to with his beleifs and therefore they could discredit the beliefs. reason 2-to susbstantiate their beliefs and to reinforce that with a claim to history and therefore a claim to credibility in their beliefs. this explains why most people gave this book either 5 stars or 1 star. overall, it is a great reference, but like all references it has a bias. So keep an open mind and somehow get a hold of this valuable and rare tool.
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Summary: History Finally Given a Chance
Review: In the mindscape of American culture, we seemingly love to sweep our historical tragedies under the rug. The fabled rug of heroism, and nobility, we find in this brilliant volume by Howard Zinn, that while the rug is debatable, the tragedies are only indisputable in existence. We are forced to push aside our spoon fed patriotism in favor of a more authentic portrait of our roots. Brilliant in its accessibility, brilliant in its account and research, Zinn should be read in every classroom, in every school across the country.
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