A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present: 1492 to the Present (Perennial Classics) [Taschenbuch]

* "Explorers" as great men that mapped the way for the destinies of Spanish, French, and English men. Of all explorers, 2 (Coronado and Pizzaro) were described to me as having "bad tempers" and killing a few indians for gold.

* Russia, the worst country in the world. America was the "greatest" country in the world and acted to protect the world from the red. Russians were all vodka drinking, steriod using, boxers (ALA Rocky 4), and wanted to take over the world, particularly the US.

* Indians were "moved" from their land, with no mention of the destruction of their culture (I feel guilty just sitting on this land).

* Morgan, Rockefeller, Carneige, were geniuses that made the US a global economic power. They built many wonderful institutions of higher learning to help the hungry people.

* Strikes are bad things that greedy, lazy, people do.

* American troops accidentally "discovered" the concentration camps and we had no previous knowledge of their existence.

* When James Madison wrote "We the People..." he meant everyone.

* Abraham Lincoln was the hero of the Civil War and worked tirelessly for slaves' freedom.

* Lewis & Clark, The War of 1812, The California Gold Rush, and The Civil War were the only 4 things that happened in the 19th century.

* World War I, the League of Nations, The New Deal, and WW2 were the only things that happened in the first half of this century. While Vietnam and Civil Rights were the only things that have happened since.

"People's History" will change this kind of history that I was exposed to during my first 12 years in education. Shame on those teachers for not presenting the plight of 90% of the people, and shame on me for not realizing on my own.

Yes, this book has its faults, as many of the previous reviews point out. It is very left-leaning. It does sometimes omit factual points that do not support its line of argument. It does sometimes verge on equating the misdeeds of American leaders with the horrific malevolence of the leaders of totalitarian states. It does romanticize its heroes.

For all that, though, this book is an excellent introduction to U.S. history if read as a contrasting voice to more traditional narratives. It is a fine and vigorous antidote to the excessively reverent tone of many high school textbooks. It conveys a sense of moral passion that is often lacking in these texts, which are typically take great pains to offend no one, particularly regarding events within living memory. Not all contemporary texts are this bloodlessly terrible, but many are. One of the best things about Zinn's histories is that he leaves in the drama that the standard texts insist on draining out.

"A People's History" begins with a bold thesis, and keeps it at center stage--namely, that those with power and wealth consistently extend it to others only when the situation has reached the level of deep crisis, and only with the minimum and uppermost fraction of the discontended needed to co-opt them and defeat the dissent of the remainder, often also turning otherwise natural allies into antagonistic contenders for "table scraps" from the banquet in the process. And as Zinn argues repeatedly, this grudging and incomplete inclusion, made reality by the courage and convictions of average men and women, has been the engine that has driven most if not all extentions of both liberty and equality in U.S. history, and that this is a continuing and unfinished process, awaiting future generations of idealists possessing the courage of their own convictions. I admire this book (and this author) for inculcating this idea among young readers.

For young adults who have an interest in U.S. history, or for parents who wish to engage their teen's interest in history, this book is a great place to start. It also might be the start of a few conversations at home about justice, fairness, equality, morality, the probity of leaders, etc. Since it argues more from a passion for justice and equality, a sense of burning indignation, and a highly debatable point of view, those desiring balance should pair it with something less withering in its assessment toward the history of the American state. This is an excellent history for the newly interested, or for those readers looking for an alternative perspective.