A people's history of the United States, 1492-present

History

Print length: 729 pagesHarperPerennial, 2005

Description

Howard Zinn retells United States history from the vantage point of people more often treated as its casualties, labor force, or opposition than as its makers. Moving from European colonization through the late twentieth century, he foregrounds Native Americans, enslaved and free African Americans, women, factory workers, immigrants, and the working poor. Conquest, slavery, industrial conflict, war, and protest appear not as isolated episodes but as struggles shaped by concentrated wealth and political power. Zinn draws heavily on participants’ words while arguing that national unity has often concealed exploitation benefiting a small elite. The result is a deliberately adversarial history that asks readers to reconsider whose experiences conventional accounts center, what those accounts omit, and how resistance changes the national story.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Direct · Essayistic · Journalistic

Pace

Measured

Tone

Cerebral · Dark · Earnest · Reflective

Structure

Argumentative · Chronological nonfiction

Focus

Argument · Ideas · Information

Emotional intensity

4 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 4 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

ClassInequalityOppressionPolitics and ideologyPowerRace and racism

About Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn was an American historian, playwright, and socialist thinker whose work brought an openly political perspective to the writing of United States history. After chairing history and social sciences at Spelman College, he taught political science at Boston University and wrote more than twenty books. His influential A People’s History of the United States established his characteristic method: shifting attention from national leaders and official narratives to Native Americans, enslaved and free African Americans, women, workers, immigrants, and others who endured or resisted conquest, exploitation, and war. Zinn extended that approach across forms. A People’s History of American Empire sets accounts of military expansion and intervention against the experiences of affected communities, while Voices of A People’s History of the United States assembles speeches, letters, poems, and songs so historical participants can speak directly. His clear, argumentative histories made overlooked perspectives accessible to a broad readership. Their research and selective emphasis have also drawn criticism, making Zinn’s work both influential and persistently contested.

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: HarperPerennial
Language: English
ISBN: 9780061713552

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