A People's History of the United States

De: Howard Zinn

Narrado por: Jeff Zinn

"A wonderful, splendid book - a book that should be ready by every American, student or otherwise, who wants to understand his country, its true history, and its hope for the future." (Howard Fast)

For much of his life, historian Howard Zinn chronicled American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version taught in schools - with its emphasis on great men in high places - to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace.

Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of - and in the words of - America's women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers. As Zinn shows, many of our country's greatest battles - the fights for a fair wage, an eight-hour workday, child-labor laws, health and safety standards, universal suffrage, women's rights, racial equality - were carried out at the grassroots level, against bloody resistance.

Covering Christopher Columbus' arrival through President Clinton's first term, A People's History of the United States features insightful analysis of the most important events in our history.

©2009 Howard Zinn (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Zinn's work is a vital corrective to triumphalist accounts." ( Publishers Weekly)

A great alternative bias history.

This book is bias but openly so. Zinn tells you at the beginning that he is going to tell you a bias history. He tells the story from the point of view of the poor, repressed and downtrodden.

I really enjoyed the stories and characters that I was able to learn about. Very touching stories. Sometimes sad but often stories of great people that tried to change the world for the better.

The Best Book on History

Churchill once said "History is written by the victors". Well Howard Zinn turns this on it's head by writing from the perspective of the oppressed not the "victors". He is upfront about his bias since all accounts of history have one, he has just chosen to be biased toward the oppressed and the abused not the "victors". Anyone who reads and enjoys history will enjoy this book even if you differ from his perspective it is still a remarkable chronicle of American History.

Required reading

This book should probably be bundled with every school American history text book just to balance things out. It contains all the things left out of the main stream texts. As such you may think it is somewhat biased but the point here is to reveal the left out bits of most history texts than to present a "balanced view". Unlike many other texts the author is quite up front about this. If you think you know American history quite well you will probably find many new things in this volume. Conservatives too can benefit from this book. For example Tea partiers can find out that they really are like our founding fathers in many ways though probably not in the ones they think.

Incredible work of art - inspired & informed

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is a 'must read' for any American who considers themselves educated, or believes they have an understanding of how the United States.

Howard Zinn must have had an incredible team to help him do the research to put this together. It's rare for me to read something that fundamentally changes my worldview, but this book opened my mind and filled in gaps in my education and understanding of the formation of the United States - and Western Civilization in general - that was absolutely staggering for me personally.

What's amazing, is that I was aware of much of the content of this book from my own reading and studying -- but having it the entire history put together in such a brilliant manner somehow made everything 'click' for me so that for the first time in my life I grasped the the totality of our history, and clearly saw the naked truth -- the lie that's been perpetuated in the service of those few wealthy families who have been brutalizing nearly every human-being on earth for power and profit since recorded history began. The same families we elect to our presidency and our congress, appoint to judge us, and to manage our treasure, our health, our childrens' education and our infrastructure.

Mr. Zinn is intentionally slanted in his presentation of our history -- he gives little time to the caricatures our education system has trained us to believe in as martyrs and heroes, courageous leaders and selfless public servants. What time he does spend on them is simply to expose the reality and motivations behind these characters, and the connections they all inevitably have to the masters who have controlled this country and the world for untold generations.

On that note, one of the finest points he makes is that "heroes" such as FDR, Abraham Lincoln and so many others who myths tell us stood in lonely courage to make historic changes on behalf of the downtrodden and ordinary person. The reality is much different - he demonstrates in every case, it was the threat of revolution or similar expressions of the will of the people that forced those leaders to make changes -- in essence, they had no other choice. To paraphrase Zinn, there has never been a bold politician on the national stage who made changes on behalf of the working man or woman -- rather, there were men who circumstances forced to make changes. Politicans are not leaders -- they are followers; policiticans do not make changes, people do, and politicians simply follow what the people demand.

As an example, FDR's sweeping changes to provide the necessities for our elderly and sick, such as social security, was prompted because the country was on the verge of a communist revolution. The "modern" changes he made to provide such basic aid for the disposessed in society was common in cultures that existed before the birth of Christ. The wealthy families - the masters by whom we all are exploited by -- were enraged, but FDR famously said that they should praise him, for his actions had saved capitalism - the New Deal was only a temporary set-back. And living under a goverment that has been completely taken over by the wealthy class -- the families that have truly run the government since it's inception -- we can witness first hand that captilism is alive and well and the New Deal is being dismantled piece by piece.

But, Howard Zinn doesn't spend a lot of time on those well known characters -- just enough to clarify the historical record. He works witha purpose -- to enlighten the reader with the truth -- and as such, he has a monumental task, and has created a monumental book. He wastes little time on the characters that have been ingrained in our psyches from the moment a person is able to comprehend anything. He doesn't waste time arguing -- but simply makes you aware that the big lie is ingrained using every tool available, from movies to songs to advertising, and our school system is simply a purveyor of these same illusions, designed to control us and make us useful for our masters. It is not a conspiracy -- it is clearly done and with purpose -- they make no attempt to hide their lies -- instead, the sheer audacity and momentous reality make it difficult to accept the reality, and those who do are simply marginalized, heros like Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader and a host of others who most people have never heard of ... although the Internet may change all of that.

