Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, War, Classism, Deportation
I have a lot of thoughts about this book. First of all, I think it’s absolutely essential and crucial to tell histories that challenge dominant and accepted narratives, that primarily focus on histories from the perspective of white, upper
class narrators. This is what Howard Zinn’s book does exceptionally well. This is America from the perspective of Black, poor, women, and other minorities. I loved that these were the stories of the resisters to the overarching narrative of “progress” (at what cost?). During this reading, I was captivated by the importance of youth to these resistance movements. Given what we have seen in the wake of the Florida school shooting tragedy, it’s important to realize that youth have always been organizing, resisting, shaping, and challenging injustice throughout history. I also loved that the book recognized the importance of literature, poetry, music and other sources to the historical record
This book tackles an exceptional breadth of American history, and while this breadth is one of its strengths, it is also one of its drawbacks. I found myself getting overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the book. I think I would have liked to have stronger conclusions/summaries at the end of chapters to help ground what I had read. My only other “critique” is one of myself - I wish I knew more American history against which I could juxtapose these counter-narratives. This book made me realize I know much more counter-history than the accepted, dominant narrative. A People’s History of the United States is more than a single volume, it is a challenge to the way we think about history overall, and it is such an important voice in thinking about history, curriculum, and politics.
class narrators. This is what Howard Zinn’s book does exceptionally well. This is America from the perspective of Black, poor, women, and other minorities. I loved that these were the stories of the resisters to the overarching narrative of “progress” (at what cost?). During this reading, I was captivated by the importance of youth to these resistance movements. Given what we have seen in the wake of the Florida school shooting tragedy, it’s important to realize that youth have always been organizing, resisting, shaping, and challenging injustice throughout history. I also loved that the book recognized the importance of literature, poetry, music and other sources to the historical record
This book tackles an exceptional breadth of American history, and while this breadth is one of its strengths, it is also one of its drawbacks. I found myself getting overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the book. I think I would have liked to have stronger conclusions/summaries at the end of chapters to help ground what I had read. My only other “critique” is one of myself - I wish I knew more American history against which I could juxtapose these counter-narratives. This book made me realize I know much more counter-history than the accepted, dominant narrative. A People’s History of the United States is more than a single volume, it is a challenge to the way we think about history overall, and it is such an important voice in thinking about history, curriculum, and politics.
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Necessary reading but wish there was an abridged version.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
Wasn't really offering any new insights, and I was getting bored. Im sure it was ground breaking at the time, but a lot of this book has been written elsewhere more recently.
Honestly, I think this is another book I simply experienced too late—I felt like I didn't learn much that I didn't already know (although what I DID learn was very interesting), and the writing style didn't grip me. I'd give it another go though—always good to have a refresher on how folks have stood up to tyranny and exploitation in the past.
informative
reflective
slow-paced