US History

[Beverly]

I love this book because it presents the side of history that is not presented in traditional textbooks.

[Neda]

It is great to finally hear a different perspective of history! I think a book like this should be integrated into US History classrooms.

[Amber]

I loved this book. Im so so so tired of hearing about how wonderful the English were and never hearing about what it really took to get the right to vote (for womean and African-Americans),to create the worker's unions, the suffering that children experienced before child labor laws....

[valerie]

A great revisionist history of the United States. Zinn presents "history from the bottom up" in this book; his theses can be a bit heavy-handed at times, but nevertheless it's a great read for history buffs.

[Clay]

I read this book in college for my history class and after reading it i found nothing incorrect about what he presented. It was interesting to hear a different perspective on american history. My one critique is that in order to present this revisionist perspective and highlight certain events, he conveniently leaves out certain background and context of the situation. The best example would be his take on the alamo and the texas war of independence. He cites the texans committing horrible acts against the mexican people (which is true) but he leaves out the aggressors the mexicans. As I said before, Zinn does not lie or distort the truth, he only displays certain sides and leaves out in certain places the context of the actions.

[Steve]

This is a horrible introduction to American history, and it is a shame that it is so common in our college classrooms. Written by an avowed Communist, and having an overt anti-Western slant, the book has few or no footnotes or endnotes; there are no sources for the history written in this book. It is simply the opinion of the author. Why would any college professor who was serious about teaching his students to form their own opinions feature a book that so shockingly goes against the history written by those who actually use sources for their writings?

Napoleon is quoted as saying, "history is a myth that men agree to believe." In fact, any student of history needs to find his or her own truth from the available sources of history. To use this book as even a secondary textbook is to deprive ones students of the opportunity to find their own truths. It is shameful.

[Nathaniel]

This is a great book. Of course, since it is correctly focussed on social history, which had been neglected for too long when the book first came out first came out, it contains very little about the National Security State.

It is so critical that we update ourselves on this. A lot of disinformation has been aimed at the left on the history of the National Security State, especially between the years 1945-63. So called left MAGAZINE writers have not kept up with left HISTORIANS. [medium is the disinfo message? ] to solve this problem read the most important book published since 1945, JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He DIed and Why It Matters by James W. Douglass

"Douglass presents, brilliantly, an unfamiliar yet thoroughly convincing account of a series of creditable decisions of John F. Kennedy--at odds with his initial Cold War stance--that earned him the secret distrust and hatred of hard-liners among the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA. Did this suspicion and rage lead directly to his murder by agents of these institutions, as Douglass concludes? Many readers who are not yet convinced of this 'beyond reasonable doubt' by Douglass's prosecutorial indictment will find themselves--perhaps--like myself--for the first time, compelled to call for an authoritative criminal investigation. Recent events give all the more urgency to learning what such an inquiry can teach us about how, by whom, and in whose interests this country is run."--DANIEL ELLSBERG, author, Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

“A remarkable story that changed the way I view the world.”—JAMES BRADLEY, author of Flags of Our Fathers

“Arguably the most important book yet written about a U.S. president … Should be required reading for all high school and college students, and anyone who is a registered voter!”—JOHN PERKINS, author of Confessions of an Economic Hitman

“The best account I have read of this tragedy and its significance … But don’t take my word for it. Read this extraordinary book and reach your own conclusions.” —OLIVER STONE, director


"Jim Douglass has unraveled the story of President Kennedy’s astonishing and little-known turn toward peace, and the reasons why members of his own government felt he must be eliminated. This disturbing, enlightening, and ultimately inspiring book should be read by all Americans. It has the power to change our lives and to set us free."—MARTIN SHEEN

“JFK and the Unspeakable is an exceptional achievement. Douglass has made the strongest case so far in the JFK assassination literature as to the Who and the Why of Dallas.”—GERALD McNIGHT, author of Beach of Trust: How the Warren Commission Failed the Nation and Why

"Remarkable: devastating in its documented indictment of the dark forces that have long deformed the public life of this country . . . . This book should be required reading for every American citizen."--RICHARD FALK, Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University


"With penetrating insight and unswerving integrity, Douglass probes the fundamental truths about JFK's assassination . . . . By far the most important book yet written on the subject."--Gaeton Fonzi, former Staff Investigator, US House Select Committee on Assassinations


"Douglass writes with moral force, clarity, and the careful attention to detail that will make JFK and the Unspeakable a sourcebook for many years to come . . . . "--MARKUS RASKIN, co-founder, Institute for Policy Studies


http://maryknollsocietymall.org/descr...

