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Summary: A Prophet in his own land is hung by the .....
Review: Of course Dr. Zinn's work is excellent but racist and jingoistic americans just can't stand that fact that Europeans came to this land uninvited and declared war on a people whose only mistake was in not allowing them to die of hunger and cold in the first few winters. Too bad!The bigots who write that this book is an apology for the white man are an embarrassment to the white man and to any primate. What took place in this country hundreds of years ago is simply the invasion of a foreign country. WE (who now call ourselves americans) were the invaders, pure and simple. Native Americans neither needed what we had to offer nor did they ask us for our disease, death, hatred and arrogance. God bless america! Read How to Save America and the World by Joseph Francione to pull this all together.
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Summary: Relative
Review: Zinn's dream; perception
red, white, and blue are grey shades
History failure
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Summary: Part Propaganda, Part Revisionist History
Review: While I'm giving this book a positive review, it's probably worth stating up front that I strongly disagree with Zinn's conclusions and fantasies (what else can you call the end of the book where he begins to construct his own utopia). That said, the book is clearly, demonstrably, well written and, for the most part, well researched. There are many, many places in the book where the facts of a given situation appear to be given from a singular perspective or to be intentionally skewed, and yet, it's easy to forgive this since Zinn says up front, and throughout the book, that that is exactly what he plans on doing. Read this book with a grain of salt (make that a salt mine), but read it to see American history as others have surely seen it at different times and under different circumstances.
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Summary: Well, I Liked It At First
Review: This is an absolutely fabulously informative book and I would highly recommend it to any self-loathing person of European descent who wants to hear outrageously biased tales of how our forefathers and theirs before them needlessly raped, pilaged and exploited the incredibly civilized, admirable and just populations of the world. Well Mr. Zinn, I'm glad you came along with your admiration and love for communal primitive society and your hatred for your own people and their history because now I know for a fact that self-hating white abolitionists do exist. Gee, if it wasn't for our horendously wicked people, the world would probably be the perfect utopian society right now ....... like those of the Aztecs, Somalians, Liberians, and Mayans. Don't ya think? Thanks!!!
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Summary: Cathartic apologies for the sins of your fathers
Review: This book is an excellent, if often embellished, history of the atrocities committed by the Europeans that ventured to claim and settle North America. As an enumeration of all that was wrong with this endeavor, it is unequalled. However, the title might mislead you into believing that you're going to read a history of the United States. It is, no more and no less, an apologist bible dedicated solely to indemnifying the indigenous peoples as noble savages while condemning the Europeans as brutal murderers. If that's your general take on history, you are the choir to which this book strives to preach. Revel in it. Outside this domain this book has no merit as a balanced historical volume. If you're feeling particularly guilty and are of European descent this book will do well to fuel the fire of guilt you may have raging. If you'd like to read a history of the United States, objective to people of all descent, I might recommend a "A History of the American People", written by a non-American in a much more balanced and educational fashion. After reading it this is the only book, in my entire lifetime, that I have returned for a refund. I thought it unconscionable to fund the leftist propaganda being not-so-covertly deployed in this despicable tome.
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Summary: Marxist Nonsense
Review: This book is dangerous for anyone to read who doesn't already have an undergarduate degree in history, because you will have trouble spotting all of the distortions and omissions. Zinn's got an agenda and it's called socialism.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Starting Point For Examining Our History
Review: I believe this is an excellent book to use as a starting point for an in-depth examination of American history. No one, of course, should ever take one book or author's word for it. What's wonderful about this book are the times when the reader says, "That can't be right!" Good! It may lead some to research the issue or point of contention through other books, leading to a fuller understanding of our history. Even the anger that this book inspires from those who would try to dismiss it with the scathing label of "Communist" can have a positive side. Perhaps they will be inspired to go on a quest through history books trying to prove Zinn wrong. Nothing could be better than that inspiration: to study the issue more in depth. Reading this book requires that the reader set aside any assumptions that they had that the United States and our heroes are paragons of virtue. You will see them as they were, warts and all. If a truthful examination of our mistakes offends you, then this book is not for you. However, if you're a person with an open mind, and one who does not think that our country must be perfect in order for you to love it, I think you will find this an enjoyable read. Zinn writes in a simple, straight-forward prose, not in a dry academic style. While some may not like this, I think that this style makes the book accessable and enjoyable for a wider range of readers.
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Summary: Worthless, Anti-American, Propaganda
Review: Zinn's book is nothing more than a one-sided, hit piece against western civilization and America. Rather than balance the story of America from the perspective of the evils present in all human culture and civilzation, Zinn (ardent leftist radical that he is, in my opinion) chooses to present a picture of the United States and western Europeans as the "root of all evil". This book is the most twisted, biased, manipulative propaganda screed I've ever laid eyes on outside of a communist party manual. Everything about America, in this book, is bad. The "evil white man" is the super-villain. All that's missing are black tights. The black, brown and red people are the heroes who live in some fantasy land of "noble savages" and perfect harmony with nature, until the evil white European comes along to rape, kill and enslave. It's straight out of a bad Disney cartoon. All that's missing is Snidely Whiplash twirling his mustache and going "Nyah hah hah!". Zinn is an over the top lefist radical, in my opinion, who has written an anti-American, anti-European, anti-Western Civilization hit piece that is so transparent in its radical leftist propaganda that it would seem almost infantile if so many people weren't taken in by it. I can sum the book up for you in one sentence; "White man bad, every other color of person good." or "Western, European, Christian bad, any other race, creed, or culture, good." The book is a joke. It's a belly laugh. And if you buy this book hoping to get any "history" from it, you will be wasting your money, your intellectual capacity and your precious time. There are far better books on the history of the United States and this worthless, leftist propaganda screed is not even worth your time let alone your money.
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Summary: Left Wing Propoganda
Review: This book isn't so much history with a political bias as it is political propoganda with a loose basis in history.
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Summary: A Peoples' History
Review: The introduction says that his book will discuss history from the side of African Americans, Native Americans, etc. So how are people angry about that? "The nationalist not only refuses to believe atrocities by his own nation; he also refuses to hear about them." -- George Orwell This text, yes slanted towards a PEOPLE'S history [he's obvious about it in the title] is very factual and he can back up his assertions. It's a very interesting read. Readers may also like "Killing Hope" by William Blum to read about the "shining beacon of democracy" (seething with sarcasm) that the US is.
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