A People's History of the United States

Howard Zinn

Dec 2009 · HarperAudio · Narrated by Jeff Zinn

About this audiobook

THE CLASSIC NATIONAL BESTSELLER

""A wonderful, splendid book—a book that should be read by every American, student or otherwise, who wants to understand his country, its true history, and its hope for the future."" –Howard Fast

Historian Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States chronicles American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official narrative 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, it 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's 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. This edition also includes an introduction by Anthony Arnove, who wrote, directed, and produced The People Speak with Zinn and who coauthored, with Zinn, Voices of a People’s History of the United States.

Ratings and reviews

A surprisingly bad production. The monotonous and surprisingly sloppy narration would have benefited from competent editing. But it is littered with garbled words, mispronunciations, and inconsistent sound quality. I hope the producers will invest in a new recording, as I wasn't even able to get through half of this one.

An excellent book, written by the great historian Howard Zinn. It is a *people's* history; giving the side of the story never given in government-sanctioned text books, or corporate-owned media outlets. It isn't a pretty story, but the truth seldom is. However, it is a truth that every American needs to know.

This book contains no sources. It should be read as historical fiction and nothing else. Zinn attempts to create new narratives for what many famous people intended to accomplish but provides zero evidence for why he feels that way. This book is for the type of person who watches Ancient Aliens on the History Channel and doesn't even question it. The only saving grace is that Zinn is a good writer and it convinces a lot of historically illiterate people to believe utter fabrications.

About the author

Howard Zinn (1922–2010) was a historian, playwright, and social activist. In addition to A People’s History of the United States, which has sold more than two million copies, he is the author of numerous books including The People Speak, Passionate Declarations, and the autobiography, You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train.