| A People's History Of The United States: 1492-2001 - 1492-present
(2003)
|
| Front Cover |
Book Details |
|
| Genre |
Non-Fiction |
| Subject |
United States - History |
| Publication Date |
2/1/2003 |
| Format |
Hardcover (9.5
x
6.3
mm)
|
| Publisher |
Harper |
| Language |
English |
|
|
| Description |
| "This new edition contains two new chapters covering the Clinton presidency, the 2000 Election, and the "war on terrorism," continuing Zinn's important contribution to a complete and balanced understanding of American history."--BOOK JACKET. |
| Personal Details |
| Store |
2nd & Charles |
| Purchase Price |
$11.61 |
| Acquire Date |
8/24/2021 |
| Condition |
Very Good/Very Good |
| Rating |
0 |
| Links |
Library of Congress
|
|
| Product Details |
| LoC Classification |
E178.Z75 2003 |
| Dewey |
973.02 |
| ISBN |
9780060528423 |
| Cover Price |
$35.95 |
| No. of Pages |
729 |
| First Edition |
No |
| Rare |
No |
|
| Notes/Review |
I first heard about this book back in the late 1990s or so. I had the idea that the book had a bit of a reputation for causing outrage. Or at least discomfort.
Much of history is told through the stories of great men. Zinn avoids this path and instead concentrates more on the masses of people. What happened to them and what actions they took: slavery and subjection, repression of labor movements, mass protests, and so on. Although the first edition of the book was published in 1980, there's a fair amount of discussion of the 1% (a term I hadn't encountered until much more recently) and how that 1% runs the United States for their own ends. Just who were "We the people" back in 1776? (Hint: it sure wasn't women or blacks.)
These days, Critical Race Theory is in the news. It seems many conservatives don't want it taught in school. They think that white kids will get depressed (or something) if they learn just how important racial discrimination and oppression are to the founding and operating of the nation. I'm guessing those folks would just as soon see this book burned.
No historian can provide a totally objective story. There is always a requirement to leave things out. It's just not possible to relate the whole truth. For example, a biographer may laud Columbus's navigational skills but minimize (or omit) what Columbus did to the Arawak people. Zinn spends a lot of time going over the bits of the story that are typically minimized or omitted. This is important: we can't do a better job tomorrow if we don't know the effects of what we did yesterday.
Zinn doesn't include source notes for his text, but each chapter has a fairly complete bibliography. I was a bit surprised at how much of his source material I'd already read. I knew most of the history Zinn covers. I'd say he does a great job of telling the nation's story. Only occasionally did I wish he gave more emphasis on a specific person or event, and, although I don't always agree with his conclusions, I find him fundamentally sound. |
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