[Kp]

It is fair to say that A People’s History of the United States, is written from a very biased point of view. Zinn states that “It is a history that is disrespectful of government and respectful of the people’s movements of resistance.” It is written in this manner because so many other history books are written with a heavy bias toward leaders or “heroes” and are thus disrespectful by not focusing on the common people’s experience. They focus on our founding fathers and presidents. They suggest that in times of crisis we look to someone as a “hero” to save us. Some examples the book gives include: The revolutionary crisis- The founding fathers, The slavery crisis- Lincoln, The Great Depression- Roosevelt, The Vietnam-Water Gate Crisis- Carter. When certain facts become omitted from the history books, and unbalanced and untruthful perspective is created.

So often in American society people openly accept one perspective without taking into account others points of view. When people adopt a traditional view of the “hero’s tale” they overlook the rest of the story. It’s disrespectful to only consider those we traditionally glorify as they are such a small part of the big picture. The experiences of the common people hold equally as much value and often times more truth to what history was actually like. One may ask why it is so crucial for people to look at matters from different perspectives than their own? It allows us to learn from the mistakes of the past and use that knowledge to progress ever forward in the future.

This leads to the main point of this book. It boils down to an overall message of why it is important for people to be aware of the all the things that are happening around them in this world. Cruelty and struggles that people endure are the foundation of progress. Banding together for a cause leads to revolts against a government or other oppressors which ultimately moves society forward. The main ideas are to not get taken advantage of, and to fight for your rights, and to learn from past events all in order to unite in a common interest for humanity.

[Colleen]

Steve wrote: "This is a horrible introduction to American history, and it is a shame that it is so common in our college classrooms. Written by an avowed Communist, and having an overt anti-Western slant, the bo..."

Steve- You have clearly not read the book or even skimmed through it or else you are lying. The fact is, Zinn identifies his sources throughout the book. It is not based on opinion. If you knew any history yourself(beyond what Bill O'Reilly or whoever your rightwing source is) you would recognize that the book is factual. There are a few interpretations that I am a bit uncomfortable with but to make the accusations that you did in your post indicates willful ignorance on your behalf. Further, Zinn was not an "avowed Communist". It is unlikely you know what the word avowed means- or the word communist for that matter. If you did, you wouldn't make that ridiculous claim.

The shame is that you set yourself up as some kind of expert when you know so little. Zinn's history is well documented and just because you don't like it, that doesn't give you license to spread such nonsense. You would be better served actually reading the book before making up such drivel.

[Colleen]

valerie wrote: "A great revisionist history of the United States. Zinn presents "history from the bottom up" in this book; his theses can be a bit heavy-handed at times, but nevertheless it's a great read for his..."

The problem with using the term revisionist history is that it is often taken to mean distorted. Zinn's book does not distort history. It fills in the blanks. Of course one volume is hardly enough space to cover so much history completely but Zinn attempted to tell the full story of U.S. history.

[Steve]

Kp wrote: "It is fair to say that A People’s History of the United States, is written from a very biased point of view. Zinn states that “It is a history that is disrespectful of government and respectful of..."

Colleen, if you think this book is well-sourced, it only means you have had not enough exposure to a well-documented history. Zinn is simply wrong in so much of his facts that one has to question his sources...and, yes, I have leafed through the book, and found it not worth the time and energy spent reading it and reviewing it. It is simply trash history, written by an avowed Marxist, a man who makes no attempt to hide his political point of view and agenda, with no attempt at objectivity or balance...and the shame of it is so many kids get their history from this source.

[[deleted user]]

Yet you gave the book 4 stars? Strange.

[Matthew]

I remain unsure what offends people about this book. Is it that our history is full of people being mistreated because of their skin color, ethnicity, economic position etc., yet we must ignore this in favor of a "we helped the Indians, and everybody who works hard can be president" nonsense that so many of us were spoon fed in school.

I don't believe Zinn is trying to demonize the so called "heroes" of our history, but merely to tell the story of millions of people who are often ignored. If history is generally written by the victors, Zinn attempts to tell the other side.

You can disagree with his politics all you want, but that does not change the historical accuracy of his book.

[Colleen]

Steve wrote: "Kp wrote: "It is fair to say that A People’s History of the United States, is written from a very biased point of view. Zinn states that “It is a history that is disrespectful of government and re..."

Steve- I suspect I have considerably more experience with what you call well-documented history than you have. What exposes you Steve, is that you admit you have never even read the book. If, when you were leafing through it, you would have bothered to "leaf" through to the back of the book, you would have seen his sources. If you had read the book, you would have seen his notes throughout the text. As someone who is very familiar with well-documented history, I know that it is not uncommon to find small mistakes. Zinn does rely upon those small mistakes to support his thesis- nor does any other reputable historian. What is patently obvious from your comments is that you are writing only as a troll and not someone to be taken seriously. Your real problem with Zinn is obviously that you disagree with him politically- otherwise, why would you keep bring up his politics? Incidentally, you really ought to brush up on political ideology- There are vast differences between communism and marxism. You use them interchangeably which exposes your ignorance on the subject. Now how about focusing on books that you have actually read?

