This book should be required reading for anyone in high school. And again in college. And again in graduate school. And again at any entry level job.

You get the point.

This book highlights the untold story behind history. As they say, history is written by the winners. This is the story of the losers. Read it. Soak it in. And realize that there are many more losers in history than winners. Then decide which group you're a part of....you'll never be the same again after reading this book. ( )

Point blank, this book is amazing.
The only reason I gave it a four instead of a five is that it's so dense and at times I found myself getting slightly bored.
Other than that, however, I adore this book and consider it a must-read for all Americans. ( )

Perhaps every generation feels like its lived through particularly "interesting" times. Howard Zinn's 'People's History of the United States' confirms them all to be correct. Quite a tome, this dense book traces American history - from the arrival of Columbus to modern day - from the perspective of the average American. Read: not rich, not powerful, not white, not male, maybe not even a citizen; a version of history from the perspective of "we the people".

Despite that it sat on my shelf unread for at least a year, its actually quite readable. In fact Zinn's version of American history is engaging partly because it is so different from what you learned in grade school. What is history but a compendium of facts? Well Zinn's 'People's History' demonstrates that "his"tory is indeed quite different than "our"story. An examination of the facts from the people's perspective reveals the hypocrisy of America - the story of Democracy verses the reality. Gone are the great highs we celebrated - the Boston Tea Party, the Louisiana Purchase, WWII - in 'People's History" they're all sullied. Looked at through Zinn's lens its difficult to not feel a little cynical about the governing class and a lot skeptical about their rationale for action.

That said, I have renewed appreciation for what "the people" can accomplish with a little passion and creativity. Rather than progress being the result of great acts by "great men", Zinn leads us to believe that most good things have come about due to an unruly public clamoring for their rights. Evidence that indeed "Well-behaved women rarely make history".

I don't regret being rooted in the idealistic image of America, but Americans should be equally versed in this side as well. For the answer to the question of 'why do they hate us?' you need look no further. ( )

Often dismissed as leftist revision, Zinn's work is the history that you were not indoctrinated with. It shows America - warts and all. You'll find all those things that were swept under the rug, which is too bad because those are the very things that made America great. The courage of miners to take on the companies for better wages and work conditions. This created better wages and work conditions for us today. The courage of abolisionists to break bad laws in aid of an oppressed people. In the end, it freed us all. In reading this book you get the sense of who really are the heros of America. Most of the time it was someone we never heard of while growing up. It reaffirms that America is more than politicians and rich men, but an entire continent of people molding a better life. It reaffirms that it is the middle class that runs the place in the end. My recommendation for focus is the early 20th century and how the public took on the powers that be. ( )

Lovers of history should read this book! Zinn presents an unbiased account of history, often supported by quotations of people who were there. This book contains everything they didn't want to teach you in school! Appropriate for high school and beyond... ( )