A People's History of the United States

An entertaining history book. I am not a history buff. My grandson had this book for his social studies class and I read a chapter while he was visiting. It was not the stuffy history books I remember from school days. I ordered it and have been enjoying a different type of history book ever since. It's a most enjoyable and thought provoking read. As a bonus, I get to carry on conversations about history with my grandson.

I am reading this as we are adjusting to 45. It has given me a lot more insight into struggles that are overlooked and under-reported.

I liked this American history from the "other" point of view. I disliked that Zinn seemed to push a socialist agenda. But, after I completed the book, I better understand his motives. I wish he had spent more time discussing his experiences, especially during the Civil Rights era. That said, I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in American History.

‘A People’s History of America,’ by Howard Zinn has become a classic example of Non-conformist perspectives of American history because Howard Zinn dared to challenge the old cliché that ‘history is written by the victors.’ He seeks nothing less than a fresh angle on how history is written, with the goal of changing it from ‘his story’ to a more inclusive ‘our story.’
His task is ambitious and as a reader wades through, at times they may ask themselves if he has bitten off more than he can chew, because he seeks nothing less than to capture the voices of the ‘little people,’ the activists on the front lines fighting the daily battles for civil rights, worker’s rights, and indigenous peoples’ rights. His, is not a history of big name leaders, but a history of the regular people on Main street, the nameless people who propelled our nation’s heroes to their places in America’s pageant.
At times poetic, at other times tragic, this book captures the feelings of the people as they both win and lose their struggles to create a system fair for all. Throughout Mr. Zinn effectively utilizes narratives of common men and women in order to illustrate his theme that in America’s history there has been a constant struggle between those with power and those without. Those with power have continuously attempted to put down people’s movements by coopting those without power, by suppressing their voice or their rights to organize. Tragically, as Mr. Zinn points out, this phenomenon has often been displayed in a political process that de-emphasized the issues of the day, or utilized propaganda to divert attention away. Too much of the time the wishes of those seeking inclusion or access to resources have not been heard or acted upon.
Mr. Zin makes the case that the political parties that were meant to reflect the voice of the people have been coopted to represent the will of the elite, or the corporations. He demonstrates this by illustrating how the political platforms of Democrats and Republicans often mirror each other instead of giving voters a real choice between different political visions.
His overview of history begins with a revisionist narrative of Columbus’s arrival. Looking at colonization from an indigenous perspective, he portrays the tragic loss of population, land, and rights of indigenous tribes. Yet he also demonstrates the resiliency of Indigenous peoples despite the violence perpetuated against them.
Continuing with a fresh perspective of the American revolution, he illustrates that the revolution was not a uniform attempt by a united populace to free the U.S. from British rule. Instead there were diverse actors and latent internal conflict between local elites and a powerless populace that the elite attempted to control while also subverting the authority of the British crown. He portrays how the protests of the powerless was diverted by the local elite into a revolt against England, leading to the formation of the American republic. He also makes the case that this new government made little attempt to include the commoners, inadvertently sowing the seeds for continued turmoil.
From the revolution to contemporary times, his theme turns to the attempt by the powerless to create a democracy and economic system inclusive of all, and continued attempts by a rising nascent elite to either suppress or coopt the powerless. Throughout this revisionist account he intersperses the story of America’s minorities. Mr. Zinn shares the painful experience of African Americans brought over as slaves and their struggle to end slavery and obtain their rights, a struggle that continues to today despite the momentous gains that were achieved during the Civil Rights era in the 1960’s.
Writing from the Mexican American perspective, he portrays how the redrawing of the borders after the war with Mexico made Mexican Americans ‘strangers in their own land.’ He also brings in the voice of immigrants and women; and all those who were excluded from the Republic’s decision making process, demonstrating the case that America’s history has been a movement toward inclusion.
Yet, he admits that the work of creating a more inclusive society is far from over, and for each gain there has also been loss. For example, he brings in compelling evidence that the presidencies of Reagan and Clinton dismantled many of the gains achieved by working class people during the Great Depression.
At times readers may feel like the message is getting lost in the detail. Yet, it’s Mr. Zinn’s attention to these details through the voices of common people that makes ‘A People’s history of America’ a remarkable achievement in historical revisionism. This book should be studied alongside any textbook account of America’s history, just for the sake of the alternative view that it offers.

History is always written by the winning side. The losing side in any conflict rarely has a platform to be heard. But it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Zinn lets you hear that side. If you don't know it, you don't know the reasons for the way things are today. I never had any of this information in my education and it left a void because I knew there was more to the story. This is the rest of the story.

They say the rich write history. Zinn's masterful accounting of the history of the United States is a successful effort to correct this. Zinn is a powerful advocate for those who have no voice and no say. Bravo!

Abook that i have been trying to find time for the past 40 yrs.. As a retired History teacher, I should have had this book a part of my arsenal It is one sided, but then what history is not.. If you are looking for a book that reveals the underbelly of U.S. history, this the book for you

Dr. Ben Sauers

Everyone in the United States should read this book. This is the history we were never taught in school, but once read, certain things about the US culture start to make more sense--even the election of Donald Trump. If you want to resist, start here and read this book.