This book by Howard Zinn is a masterpiece. He writes in Chapter 23 that most histories are over respectful of our leaders and dismissive of the common person. This book sets the record straight and, he does so in elegant prose.

It is easy to read the book and criticize the USA but no country will have a stellar record.

If you are not American, you may get lost in some of the detail. Once you read the Kindle edition of the book, buy the paperback edition. It is worth the investment in time and money. ( )

A multitude of eye-opening truths for those who seek answers, independent of how unsavory they may be. Hats off to Howard Zinn- this should be the American human bible. ( )

"It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart." Thus famously said Anne Frank. I have lived my life clinging similarly to this idea. Howard Zinn's magnificent book makes it difficult. I choose not to shy away from hard or inconvenient truths. But Zinn reveals so many of them, there is such an onslaught of greed and racism and cruelty and deliberate inhumanity on display throughout American history in this unprettied-up, clear-eyed focus on the facts behind American "glory" that I often had a hard time returning to the book. The divisions, the hatred, the false patriotism, the undisguised greed, the twisting of facts that seem to define our current era are no new propositions. They've been with us since before the founding of the nation. But history, usually, is written by the winners, and winners rarely want the world to know what they were capable of in order to win. Zinn set out to write a history of America not from the perspective of the powerful, but from that of the defeated, the poor, the downtrodden, those discriminated against, and, often, the losers in centuries of conflict and ostensible progress. I think Zinn loves America as I do. But I think he, as I, have no interest in a fairy-tale version of our history where goodness and decency has always triumphed. Saint Paul said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Freedom does not come from being suckered by pretty lies and distortions. Mankind is a magnificent entity, but it is also a cruel, vindictive, and greedy entity, as well, and history is shaped far more drastically by these qualities than by man's better angels. Zinn rips the blinders off. It's not pretty, but it is an absolutely necessary viewpoint if we are to know who we are and what we stand for. This book is a masterpiece of history, of journalism, and of writing. ( )

My 9th grade history teacher told us that if we only remembered one thing from her class, it should be this: All history is an interpretation.

Almost no historians acknowledge this in their works written for the public, but Zinn admits it right up front. "Thus, in that inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in history, I prefer to try to tell the story of the discovery of America from the viewpoint of the Arawaks, of the Constitution from the standpoint of the slaves, of Andrew Jackson as seen by the Cherokees...."

Instead of using traditional interpretations, the ones typically presented in high school history books, he looks at history through a different lens, the lens of class and racial conflict. While this is fairly commmonplace today, this book was borderline revolutionary when it was first published in 1980. (I read the revised and updated edition from 2003.)

While he sometimes uses anecdotes to generalize and overstate the feelings and sentiments of "the people," this is an important work, one that laid the groundwork for all of the new histories that followed.

Regardless of your politics, this book should be read, if for no other reason, to remind us all what Mrs Hoffman taught us in 9th grade: All history is an interpretation. ( )

Instructive and eye-opening.

Lots of facts and things that surprised me, and yet made me understand the ethos of the country so much better.

My one criticism is that this is more of a *complimentary* history book, rather than a history book - it (importantly!) presents facts that are often neglected, but also neglects facts that are assumed to be common knownledge.

This is probably just a very personal observation, since I don't know that much about USA history (and therefore probably not the target audience for the book in a way). But I felt a bit lost sometimes, and almost felt like I should have consulted a few mainstream history books first so I could follow along better.

Regardless, this is an important book to have been written, that's for sure. I can see why it's worth the praise it has received, and I'm glad it exists. ( )