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A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)
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Average Rating:  out of 644 Reviews
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Price: $18.95
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Sale: $10.56
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Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780060838652
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: Howard Zinn
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Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
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Dewey Decimal Number: 973
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Publication Date: 2005-08-01
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Reading Level: 768
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Description: Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised and updated edition of A People's History of the United States turns traditional textbook history on its head. Howard Zinn infuses the often-submerged voices of blacks, women, American Indians, war resisters, and poor laborers of all nationalities into this thorough narrative that spans American history from Christopher Columbus's arrival to an afterword on the Clinton presidency. Addressing his trademark reversals of perspective, Zinn--a teacher, historian, and social activist for more than 20 years--explains, "My point is not that we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus in absentia. It is too late for that; it would be a useless scholarly exercise in morality. But the easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all)--that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth." If your last experience of American history was brought to you by junior high school textbooks--or even if you're a specialist--get ready for the other side of stories you may not even have heard. With its vivid descriptions of rarely noted events, A People's History of the United States is required reading for anyone who wants to take a fresh look at the rich, rocky history of America.
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: Howard Zinn Treats Indians Fairly |
Date: 2008-11-29 |
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Details: I am the author of "They Never Surrendered: The Lakota Sioux Band That Stayed in Canada". Howard Zinn's treatment of the Indian encounter with white "explorers" goes a long way to correct the imbalance of American history books. Calling him names is not a legitimate response to his research. Ron Papandrea |
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Review Summary: The truth is out there... |
Date: 2008-11-25 |
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Details: Well.
I doubt anyone could seriously doubt the vast majority of what Zinn presents. And as a human being most of whats presented is not pretty. In fact is grossly ugly.
But remember one thing when you read: human beings remain human beings no matter how you dress us up. Greed is a powerful force. America wasnt built entirely on good intentioned men. This is the truth.
In fact, we exist as a nation because alot of rich caucasian males decided it would be profitable in one way or another to 1) settle here in the first place 2) exploit the indigenous population 3) if they couldnt be exploited then drive them away from "our" lands (while we exploited the poor caucasians and women among us) 4)as our population grew to subjugate them in the name of Christ (who I am quite sure would have had nothing to do with such actions) in order to take the land, and most horribly 5) enslave and ruthlessly subjugate an entire race of people all the time declaring it to be "necessary for society to function" and citing bible verses to justify the immorality of our brand of slavery.
What empire wasnt built the same way?
Yep, greed is a powerful force. The rich exploit the poor? In America? You better believe it...if you dont your a fool.
But one thing should be remembered. What we were doesnt have to dictate what we can and should be, now. And dont think for one minute that the history of any other empire is less ugly. If the chinese had landed before us do you seriously think they would have done less? How about the Romans? Dont read with blinders on- men remain men. And men who crave power always want more and will do damn near anything to hold on and expand that power. The rich exploit the poor. And government has always been on the side of the rich. Even the best governments.
Its all about the $$$$ But we CAN change.
Yes, this book should be required reading. And it should be realized that NO empire was ever noble. Because an empire is human beings. Nobility of empire is a fairy tale. Any empire that the history books record as noble had their histories changed to portray that. INCLUDING America.
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Review Summary: Can't Trust or Believe in Him |
Date: 2008-11-24 |
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Details: After reading that Howard Zinn does not think it is important to investigate 9/11, I will have nothing more to do with him. I don't care how renowned he is. If he doesn't think it's important to stop the false flag operations that have gone on for many, many decades that have thrust us into wars that were instigated by interested 3rd party investors to cash in on the vast fortunes made when they finance both sides of a war, then he will get no support from me. Wake up people! Aren't you tired of being played like a puppet on a string. Watch "JFKII: The Bush Connection" and "Empire of the City: Ring of Power" on YouTube.
[....] |
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Review Summary: History falls somwhere in the middle, and this is an important side of it |
Date: 2008-11-16 |
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Details: Everyone needs to take Zinn's magnum opus here for what it is --> It's no more fact or propaganda than what we were fed in elementary school.
The only fact we know about the past is that you can't trust any account of it. To borrow the setting of Plato's cave....all we see of history are shadows of the past on a wall, and each version is projected through a different lens and light source. It's safe to say that nothing we see of it accurately reflect the events....it's impossible. There is no factual reality for things we weren't alive for - hell even things we are alive for are questionable (Bush won the election in 2000 and Clinton didn't inhale).
So, what we learned in school was as much fact as fiction and as much indoctrination as learning. The same can be said of this book.
The truth falls somewhere in the middle, and that's what makes this book so important. That's what makes it as great a book as it is.
I don't care if you have a man crush on Hannity or spend your spare time protesting at WTO meetings.....you should read this book if you are a student of history. |
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Review Summary: Everyone should read this book. |
Date: 2008-11-12 |
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Details: This book is simply one of the best books I have ever read. Zinn and the people tell it like is. We never learned this in History class. From Columbus to the Revolution, slavery, the Civil War, the Robber Barons, labor unions, the World Wars, Viet Nam and the 2000 election, the people speak. America building its empire while keeping the poor and minorities down and giving a little something to the middle class to keep them moderately satisfied so as not to revolt and keeping the labor strikes to a minimum. The struggle of women, blacks, migrants and the middle class is covered. The People speak in this book. You have never read anything like this. Howard Zinn has fought for the down troddin for half a century.
It's just wonderful. I highly reccomend Howard Zinn's documentary "You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train, 1994." |
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