Scan barcode
xispo's review
5.0
Should be required reading for all Americans. Yes, it jumps around and, yes, it sometimes over-emphasizes the significance of some historical events, but it’s a much-needed attempt to amplify the millions of unheard voices that were (are) brutalized, ignored and silenced in the course of forming “a more perfect union.”
Ultimately, it’s a book that reminds us that the US was founded for the rich, by the rich, and it’s never been any different. And these institutions of wealth and power will always seek to promote, encourage or, in today’s climate, sow division among the lower classes in order to cling to their ill-gotten gains. A two-party system, cut from the same cloth and offering little in terms of the radical change needed to ensure all people have an equal shot at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It’s a bit of a slog, but not in an overly-academic kind of way. It will likely piss you off, but it’s an important perspective to digest.
Ultimately, it’s a book that reminds us that the US was founded for the rich, by the rich, and it’s never been any different. And these institutions of wealth and power will always seek to promote, encourage or, in today’s climate, sow division among the lower classes in order to cling to their ill-gotten gains. A two-party system, cut from the same cloth and offering little in terms of the radical change needed to ensure all people have an equal shot at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It’s a bit of a slog, but not in an overly-academic kind of way. It will likely piss you off, but it’s an important perspective to digest.
realtart's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.75
An indispensable primer and required reading for anyone who wants to balance their perspective of American history. While not a deep dive, Zinn provides an anti-capitalist overview of people's struggle from the discovery of America through to the Bush era. This overview is a fantastic glimpse of an intersectional future, a hopeful blueprint, especially regarding race, class, and gender. Notedly knocking a few points off this review is a lessened focus, although present, of the history of queer struggle that is pointed out as an error by Zinn himself in the afterword.
lewreviews's review
4.0
Being an Australian student, I wasn't taught much about American History. The most I can remember is the idea of 'Manifest Destiny', and the subsequent devastation of Native American populations (in fact, after reading this book, I think we get taught more about that then the Americans!). Basically, I was going into this book very naive and expecting the history of America to told to me as it would be usually, through the Founding Fathers and all that jazz that rings most prominently when we think of the country's history. However, this is the unique thing about APHUS: it presents a history through the view of the people, putting significant importance on people's movements. Here's how I felt about this book.
As I've said, I don't know much about American history, so I won't go into anything about what I feel should have been included and not included, as it is important to note this book was written for the common American with an education on their history. So I'll start off by reviewing Zinn's craftsmanship of this book. APHUS was an extremely engaging read. It made me laugh, smile, but also shake my head in disgust at some of the atrocities that we just don't learn about - something that happened a lot. The book is written very well, seamlessly integrating hundreds of sources throughout without making it feel like a history textbook. Whether it is without bias, I also cannot comment due to my limited knowledge of American history. However, this brings me to my next point.
The book is very anti-capitalist. Every time that capitalism is brought up (a lot), something bad is recounted from history. And no, I am not defending capitalism at all (still haven't made up my mind as to which side I lean, hence me reading books like this) but the insults towards the system can seem opinionated at times. And this becomes more obvious towards the end of the book, as Zinn starts to talk about his ideal 'Utopia' - essentially a Socialist wonderland (something I believe we cannot necessarily achieve). At times I thought this was overdone and would have appreciated some recognition of the benefits of capitalism for human progress but this was seemingly non-existent. This disappointed me because, with such a global superpower that America is, you would expect there to be positive elements to its history. Of course, negative elements are there for us to learn from, but more emphasis on the triumphs of some of the movements and leaders would have been a nice mood change, rather than the bleak outlook of history that Zinn so often describes.
Another quarrel of mine that I will touch on (I'm not the first to mention this, definitely not the last), in a book that Zinn proclaims to be about the people, he focuses an awful lot - especially in the more recent years (the Clinton chapter especially) - on the people in high places that the book was meant to ignore. This is needed to some extent, as it links with how the people reacted and all that, but I think there was a bit much considering the aim of the book.
But I digress. Overall, no regrets with this book and highly recommend it, if you have the time (super long book). I really appreciated Zinn's flow through history, making clear links between time periods to show how certain movements evolved. As originally a sceptic on the power of the people and organized movement, I took a lesson in the great effect it has and can have. I think that this is an incredibly important book as a result of this, and lessons certainly can be learned from history to teach current protest groups on how to get the job done right, rather than push people away from a good cause (we see it today with the radical left pushing people away from gay marriage in Australia by rallying for it).
I'm giving this a strong 4 to a light 5.
As I've said, I don't know much about American history, so I won't go into anything about what I feel should have been included and not included, as it is important to note this book was written for the common American with an education on their history. So I'll start off by reviewing Zinn's craftsmanship of this book. APHUS was an extremely engaging read. It made me laugh, smile, but also shake my head in disgust at some of the atrocities that we just don't learn about - something that happened a lot. The book is written very well, seamlessly integrating hundreds of sources throughout without making it feel like a history textbook. Whether it is without bias, I also cannot comment due to my limited knowledge of American history. However, this brings me to my next point.
The book is very anti-capitalist. Every time that capitalism is brought up (a lot), something bad is recounted from history. And no, I am not defending capitalism at all (still haven't made up my mind as to which side I lean, hence me reading books like this) but the insults towards the system can seem opinionated at times. And this becomes more obvious towards the end of the book, as Zinn starts to talk about his ideal 'Utopia' - essentially a Socialist wonderland (something I believe we cannot necessarily achieve). At times I thought this was overdone and would have appreciated some recognition of the benefits of capitalism for human progress but this was seemingly non-existent. This disappointed me because, with such a global superpower that America is, you would expect there to be positive elements to its history. Of course, negative elements are there for us to learn from, but more emphasis on the triumphs of some of the movements and leaders would have been a nice mood change, rather than the bleak outlook of history that Zinn so often describes.
Another quarrel of mine that I will touch on (I'm not the first to mention this, definitely not the last), in a book that Zinn proclaims to be about the people, he focuses an awful lot - especially in the more recent years (the Clinton chapter especially) - on the people in high places that the book was meant to ignore. This is needed to some extent, as it links with how the people reacted and all that, but I think there was a bit much considering the aim of the book.
But I digress. Overall, no regrets with this book and highly recommend it, if you have the time (super long book). I really appreciated Zinn's flow through history, making clear links between time periods to show how certain movements evolved. As originally a sceptic on the power of the people and organized movement, I took a lesson in the great effect it has and can have. I think that this is an incredibly important book as a result of this, and lessons certainly can be learned from history to teach current protest groups on how to get the job done right, rather than push people away from a good cause (we see it today with the radical left pushing people away from gay marriage in Australia by rallying for it).
I'm giving this a strong 4 to a light 5.
cecarson's review
4.0
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”, says 56 white men. This book focuses on the people of America’s story as opposed to your typical grade school history textbook that focuses on the history of the presidents or the highest ranking caste. Starting when Columbus “discovered” America up until the George W terms, this book tells the story of the oppressed, the genocides, the protests and the workers’ strikes. I’ll admit history is one of my least favorite subjects and there was a LOT of material here, but it was worth the read.