[Colleen]

Matthew wrote: "I remain unsure what offends people about this book. Is it that our history is full of people being mistreated because of their skin color, ethnicity, economic position etc., yet we must ignore th..."

Exactly, Matthew. Zinn's book was an attempt to fill in the huge blanks left by so many generations of historians who chose to ignore the majority of the people. I don't understand why some people are so offended by that.

[[deleted user]]

Matthew wrote: "I remain unsure what offends people about this book. Is it that our history is full of people being mistreated because of their skin color, ethnicity, economic position etc., yet we must ignore th..."

America is chock full of under-educated goobers who think we're the greatest nation on the planet and anything that paints us in a less than stellar light is deemed Anti-American. These are people who get their history from bumper sticker slogans and fox news loops; they cannot be helped.

[Colleen]

Publishers of high school history books do bear a lot of blame for this. For example, most Americans have no clue how we acquired California and the Southwest; they have no idea about the filibusters who attempted to overthrow the governments of Latin America and impose "slaveocracy"; they even believe that Columbus was a hero. Ask most people why the Southern states seceded and they will answer states rights. If text books were written by historians, people might not be so ignorant.

[Steve]

Matthew wrote: "I remain unsure what offends people about this book. Is it that our history is full of people being mistreated because of their skin color, ethnicity, economic position etc., yet we must ignore th..."

Matthew, the history of the world is full of people being mistreated. If one wished to focus on everyone who has been mistreated, one should title one's book, "all the people who have been mistreated in the United States," instead of "A People's History of the United States."

Those who can focus on the positive, instead of the negative, can recognize there has been greatness, also...and an objective historian would recognize this instead of painting a one-sided ideological portrait of this country masquerading as history.

[Steve]

Collen Wrote."I suspect I have considerably more experience with what you call well-documented history than you have. What exposes you Steve, is that you admit you have never even read the book

Colleen, I suspect you live in an academic environment, and suffer from the leftist group-think which, unfortunately, exists on most of our campuses. Those of us who live and write in the real world tend to eschew the type of history that presents the type of one-sided view of this country that Zinn represents. Of course I didn't bother reading a history written by an avowed Marxist who is quite open about the point of view represented in his book; why would I waste my time? There are far better histories of the many periods of our country that present a truer vision based on sources from all sides of the issues.

[Colleen]

Steve wrote: "Collen Wrote."I suspect I have considerably more experience with what you call well-documented history than you have. What exposes you Steve, is that you admit you have never even read the book

Co..."
Steve- Did you read your comment before posting it or just type and post? An academic environment, in case you did not know implies that there are people in that environment who have done a considerable amount of study and research and know what they are talking about. Do you see the irony in your comment? What you are saying, essentially, is that people on the left have more knowledge about their subject. It's like you surrender without ever engaging in the battle. I suspect that you took little or no history in college and are just assuming that the profs are a bunch of "lefties" because your right wing gurus told you they were. Moreover, there is a pattern in your posts: For you, Zinn is a Marxist and therefore not worthy of your time. Since you admitted that you haven't read the book, you cannot give the book a meaningful critique. Why do people on the left frighten you so? Your criticism is based entirely on your fear of Marxism and has nothing to do with the content. Can you not see the difference here? Have you ever read an author whom you believed was left wing but respected the integrity of the work and if so, who was it?

[Larryponder]

I liked the quotations from different folks from throughout American history.

[Charles]

Colleen wrote: "Steve wrote: "Collen Wrote."I suspect I have considerably more experience with what you call well-documented history than you have. What exposes you Steve, is that you admit you have never even rea..."

Steve reads books about wizards, so he's all about conjuring "facts" out of thin air. Hocus Pocus.

[Larryponder]

Amber wrote: "I loved this book. Im so so so tired of hearing about how wonderful the English were and never hearing about what it really took to get the right to vote (for womean and African-Americans),to creat..."

I also loved the book. I had fun reading the quotations of people in different parts of history, like labor speeches and the right to vote.

[Larryponder]

Beverly wrote: "I love this book because it presents the side of history that is not presented in traditional textbooks. "
I especially like the quotes from the different eras. It's fun to see what has been said about what from so long ago.

[KOMET]

Simply put, "A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present" is one of the most eye-opening, fascinating, and thought-provoking books of its kind that I've yet read. I recommend this book to ANYONE who wants to have a fuller understanding of the United States, its history and evolving character, and the various forces and movements that have shaped it over time.