A Young Peoples History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror (For Young People Series

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A Young People’s History of the United States

Why should our young people learn of the heroism and sacrifice of their ancestors and the founding fathers of the United States. Let's teach them to snarl at references to Washington and Lincoln. Let's teach them that the War in the Pacific WWII was really a racist war against asian peoples, ignoring our alliances with the Philippines and the Chinese. Let's not forget that the cold war was not just a matter of communist and capitalist moral equivalence the way some soft liberals think. Oh no, the Marxist side is still the side of historical inevitability and resistance to it is evil!

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Stilted, pedantic, biased typical Zinn. Another soft peddled extremist tract that describes America as a predatory and repressive capitalist state -- sexist, racist, imperialist -- that is run by a corporate ruling class for the benefit of the rich. The book claims to present American history through the eyes of workers, American Indians, slaves, women, blacks, and populists. To quote Zinn "Around , certain important people in the English colonies His driven view of the world needs to be presented in contrast to those on the opposite side of the political spectrum.

Then one can compare and contrast the two views for a chance at a middle ground of understanding. This book illustrates a brief and largely subjective view of U. I'm reluctant to call this book a work of non-fiction, and shudder at the thought of this book being used in schools to teach impressionable children. Regardless of your political affiliation, disregard this book in favor of other works that provide a more complete, objective account of U.

I really like the information in this book. It is a much needed counter-balance to the rosy, whitewashed fantasy history we all learned in school. However, I have some problems with this book. First, you have to read this along with a more traditional history to get the full picture. It wasn't all evil greedy white males bashing and trashing their way across the continent.

If you read only Zinn, you get just as skewed a portrayal of reality as the standard poor-excuse-for-textbooks that school boards inflict on our kids. Also, I can't agree that this info is for kids. Possibly, for seniors in high school. But younger kids don't need to learn all the awful things in history. He talked about peace tonight and wanting to work for peaceful solutions to problems when he is president. If he takes some Zinn with him in his presidential dreams, it will certainly be a good thing. Aug 29, Ami Pendley rated it it was amazing. I am teaching US History for the first time this fall.

I have been given a class set of very expensive glossy new textbooks by my district which are best described as soporifics. If I want to bore my students to death or put them all to sleep so I can answer my emails, I will assign a chapter and its uninspiring questions at the end. Howard Zinn's masterpiece is too much for my 8th graders, but this adaptation by Rebecca Stefoff is a treasure.

It captures all the important themes from A People's History and simplifies them for younger readers without glossing over anything. Unlike the textbook which nearly broke my nose one night when I fell asleep after half a page, I read this in one sitting. This is the kind of history that captures the hearts and minds and imaginations of students, the kind of history that inspires them to dig deeper and think more critically. This should be the textbook. Apr 03, Vannessa Anderson rated it it was amazing Shelves: Columbus to the War on Terror left no stone unturned when teaching actual American History.

A few things I learned 1 Christopher Columbus was a mass murdered, a slave trader, a slaver and a sadist 2 Whites believed blacks were not their equals 3 Children started the first mill strike in Paterson, New Jersey 4 Rockefeller made secret deals with railroad companies to ship his oil at lower rates 5 President Grover Cleveland sold out the American peopl A Young People's History of the United States: Jul 25, Isabel rated it liked it Shelves: Well, VF, since you asked for my opinion, here it is.

Younger readers would most likely lack the background knowledge to make much sense of the more modern history and since this is a somewhat reactive history, I think it would be good for your reader to know what exactly Zinn is reacting to IYKWIM. The Columbus chapter is a good one to consider, but bea Well, VF, since you asked for my opinion, here it is. The Columbus chapter is a good one to consider, but bear in mind that even though it has been cleaned up considerably from its original version, it's still pretty harsh.

Determining what is developmentally appropriate for your child is a very personal choice. You know her best. Images and reports of violence from local rapes and murders to civil wars and international conflict are important for all citizens to know about, but how and when do you open that door to your children? Zinn's history is a bit more intense than, say, Jr.

Scholastic coverage of current events. Still, he offers a perspective that MS age kids should be able to wrestle with. I just wish it weren't quite so I wish I'd flagged passages as I was reading it to support my vibe on this, but I didn't, so perhaps if you read it you'll come across some and see what I mean. And, actually, any history your child is already familiar with would be interesting for her to read about through Zinn's lens. So the colonial period is solid.

As is the revolutionary period. He also adds important dimensions to the practice and legal issues of slavery that don't find their way into the standard telling of US history. So if your reader has covered US history up to the Civil War, she'd be well served to see this take on those events. But when it gets to the post Civil War part, I don't know that many kids under high school age have a fighting chance at that. Probably most HS age kids would struggle with it, too.

