Thoughts on Howard Zinn?? I have heard very mixed reviews on A People's History of the United States, & I'll probably get more. I'm just wondering if this sounds like a terrible or good read.
"A good read" would be a blatant understatement. I think "A people's history..." is probably the best American history book available. Zinn's research and prose spawned and entirely new generation of historians who broke all conventional rules. If you enjoy that, I would suggest reading the other books on the "People's History" series as well as authors like Gabriel Kolko, Marylin Young, William Appleman Williams, Walter LaFeber, William Duiker, among others. Also, there is a new "Voices" version of "A People's History" that has been released by Zinn featuring the writings of those who inspired the book.
We're actually using A People's History as a textbook in my U.S. History class. Zinn definately has a good understanding of what history itself actually is. For me, the book is a little boring, but thats probably because its school related. But it is insightful.
I am a HUGE fan of A People's History...I also enjoyed "Lies my Teacher Told Me" about the way textbooks are made and what goes into them and why and revisions of what is wrong.
Both books are amazing! I too read A People's History for a college history class, it has been one of my favorite "textbooks."
I'm in the middle of it now; It's excellent. I would hardly say it's boring, but I read almost nothing but non-fiction. I fully recommend it. If you are looking for something a little lighter, look for A People's History of American Empire. It's a slimmed down version of the original, in glorious comic book form. Simply beautiful.
