A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror [Paperback]

Howard Zinn (Author), Rebecca Stefoff (Contributor)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

A Young People's History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people. A Young People's History of the United States is also a companion volume to The People Speak, the film adapted from A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States.
Beginning with a look at Christopher Columbus’s arrival through the eyes of the Arawak Indians, then leading the reader through the struggles for workers’ rights, women’s rights, and civil rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ending with the current protests against continued American imperialism, Zinn in the volumes of A Young People’s History of the United States presents a radical new way of understanding America’s history. In so doing, he reminds readers that America’s true greatness is shaped by our dissident voices, not our military generals.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for A People's History of the United States: "Zinn has written a brilliant and moving history of the American people from the point of view of those who have been exploited...the book is an excellent antidote to establishment history....While the book is precise enough to please specialists, it should satisfy any adult reader."--Library Journal

“In many years of searching, we have not found one history book we would recommend to them—until [the] just published A Young People's History of the United States. This is the edition of A People's History that we have all been waiting for.”—Deborah Menkart, executive director, Teaching for Change

“Zinn’s work exemplifies an approach to history that is radical, regardless of its subject or geographical location. He tells us the untold story, the story of the world’s poor, the world’s workers, the world’s homeless, the world’s oppressed, the people who don’t really qualify as real people in official histories. Howard Zinn painstakingly unearths the details that the powerful seek to airbrush away. He brings official secrets and forgotten histories out into the light, and in doing so, changes the official narrative that the powerful have constructed for us. He strips the grinning mask off the myth of the benign American Empire.To not read Howard Zinn, is to do a disservice to yourself.”— Arundhati Roy

About the Author

The visionary historical work of professor and activist HOWARD ZINN (1922–2010) is widely considered one of the most important and influential of our era. In his work, including A People’s History of the United States, its companion volume Voices of a People’s History of the United States, and countless other titles, Zinn affirms the power of the people to influence the course of events.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press; Revised & enlarged edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583228691
• ISBN-13: 978-1583228692
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Children's Books > History > United States
  • #19 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Prejudice & Racism

More About the Author

Rebecca Stefoff published her first books when she was in college and has been writing ever since. She is the author of more than 150 books, with more on the way. Her writing motto: "Ideas are easy. Pages are hard."

Rebecca has written many nonfiction books for children and young adults, with an emphasis on science and history. Through her books teenage readers can explore topics as varied as ghosts, robots, bacteria, evolution, women pioneers, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, and forensic crime solving.

Over the course of her freelance writing career Rebecca has also published romance novels, celebrity biographies, reference works, and even a self-help book. In addition, she has adapted the works of historian Howard Zinn, science writer Charles C. Mann, and ethnic studies pioneer Ronald Takaki for young audiences.

After growing up in Indiana, Rebecca moved to Philadelphia for graduate school. Later she moved to the Pacific Northwest and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

When Rebecca was in the fifth grade she picked up a copy of Robert A. Heinlein's novel Space Cadet in her school library. That got her hooked on speculative fiction: science fiction at first, then fantasy and later horror. As a grad student in English at the University of Pennsylvania, she developed and taught the school's first undergraduate classes in science fiction and fantasy. She still loves speculative fiction and reads a lot of nonfiction as well. Her interests include evolutionary biology, Himalayan travel and polar exploration, and archaeology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended as a supplement for school libraries, June 17, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (Paperback)

Author Howard Zinn is a World War II veteran known for his passionate belief that "just war" is impossible because civilians ultimately suffer the most. A Young People's History of the United States is Zinn's compendium offering young people a different point of view on history - from the young laborers who stood up for their rights with the National Child Labor Committee's Declaration of Dependence, to John Tinker, a high school student who took his case for free speech all the way to the Supreme Court and won, to Anyokah, a child who assisted in bringing written language to her Cherokee people. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, A Young People's History of the United States delivers an empowering message about the American principle of standing up for what's right, even if it makes one a dissident voice in the crowd. A Young People's History of the United States makes oft-overlooked sides of history come alive with direct relevance for young people, and is highly recommended as a supplement for school libraries.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, January 24, 2010

By 

L. D. McKibben (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (Paperback)

All children should have to read this book, as it looks at history from another perspective that is NOT taught in the textbooks. It is a very enlightening book that teaches students to look at history with a more critical eye. It forces students (and adults) to re-think what they've learned and question what is true and what's not. It's great for a compare and contrast lesson and it works great when teaching the 5 C's of History (Context, Causality, Complexity, Contingency, and Change Over Time).

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, November 19, 2009

By 

K. E. M. Rocha - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (Paperback)

This is a perspective on American history that my children will not be taught in school. His research is thorough, and the book is very well written. My 10 year old enjoys it immensely, and so do I. I wish I could find an enlightened account of California history, too.