Even back in the 90s when we had 30 years less history to cover, I don't think we got past Kennedy.

I can only imagine how they're cramming this stuff into HS classes now with all this additional time to include. Anyway, having just re-read the original version of this history, I was curious to see what changes made this a better fit for "young people. Older readers like those, too. Some words are defined in context but that was inconsistent and not always all that useful, IMO. I respect Zinn's goal with this revision of history, but I guess we are now in a "post revisionist" phase. My take on this is that in the beginning, histories were all about politicians, wars and a white, male, Euro-centric perspective.

That changed in the 90s, I think largely due to writers like Howard Zinn. Zinn's objective was to include the other voices of history, but he does this to the point of completely ignoring the other side. Why waste time telling a story we're all familiar with? Zinn sought to write the un-voiced side.

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At this stage twenty years later , though, while we are definitely more familiar with the "traditional" history, we are not solid enough with it that we can only rely on the revised view. Which is why we need a balance of both perspectives. Zinn's history doesn't meet that need. Before a reader can really digest this history, she'd need to know the history of the US at least in a basic way from the exploration period to the War in Iraq. Not too many curricula cover all that ground by 5th grade.

What I do appreciate about this history is that it includes the economic perspective. He explains that there are alternatives to capitalism and that those alternatives have had brief expression even in the history of the US. He also convincingly argues that the system is rigged to use a completely exhausted phrase to favor big business through international free trade--trade that is made possible through active military interventions not for justice and liberty, but to protect economic access.

Zinn presents this information in a straightforward, hard-to-argue manner. That economic imperialism thing is very hard to shake off. You can't help but wonder, isn't there some other way? And perhaps these are things that our Young People should think about, the sooner, the better. I guess this history particularly the more modern stuff reminds me too much of the "conversations" that we are having now, in about political matters. It would be nice if we could of recognize both sides' legitimate perspectives, and build on those while acknowledging that both sides have members that abuse ideology and have selfish motives.

If we could find the good stuff and fix it when it starts to go bad, I think we'd make far more progress than simply attacking the end result and going to a polar opposite solution. In the Zinn telling, it looks as if the Feds simply went on a rampage and killed children, women and men indiscriminately. While it is clear that the Feds made a lot of lethal mistakes, Zinn loses the part of the story where those mistakes are acknowledged and how recognizing those fatal errors would reshape how authorities responded to this type of sitution to avoid a massacre like that in the future.

In the book, though, it plays out as if the system whole heartedly embraced the outcome of Waco and is designed to solve problems using excessive violence against citizens. Also, after doing some--admittedly shallow--research, it appears that many of the children were killed by adults in the compound in an effort to prevent them from suffering in the fire and gassing of the place, so it wasn't the Feds busting in willy nilly and shooting up a bunch of little kids, though that is distinctly how it came across when I read it.

I appreciate Zinn's intro, though. He believes that children should not be spoon-fed sanitized versions of history. He maintains that instead of worshipping the generals and politicians that make decisions for the people or do they? What Zinn fails to take into account is that while some people come together and collaborate to create communities of generosity, decency and fairness, others come together for the same purpose but generosity, decency and fairness look different when the community defines those terms differently.

All I can think of is the whole Trump v. Clinton thing right now. People in both parties firmly believe that their view of the nation is fair and decent. Also, Zinn is pretty pessimistic about the whole voting thing. His take is that the ballot box is used to distract citizens from real issues.

The only way to really achieve change is through activism, protest, and even at times violence. That's a conclusion I'd like my kid to reach on her own after participating in the existing system and deciding how she wants to change it. I'd rather not have that be her first take on the democratic process. But that only points out my own bias that yes, change can come through democracy as practiced in the US.

It's not just a sham with surface changes. This change is slow and certainly has a long way to go, but in my idealistic? I believe it is a goal that we must all strive toward and we simply can't expect quick fixes to problems of this magnitude, especially if we want the fixes to last. But then, I guess I'm more conservative than I'd thought. It took a book for Young People to drive that point home, which makes me think, again, that perhaps an older audience is a better fit for this kind of writing.

This review could probably stand some extensive revision. I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this book. I just wanted to throw them out there for you, VF, and to some extent to try and make sense of my thoughts for myself. Not sure I accomplished that, though. Feb 28, Rhiannon rated it it was amazing Shelves: Honestly this should be required reading for every American.

