A People's History of the United States

By: Howard Zinn

Narrated by: Jeff Zinn

Length: 34 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

"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

Critic reviews

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

Good Counterweight to Textbook History

this book is a comprehensive look at the history of the United States from the vantage point of the Common People. Most all of history books that you read in school or that's commonly read are heavily patriotic and glorify the history by focusing on the good memories of the past that support the establishment. This book swings heavily in the other direction and focuses on the bad things that have happened to the common people. While certainly biased towards a socialistic leaning, I feel it is very important to hear another side of the story. as we all know there are two sides to every story and usually somewhere in the middle is the most truth. So read with an open mind but be prepared for a pessimistic story on capitalism.

Mine eyes have seen the folly...

This book contains a lot of veritable facts of American history about which I, who read a hellluva lot, was completely unaware. That's reason enough for me to love it.

A lot of that data about these United States contradicts or invalidates in some way the history that I had been taught. That's disturbing.

Read it. Be skeptical. Go read other histories. If you really haven't though much about American history since high school, you're going to be surprised, probably dismayed. If you are, I hope that you will go read elsewhere. It's not a pleasant tasting medicine, but I think I see a bit more clearly now.

The other side of history.

Great history book. Cuts out all the American exceptionalism and patriotism that school history is littered with and tells you how disgusting it was to get this far in our history. must read for anyone that's interested in escaping that bubble.

Zinn is still and forever relevant with this book

Just as impactful as when I first read the organic book 20 years ago. If you’re a working man like I am with appreciation for all you deem this work incredibly important. Zinn says in the book that there is no true fact. There are facts from the elite 1%’s eyes and the facts through the People’s (99%) eyes. I read about so many situations in this book meant to exploit the many in favor of the few and think to myself: how much is enough? “We the many, they the few” is an adage that will at some point bear witness to the evening-out of the struggles of our huddled masses. We didn’t need another book about an American president. We needed our history and this is wonderful insight into a long road.

Eye Opening...

This book in a nutshell: The rich always wants to get richer. The object of the game is always control of the poor as a mean of gaining wealth. If you want certain rights or freedoms to be recognized for you, you always have to fight for them because the rich will not give them out of the goodness of their hearts...

Biased but necessary

While it is impossible to hide the author's promotion of socialism these stories must be told.

Should be mandatory for middle schools

As, Missouri Sen. George Graham Vest,said in 1891. , “for history is written by the victors and framed according to the prejudices and bias existing on their side.” This phrase, (wrongfully credited to Winston Churchill) is exactly what this book came to correct.
This is the History from the loosing side, the "friendly fire" victims, those who "need" to suffer, or die for a supposedly "greater good"
Aborigenae, Indiands, Women, African-American, Irish-American,Italo-American, German-American, Asian-American.Eastern Europeans. Socialists.Anarquists. Sufragettes. Children.and many more.
with one thing in common. They were in the way of the Rich & the Powerful. To grab the land, to own the resources, to consitute their free or cheap labor. with or without laws. with violence. through force or money, some people is still in power 500 years later.
same scheme, different technology. in many cases, even with same family names.( /e.g. Rostchild, J.P.Morgan)
They wrote "the OFFICIAL" History. Well, this is the same History, but seen from the other side.

Great Content Meets Sup-Par Performance

Many reviewers have rated this audiobook lower than what it deserves based on the poor mixing and seemingly apathy of the reader.

While both opinions are true (and annoying), the content of Zinn's masterwork far outweighs any specific annoyances the listener may encounter.

Yes, the audio must be adjusted at times for volume sake, but the sheer magnitude of the work is both compelling and easy to follow - despite being published on a somewhat sub-par scale. Just try it and only use credits for this download.

Changed my life.

An engrossing look at history. I question the narrative of all histories more because of this book. History has many sides and these sides of history are ones that needs to be remembered.

Can't recommend this enough.

An interesting book, but strongly left leaning

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed this book. It is interesting and makes you realize that the United States does truly have its share of historical oppression via rule from the top (the wealthy, white male class). But while this book will certainly enlighten you on the reality of America's oppressed or "lesser" groups, it fails to acknowledge the many triumphs the US has had in rectifying past issues. The growth of the middle class could have been discussed more, particularly the drastic decline in poverty brought on by the Industrial Revolution. Basically, if you want a sobering history of the US that seems to intentionally neglect some of the better points of US history then this book is for you.

Any additional comments?

The transitions between recording sessions are obvious and can be disruptive to the listening experience. Overall, the audio quality could be better.