A review by ben_salad
A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
4.0
A staggering and ambitious undertaking. Surprisingly comprehensive given its scope, still it functions best as a (700 page!) primer or index for further reading.
It has some glaring omissions - (one paragraph on stonewall and LGBT struggle I mean come on dude... ), Zinn acknowledges these and other omissions in the afterword of my 2003 edition.
The book does well to concede its bias right away. It situates itself in opposition to the "ordinary" and elite-focused bias of historical writing and offers a strong rejection of the "common knowledge" narratives of US history.
Give it a read if you've got a while. The book can comfortably be read in sections if you don't want to power through.
It has some glaring omissions - (one paragraph on stonewall and LGBT struggle I mean come on dude... ), Zinn acknowledges these and other omissions in the afterword of my 2003 edition.
The book does well to concede its bias right away. It situates itself in opposition to the "ordinary" and elite-focused bias of historical writing and offers a strong rejection of the "common knowledge" narratives of US history.
Give it a read if you've got a while. The book can comfortably be read in sections if you don't want to power through.