I wish this was part of my high school or middle school history curriculum; I had to wait until college or post-college to learn a lot of the information or the more complete version of the information presented in this book. It infuriates me how happily white-washed our history is taught to young people because it means that those young people will grow into full-fledged adults who have very little understanding of our true history. This book is essential to being a fully-informed American citizen and voter because if we do not learn properly from our history, the good AND the bad, then we are doomed to repeat it.

Aug 01, Liz rated it it was amazing Shelves: Howard Zinn lived a left of center life. This is a left of center book. This book would also be best suited for kids who have already studied the basics of American history because, I suspect as part of the adaptation, bits and pieces of events are left out so a neophyte in American history might become confused.

Zinn is intere Howard Zinn lived a left of center life. Zinn is interested in the power equation between conquerors and those conquered, between those with wealth in this country and those without, between the rich and powerful in this country and everyone else, between this country and the countries with which we engage in war. Instead of celebrating Christopher Columbus as the person who discovered the New World, Zinn vilifies him for his treatment of the Indians he encountered.

Zinn paints a terribly grim picture of the way the US treated Indians who were here before us. His view of those who wrote the Constitution is that they were trying to preserve the position of the wealthy and powerful.

A Young People's History of the United States: Columbus to the War on Terror

This quote sums up the book quite well: The wealth it produced was like a pyramid. The supporting layers, those who built the pyramid and held it up, where the workers: At the top where the new American multimillionaires. I was incredulous as I read about the American Revolution. According to Zinn the rich and powerful Americans redirected lower-class anger about inequality aimed at them towards the British so that they could maintain their position of power.

However, as I continued reading and moved into the period of time I've lived through, I found his telling of the story to be exactly right. I will re-examine my views about the American Revolution. The book is fascinating and very readable. It has full page black and white photos and drawings throughout. I wish there had been footnotes. A bibliography of books for further reading would also have been helpful. As a testament to the power of the book, let me say that I have been reading it for a week I read slowly , and I'm ready to go out and work to change our society so that wealth is better distributed, and so that everyone will have access to an excellent education and excellent healthcare and nourishing food and shelter that maintains their privacy.

Dec 24, Alice Zhao rated it really liked it. This book reminds me a lot of familiar teachings in my school in China. Every historical event was analyzed based on economic change and class conflict. We were taught that the world history is a continuous struggle against oppression, and every revolution was applauded. I appreciate the author bravely present this idea to the Americans.

However, coming from China and having been in the US for years, I probably prefer a more peaceful and progressive way to address social injustice. Eventual, all This book reminds me a lot of familiar teachings in my school in China. Eventual, all the rebels and riots hurt poor people and working classes more than the rich.

The rich may lose money and status in the revolution, but way more ordinary people lost their lives in violence. I doubt whether it worths the lives of so many people to fight for future imaginary justice, and have deeper doubt whether those "social justice" is truly fair.

A Young People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn - Google Книги

More often I think revolutions only brought a different type of dictatorship. I don't agree with the author to picture capitalism as totally evil and disastrous. Look at the development in China in the last 30 years. With economic growth, China has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and significantly improved life quality of a billion people, after the government practically abandoned communism and embraced capitalism.

It is true that there is increasing gap between the rich and the poor in China, but I believe most Chinese would not like to go back to the era of "equally poor". I like the book because the author provides a different view than most main stream ideas. It provokes discussions and reflections. A society that tolerates various views is healthy, and I believe some balance between capitalism and socialism may be the best. Oct 07, Andrew rated it really liked it. I have to say, I was quite shocked to learn that there are people who accuse this book of supporting a communist agenda, and being extreme-leftist.

Howard Zinn the author expresses that his point of view is criticizing to 'war, racism, and economic injustice', and I think that a description of this book along those lines seems accurate enough. It's a great young-adult version of A People's History of the United States , and serves as a good companion piece for younger readers. There are certain I have to say, I was quite shocked to learn that there are people who accuse this book of supporting a communist agenda, and being extreme-leftist.

There are certain things in history that I didn't know until I read this novel. It rightfully so paints a bad portrait of Christopher Columbus, who was quoted to have once written the following about Native Americans in a letter: Other things that I consider 'glossed over' in schools now that I've read this novel include: The United States violated the UN charter and entered a war that was undeclared by Congress, Iraqi casualties in the Iraq war were much greater than US casualties, Congress approved the building of a fence that stopped Mexicans from illegally entering US territory that was seized from Mexico , and more.

Overall, I'd say that it doesn't paint a negative portrait of the United States, but mostly just a group of people that Zinn calls 'The Establishment': It's leftist, but not extreme-leftist. It's pro-democracy, but not pro-communism. Jul 24, Scooping it Up rated it really liked it Shelves: I want to talk about different view points and perspectives and while I might personally not love the light in which certain events in history are detailed here, I certainly believe we all should be able to look at them with different eyes.

