World Famous Comics: People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)
People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)
By: Howard Zinn Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Harper Perennial Modern Classics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 768 Publication Date: August 01, 2005 Release Date: August 02, 2005
Amazon.com: Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised and updated edition of A People's History of the United States turns traditional textbook history on its head. Howard Zinn infuses the often-submerged voices of blacks, women, American Indians, war resisters, and poor laborers of all nationalities into this thorough narrative that spans American history from Christopher Columbus's arrival to an afterword on the Clinton presidency.
Addressing his trademark reversals of perspective, Zinn--a teacher, historian, and social activist for more than 20 years--explains, "My point is not that we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus in absentia. It is too late for that; it would be a useless scholarly exercise in morality. But the easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all)--that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth."
If your last experience of American history was brought to you by junior high school textbooks--or even if you're a specialist--get ready for the other side of stories you may not even have heard. With its vivid descriptions of rarely noted events, A People's History of the United States is required reading for anyone who wants to take a fresh look at the rich, rocky history of America.
Product Description: Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of -- and in the words of -- America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
A political, not a cultural, history Professor Zinn definitely fills a need--a well-documented political history of the United States from the point-of-view of those who work to move this country nearer to a realization of the democratic values expressed in The Declaration of Independence--in other words to transform the beautiful rhetoric of the Declaration into political reality. This work has only begun and has a long way to go. Zinn's book does disappoint me, though, in touching so lightly on cultural history: just to pick two examples, the Index lists neither J.J. Audubon nor George Washington Carver. My impression is that Zinn elbows the unique achievements of Americans aside in his anxiety to shine a searchlight on our dirty laundry--of which there is a great heap!
real history isn't pretty People in America love the fairy tale of America being the greatest best hope of mankind, and all that blind patriotic crap that we've all had shoved down our throat our entire lives. This book is a reaction to the fairy tales that most American so blindly believe. Zinn honesty admits this book is biased, just like any work of art is. You only have to look at the title of the book to realize that this is history told from the perspective of the oppressed and violated. Does it leave out the perspective of the establishment? Yes. Does it have an anti-patriotic edge? For sure. But this does not mean it's any less accurate than the "official" version of American history taught in our schools. More than anything it shows that oppressed and marginalized parts of our population transcend race, political ideology, and even class.
Trust me -There are Stable Democracies I love Howard Zinn. The most amicable individual I have ever seen. Sure he is a peace activist and a scholar. That, in and of itself gets my vote.
Some people slam Howard Zinn for communist, etc... yet our "democratic" government (almost) always suppresses the truth; goes the extra mile to not provide the complete story; makes sure people can't voice their opinion (sometimes).
I found it to be a complex read and yes kind of dry and gut-wrenching at times, but overall I believe that's the way it was (and continues to be). There's plenty of evidence everywhere. Like Howard said himself... the difference between History in middle school and graduate school, is the footnotes. The system does not want to teach how barbaric our precursors were. No other way of sugar coating it.
It is tremendously important for people (in America) to know that The United States of America is NOT America. The name America is given to a whole, entire continent. This name was given by a Italian conquistador, Amerigo Vespucci . [...]
That said... there is an incredible level of ignorance about history in this country. History of the world, and how societies have evolved, raised and fallen, etc... But all in the context of the world, not just the current empire. This is how/why current leaders raise to power, because of ignorance of the people and lack of understanding of other societies (concieved by the government, by design).
I think it is time for the USA to start looking at all the other more stable and prosperous democracies around the world. Howard Zinn can help you do that through books like his.
Believe me, there ARE prosperous and stable democracies out there...
Educational, but reads like a textbook I rate non-fiction books on two criteria: how much I learn and how much I'm entertained. This book rates high for the first criterion but low for the second.
The basic premise of this book pretty much "duhhh." You mean corporations and a capitalist government is bad for the poor? Say it ain't so! You mean we did horrible things to American Indians and slaves? No way! However, this book does give many rich details about these subjects and many more. If you like to argue liberal/socialist principles, this book will definitely help you frame your arguments. It's helped me a lot in the blogosphere. It's extremely well researched and well cited. Even if you don't get into this stuff, you might enjoy trying to punch holes in Zinn's arguments.
However, it is quite a chore to get through. It's as exciting as a textbook. It is truly a college-level history textbook from a different viewpoint. I could only read it in small doses.
Dissent is Patriotic! I am a big fan of history and wanted to see what the buzz regarding this book was all about. I am fully aware that history is written by the conquerors and there are plenty of shameful things my country has done that the government has not even tried to lie about or cover up, so... I was very curious to learn what more there is that my burnt out, under paid, teachers did not know, or bother, to share with me. I am still not bothered by my countries conquest. What is revolting is the lieing, cheating, murdering, stealing and most of all the hypocrisy. As we find ourselves in more conflicts in the Middle East, it only reminds me that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. I guess they would need to be concerned about history, or the future, in the first place for it to make a difference. I read this book as I do all things, with a skeptical eye. I would still very much recommend it. It helps to have an interest in history and or politics and or geography as it can be a dry read at times. But either way it is time well spent. Tony Stengel
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