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  • A People's History of the United States

  • Written by: Howard Zinn
  • Narrated by: Jeff Zinn
  • Length: 34 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (96 ratings)

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A People's History of the United States

Written by: Howard Zinn
Narrated by: Jeff Zinn
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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

What the critics say

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

What listeners say about A People's History of the United States

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    4 out of 5 stars

Karl Marx's History of the United States

My first impression of the book was that the author was telling the American story from the perspective of "the people" as the title and preface suggest. My second impression was that he was telling that story from the perspective only of the poor and down-trodden. After the second or third positive reference to Karl Marx, I realized that this is not a book trying to put a spotlight on the poor at all, but rather on the bourgeoisie and their oppression of the proletariat. In other words, this is a book about communism, thinly veiled.

I'm not a historian, but I've read enough letters and quotes from some of these figures to say that this author is putting a number of American heroes in their worst possible light, such that this book will give you far from a balanced, multi-lateral understanding of US history.

At times the author sounds like a conspiracy theorist, attributing the most nefarious motives to people like Madison, Jefferson, and Lincon, so far as to suggest the US constitution itself was a deliberate deception put on by the privileged few rich people to control the masses.

Insofar as a nation is defined by its values and ideals rather than its people, I think I can comfortably say that this author hates the United States of America, its founding document, its founders as people, and nearly all of its heroes. Cliché as this may sound, this author does not see the United States for the vanguard of freedom that it has been for the last century, and he thoroughly does not understand much less love the country he is writing about.

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6 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Story is good; Narration so much

While the book itself is interesting, you can hear background noise (chatter, sipping, etc.) at times in the narration, which could annoy the listener

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Must Read

Even as a history major, my mind was still blown. This should be taught in schools.

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Eye opening!

I like hearing the story’s that you never hear. It is kind of scary when you realize who really runs the show.

Not sure why the Declaration of Independence was even written after listening to this book, only a few leaders understood it but $$ seems to be the driving force at any cost.

How or when will it end?

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love it

Amazing, I always love learning about the history they don't teach you in schools.

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This book will open your mind

This is a key book if you want to understand the United States... its foreign policy, its treatment of its people and why the richest nation on earth won't feed, clothe, and house its population.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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History indeed ...

Reminders of social movements needed to advance human life is retold as is needed. People die and the slow painful advance of standards is lost. The suffering goes unmarked. The pain and suffering costs for advanced modern standards of living where seemed needed. Needed or not where paid. Human greed was tied to human ignorance. modern society basis it's new standards on the advances of education. This work be huge. A daring effort by Mr H. ZINN. He himself admitted the subject is too large for one man in one life time to SHOW the history. But he opens the eye of enough person's who may see the need to care to know something as knowing nothing advances the human race backwards. And the whole of the world could be what TV in Star Trek promised. Being freedom from meaningless toil and value of money faded as there is no want but to live a life having meaning.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Incredible book

Awesome and powerful book showing history from the ground up more than the top down like you usually see. Narrator was great, though admittedly I found my attention wandering now and then, but that's probably more me than the narrator.

Don't hesitate to get this one!

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An extraordinary audiobook

This was well worth the 34 1/2 hours I spent listening. Jeff Zinn did a superb job narrating this massive book written by his historian father. I particularly liked his last chapter when he summed up his philosophy and optimism for a better country that would protect and care for children around the world. Reading or listening to it gives one a very different perspective on world events from the discovery of America to the 90s and beyond. Congratulations to Mr. ZInn for his massive amount of research, and to Jeff for having the patience to read the entire work so well. I am glad your father left this world before seeing the chaos that we are in today. This book was a real eye-opener for me, thank you. Liona Boyd

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Unique perspective of the history of America

Howard Zinn offers a perspective of the history America in a intriguing way. Many unheard stories from this audio book will keep you hooked. This audio book will make you think and question what we learn about the history of America

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