So, it's a tough task that Mr. Zinn took on to create this book -- and for all of it's beauty and brilliance -- it's a tough task to make it through. Howard Zinn writes without sentimentality -- he simply shares his research -- the well-documented, incredibly well-written story of the settlement of the United States -- but as the title implies, the story is told from a perspective is rare and difficult to find -- the PEOPLE's history of the United States.

It's a sad and ruthless story -- at times I would forget I was reading historical accounts -- the tale dredges up instances of cruelty and ruthlessness and absolute evil that would give me nightmares. I found myself depressed and to read any contemporary work on individuals like Lincoln, our "founding fathers," or that disgusting racist pig, Harry Truman, who dropped two nuclear bombs in the center of cities populated by civilians with full knowledge that the Japanese had already agreed to meet the terms of surrender. All of those sins, lost in history -- those men, held up as heroes.

And too, there are moments of sadness, where you see that if the right person had been in place, so many needless deaths and acts of sheer cruelty could have been prevented. The true civil servants - the men and women who selflessly cared for the average person -- were betrayed and humiliated time after time. Like Henry S, Wallace -- someone even most educated people have never heard of -- was the true architect of FDR's "New Deal." He was a tireless fighter for the poor and was on the verge of implementing changes that would have altered the course of the nation and prevented the wealthy few from every taking control of our resources again.

But, politics being what they are -- FDR was running for an unprecedented fourth term and faced strong opposition from the Democratic party bosses, and in a literally smoky back room, he sold out his faithful vice-president of three terms -- Henry S. Wallace -- for an uneducated racist from Missouri named Harry Truman. The same man who needlessly killed half-million Japanese civilians and gave the United States the distinction of being the only nation to use a nuclear weapon. George W. Bush positively gushed with admiration for Harry Truman, saying he was his favorite president, and a man he modeled his own administration after.

And such is the People's History of the United States -- an incredible work of scholarship, and regardless of your politics, it's an heroic contribution and indispensable for anyone seeking to understand truth.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

What about Jeff Zinn’s performance did you like?

It was very cool that Howard's son was able to do the narration, and in addition his speaking skills were excellent.

A Long But Necessary Read

Would you consider the audio edition of A People's History of the United States to be better than the print version?

I've seen the printed version of this book for a long time but never perceived that I had the time to read it. I hesitated downloading this selection because it was so long. I didn't feel I would have the necessary stamina. I'm so glad I finally did it.

What did you like best about this story?

I've heard it said that history books are written by the victors. It was so enlightening to hear our nation's history but from another point of view, that of the vanquished, the downtrodden, the working stiff. Yeah, it was biased but that's okay. I took what Mr. Zinn said with a grain of salt too. I think he would encourage me to do so.

What three words best describe Jeff Zinn’s performance?

not so good

Full of information you didn't learn in school!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would absolutely recommend this audio book. I couldn't wait for every opportunity to listen, and found the untold history of our great nation shocking at times. This is a book that should be required reading at the high school level.

All my history classes were lies!

..or rather selectively omitted truths. This is Americsn history told from the point of view of the oppressed and silenced. It's eye opening and saddening. However be aware that Zinn simply presents viewpoints not told in standard history curriculums, so it's important to realize that what you did learn in history was not necessarily false; just another viewpoint.

Made me curious to improve my knowledge of US history

A refreshing counterpoint to the sanitized, winner’s history that most of us got in high school and/or college. Zinn focuses on the stories that are ignored or glossed over in most textbooks. His left-leaning bias shows, but he also cites lots of primary sources for further reading.

usefull information every patriot should know

If you could sum up A People's History of the United States in three words, what would they be?

A story of our history as Americans without spin or political agenda. Some from the far right may argue that it is a leftist leaning text. But that would be political spin, and apologetic of the actual truths. Knowing the real truth of the heros of our history has value, and informs greatly who we are and who we can become as a nation.

What did you like best about this story?

The book was factual, but carefully arranged into a narrative to keep the story moving forward. I am sure this is not an easy feat for the author, but it helps to see the evolution of an idea, the recurring themes of history, and the trajectory of the arc of our national history.

What about Jeff Zinn’s performance did you like?

With so much information presented, this could easily have become a dry plodding textbook. While not a conventional page turner, the narrator does a good job keeping the reader interested and absorbing the information.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It is a very long book, requiring days to finish. But definitely worth it.

Any additional comments?

I would be tempted to purchase this book in tangible form, just to investigate the footnotes. With so many pieces of information providing a counter point to the sugar land version of history we are taught in school, it would be good to know that there are actual sources and confirmations of the facts presented in this book.

great book ,

Where does A People's History of the United States rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

right now , # 1

What was one of the most memorable moments of A People's History of the United States?

chapter one , two , three , etc.

Which scene was your favorite?

silly question for me , the whole book was great

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

anyone who thinks they know all there is to know about American history , needs to read this book