I think this will be great tool. A fantastic addition to our home school arsenal. Aug 02, Brenda rated it it was amazing. A must read for children and adults. Jan 16, Kristin rated it it was amazing Shelves: One way it can do this is by letting us see the hidden parts of the past, the times when people showed us they could resist the powerful, or join together.

I enjoyed reading this book. I liked how the book includes primary sources so we can hear the voices of people from the past. And reading this book was a helpful review of American history. I had a few concerns about this book. Still I think his goal of highlighting often overlooked historical stories is really important.

I encourage everyone to seek out alternative perspectives on history, whether in this book or others, so we can better understand our past and envision how to create the future we want. Sep 07, Gabriela Montes rated it it was amazing. I absolutely loved this book! Even though it seemed like a bit of a chore to read at times, like most non-fiction things are for me, it snapped me out of a trance that I had been in my whole life. I had known some of the mistakes made and hidden truths that were in the book, I discovered more things that had my parents had never bothered to tell me.

For instance, I didn't know that President Andrew Jackson made deals with several Native American tribes and then just backed out, stole their land I absolutely loved this book! For instance, I didn't know that President Andrew Jackson made deals with several Native American tribes and then just backed out, stole their land and killed many of them.

I had no idea that we killed and injured so many innocent people, including our fellow Americans, during the Vietnam War, just because we wanted to occupy Vietnam and show that we had power to take down the communists there. What I mean to say is that our country's wrongdoings are something that everyone in the U. Our good history contains protesting against wars, demanding free health care for those who need it, fighting against racism and much more. But, the rest is awful decisions, greediness, hunger for power and a ton more things bad. This book made me realize that our country isn't as great as most perceive it to be.

Thank Howard Zinn, for writing a book that made my eyes open wide enough to see the greatest flaws in our country's history. Jul 04, Tariq Mahmood rated it it was amazing Shelves: History from the people's perspective is a brilliant way to make history relevant again. History is based on factual events, but the historians present a subjective analysis of these events, which leaves readers in a bit of a quandary, how much of this interpretation should we take with a pinch of salt? Zinn's presents his version of history from the point of view of the oppressed, black and white slaves, women and Mexicans, fighting for their rights against a very opportunistic and selfish elit History from the people's perspective is a brilliant way to make history relevant again.

Zinn's presents his version of history from the point of view of the oppressed, black and white slaves, women and Mexicans, fighting for their rights against a very opportunistic and selfish elite class who are controlling the country. This control over majority of the resources has always been there and will remain there as the elites by design are hard-wired to look after their own interests, very similar to the poor and the destitute. And in order to get more rights the destitute rise from time to time, for a change of laws and a larger share of the resources.

Politicians and media play a fundamental role in maintaining this structure in place. A case in point is the Trump's war on big media. No media is encouraging the people to rise against Trump even if they feel intense hate for the new President. They just want someone else to fit into the slot so that everyone can start to act normal again. Wonder what Zinn feels about this latest turn of events? Jul 10, Eddy Gardiner rated it it was amazing.

I listened to the audiobook while I've been slowly working my way through the original unabridged text. This version is certainly more digestible, but I still worry it's not the sort of book to be picked up by younger readers when people like Zoella are on the shelves.

There's no denying Zinn is telling a story from one perspective - the underprivileged, the slaves, the lower class, the women - and rallying for them against the corporations and warmongers and ill-balanced capitalism, but he's ve I listened to the audiobook while I've been slowly working my way through the original unabridged text. There's no denying Zinn is telling a story from one perspective - the underprivileged, the slaves, the lower class, the women - and rallying for them against the corporations and warmongers and ill-balanced capitalism, but he's very much up front with this at the start.

Citing the fact that too many history books, particularly those in the school syllabus, paint history with a rose-tinted filter, celebrating their country's successes but conveniently ignoring the moments of shame or failure, Zinn is attempting to fill in the gaps. I think he's succeeded, even if it's hard to read at times. And besides, it's right there in the title. It's so important to be given the whole picture so that we can learn from our mistakes. America has done amazing things and been filled with amazing people, but it also has a bloody, cruel, oppressive past that can't be ignored.

Aug 07, Tnb rated it it was amazing. This is an important view on US history. The US is technically a republic but is it practically a republic. The US has been mainly governed conservatively and cautiously, under the motto "if ain't broken don't fix it, and if it starts leaking just plug until the leak stops". Overall, we are living in the times when too many plugs have taken place, and the system is ready to fall apart. From ancient times rules have adopted a basic strategy.

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