A people's history of the United States

by Howard Zinn, H. Zinn

Hardcover, 614 pages

English language

Published Aug. 7, 1980 by Harper & Row.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-014803-4
OCLC Number:: 4933202

(112 reviews)

Presents a history of the United States from the standpoint of the disadvantaged and politically exploited up through the 1970s.

33 editions

Leyssandra reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

None

3 stars

“There is no such thing as a pure fact, innocent of interpretation. Behind every fact presented to the world - by a teacher, a writer, anyone - is a judgement. The judgement that has been made is that this fact is important, and that other facts, omitted, are not important.” - Howard Zinn

Indeed, Howard Zinn focuses on the facts of United States History that outline the labor movement and class exploitation, and to a lesser extent the black, Native American, and women's rights movements. I feel like the result is a somewhat limited economic and political history devoid of much of the social and cultural context. Of course, I have a lot of issues with the standard nationalistic and capitalist-centered narrative of the United States that is often presented, so I still would highly suggest reading this an addendum to the History of the United States.

Owen reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

None

5 stars

If you want to know where we are, you need to examine where we came from. By looking at the lives of many ordinary Americans throughout history we can get a better idea of this and a better idea of what needs to be done. Incredibly engaging and relevant to this day

Archbishop reviewed A Peoples History Of The United States 1492 To Present by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A Peoples History Of The United States 1492 To Present' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

i love you Howard Zinn

Marcus reviewed A Peoples History Of The United States 1492 To Present by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A Peoples History Of The United States 1492 To Present' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Had to DNF this. It's not that the material is bad or not interesting. I think maybe the writing is just too....disengaging for me, and the subject matter is a little too broad. Not a bad book. Just not for me.

Kirk Moodey reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

disclaimer: it's been a very long time since I've read this.

I normally like this sort of book, as I am happy to read about the dark side of history that often gets covered up, but I found it just awful, honestly. It had a very negative take on America in World War II that, frankly, just does not strike me as deserved, and I actually remember I gave it up in sheer disgust at around that point. America has committed many atrocities, but (reluctantly!) going into the war against Hitler who was literately committing genocide is definitely not one of them, and certainly not an act of imperialism when we were attacked by Japan first and decided to defend ourselves!
The bomb was regrettable, but very understandable why people would worry Japan wanted to fight to the last and be motivated to drop it: if you've ever read ANY shonen work of fiction from Japan, you kinda get the vibe that fighting to the very last is a huge fucking part of their culture. There is some confusion over whether Japan might have really wanted to surrender, but only a very biased author would prevent this as a sure thing.

This book is just completely determined to present America as imperialistic - which it often is - even in scenarios where this presentation makes no fucking sense.

Nafiza reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Books that talk about the truths behind historical events away from the sanitization of the status quo are wonderful. Using that concept to push outright lies and twisted facts so you can sell a book is NOT.

I don't care what narrative an author is trying to push: writing falsehood as actual history just to sell books with the wave of interest over an interesting topic isn't ethical. It erodes the entire fact that we love to study and discuss history not just for entertainment but preservation. Zinn is not preservation but a rewriter of truth for money.

I wouldn't accept this kind of shady misdirection and lack of proper citation from anyone, whether Zinn, Cambridge or Sesame Street and neither should anyone else.

markgiannullo reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

None

Trey Hunner reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Not a short read, but very interesting.

This is a different version of history than the one I knew.

Chris Hubbs reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Zinn is clearly not trying to be evenhanded, but this volume is a great counterbalance to any standard American history. Engagingly written, still timely.

localstatic reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A very interesting look into a side of this country's history that isn't often talked about in school, etc.

Joerg reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

History told from the perspective that really matters to most of us: The people. A scorching take off how the US have been built, and never relented from being a built to the world, set up and in favor of white rich businessmen for their own gain, and milling the bones of people to that end.

Baltipink reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This book is filled with info and everyone should read it. But I will not lie. It packs so much in that it gets a bit tedious at the end.

markm reviewed A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Review of 'A People’s History of the United States' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

I think it is silly to say that this is a people's history, since the people he is talking about don't write history, rather communist professors do. There is some interesting stuff in here, but it is overall quite tiresome; in summary, poor people, or ethnic minorities, or working class people, take it in the shorts.