A People's History of the United States [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Howard Zinn (Author), Matt Damon (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 1999

For much of his life, historian Howard Zinn has been chronicling American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version taught in schools -- with its emphasis on great men in high places -- to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace.

Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, Zinn's 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 -- its women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers. Here we learn that many of our country's greatest battles -- labor laws, women's rights, racial equality -- were carried out at the grassroots level, against steel-willed resistance. This edition of A People's History of the United States features insightful analysis of some of the most important events in this country in the past one hundred years.

Featuring a preface and afterword read by the author himself, this audio continues Howard Zinn's important contribution to a complete and balanced understanding of American history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Howard Zinn is a historian, playwright, and social activist. He was a shipyard worker and Air Force bombardier before he went to college under the GI Bill and received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He has taught at Spelman College and Boston University, and has been a visiting professor at the University of Paris and the University of Bologna. He has received the Thomas Merton Award, the Eugene V. Debs Award, the Upton Sinclair Award, and the Lannan Literary Award. He lives in Auburndale, Massachusetts.

From AudioFile

This book is well read but wrongly titled. A better title would be a history of radicalism in modern America. Matt Damon's reading captures the spirit of the text. Like the book, Damon's voice has an edge to it. He expresses the author's outrage regarding the exploitation of certain groups in American history. He also communicates Zinn's admiration for the courage and determination demonstrated by protest leaders. While Damon reads the main text, Zinn reads the introduction and conclusion. His is not an actor's voice, but his reading is evenly paced and authentic sounding. M.L.C. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: HarperAudio; Abridged edition (November 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0694522031
• ISBN-13: 978-0694522033
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,066,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Books on Cassette > History > United States

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating perspective - perfect for a winter road trip, January 1, 2005

By 

Marisa (Beaverton, OR, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A People's History of the United States CD (Audio CD)

This book presents a decidedly bottom-up perspective on American history, and it'll make you question the motivations and hidden messages behind everything you learned in school. Zinn's book is particularly suited to book-on-tape - it's got a lot of detail, but the writing is clear and concise. You might be surprised at how great of a reader Matt Damon is! He brings just enough character to the voices of the primary sources. If you have a long road trip coming up, I would recommend this book to spark deep political thought and conversation.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A different perspective, September 28, 2004

By 

Nicholas Chase "Composer" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A People's History of the United States CD (Audio CD)

Howard Zinn's A People's History of The United States is a fascinating book that reveals historys from a unique standpoint. While many school text books sugar-coat American history and downplay the faults of many key figures in our past, Zinn is brutally honest and reflects the past through the eyes of those who lived it. The book is laceed with eyewitness accounts and makes for an enjoyable and memorable read. While the vast ammount of detail can make the text a bit tetious at times, this book is a treasure for anyone looking to increase their knowlegde of the history of the United States.

13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply stated, the Best History Book Ever Written, January 4, 2006

By 

Stop Corporate Terrorism "Use Open Source - F... (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A People's History of the United States CD (Audio CD)

This impecably researched, easy to read and understand writing style tells the truth about our Nation and the world.
The sickness of how the propaganda loaded, revisionist history that has infiltrated our schools have had a horrific effect to the literacy rate, knowlege of geography, history, lack of voting and involvement in our democracy.

All textbooks in schools are from the point of view of the "Ruling Class" and dominant culture and DO NOT represent reality or the lives of 99% of the people.
Zinn's book tells the story of the citizens of America, rather than painting stiff, cardboard cutouts of our political leaders who come off like divine Kings and Queens.
Most of the books is told from actual quotes, diaries, government documents, legal documents and words of people from that era.

The shocking reality of what happened to the soldiers who were abused and unpain in the War of Independance. The fact that onlyu large land owners could participate in the creation of our government or even HAVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE, is amazing.
The importants of uprisings of American's NEVER MENTIONED in our history books, like the the revolt of non-landowners or renters, the Civil War veterens who come out without getting their entire pay and wind up in debters jail.
The fact that our "founding fathers" were wealthy landowners who "owned" other humans (slaves).
The facts that the revolutiony war WAS NOT about freedom, but about Landowners who rebelled against paying taxed to England. For 90 plus percent of Americans, the Revolutionary war was of no consquence to them. But, most of the colonists, the non-landowners were bullied, and forced into service.

The writings of Thomas Jefferson which were clear about his distain of the evils of Christianity and importance of keeping religion out of the government, specifically Christianity.

The best, with flawless research and references.

Howard Zinn is a TRUE patriot and American.

I hope that the reality of this would allow our citizens to become active in keeping a democracy and creating a nation of VALUE DRIVEN citizens and a desire to make the world a better place to live.

Everyone really needs to read the quotes from Columbus's diary and letters. They really are sickening, but show the truth.

How can anyone "discover" America, when there are people and fully evolved cultures already in existance. The Europeans infected our Americans with lies, slavery, destruction of their culture, rape, murder, stealing of native American's resources and having total disrespect for anything but their anglo-Christian culture. The explorers were nothing but a group of organized crime thugs who came to steal and rape.
This book outlines the actions from absolutely "bullet proof" research and documentation.