Class Struggle to the War On Terror (Volume 2) - A Young People's History of the United States

This is a wonderful look at history through fresh eyes and a truth we didn't quite receive when I was going to school anyway. Received book quickly and in great condition. Used for homeschooling my daughter.

This is a pretty good book. My child appreciates it, and the history and 'facts' it puts forth. Interesting contrast to what they're being taught in school. Also seems pretty popular with some adult friends. A little easier to digest than the adult version of the book. Which is also pretty good.

Great alternative to the dry, fact-ridden books we got in school that glossed over all the nasty little things that the US doesn't want anyone to ever remember. Hey gang, there's an awful lot Miss Perkins never told you - she probably never knew it herself. This book brings balance to what you've been told. You will feel like now you know the whole truth.

History is often taught according to the view of the historian-writer-teacher.
This book clarifies with facts several myths in the history of the United States.
People need to know the real history even in the cases where abuses and antidemocratic
incidents ocurred in particular when the people were manipulated and or deceived to serve
the interest of a particular powerful group[Ex industrial-military complex].The author
gives plenty of good examples that go from creating an atmosphere in the public for
acceptance or continuation of war based on lies to justification for invading foreign
countries who never attacked the U.S.,or putting down governments who by protecting and
defending their national interests and resources were not making the american companies
too happy while replacing such governments with "puppet" presidents or dictators who were
inconditional to U.S. interests.Like the author points out being a "good" american is not
accepting the injustice that the government pursues.Furthermore it is the youth of this
country the people who are more vulnerable to such lies and manipulations.Democracy will
work as people educate in a system that teaches and invites sound critical evaluation of how
the country is run and which garanties the empowerment to change governments on that basis. To
make government accountable to the people who elects them.Unfortunately the author,Howard Zinn,
just passed away.Nevertheless he left several books for us to read which will continue to be
pertinent and relevant for years to come.His writting is easy to read and his books are hard
to drop until you finish. DrJJM

All children should have to read this book, as it looks at history from another perspective that is NOT taught in the textbooks. It is a very enlightening book that teaches students to look at history with a more critical eye. It forces students (and adults) to re-think what they've learned and question what is true and what's not. It's great for a compare and contrast lesson and it works great when teaching the 5 C's of History (Context, Causality, Complexity, Contingency, and Change Over Time).

Sadly I erroneously identified the title "A Young People's History" to "A little history" series and that it is not. This is history viewed from the lens of the disenfranchised and marginalized. In that sense it has lots of merit.

What I liked: 3 stars
This would be a great source to use when comparing varying points of view. The textbook we use in the classroom does a very good job at presenting both views and perspectives dispassionately and the primary documents we use present the facts via first hands accounts. Beyond the textbook and the primary documents the students are ultimately expected to form their opinions regarding the material covered. This is when this book could come in handy. This book presents the dark and grim side of our history and an opposing view and perspective to mainstream views. This could be a great resource to have available for class debates. And as long as it is presented as someone's opinion it is a great source to expose students to. But that's about it.

What I didn't like: 1 star
First and foremost, the fact it has little or no research evidence to back up its opinion is a major issue for classroom use. I was tempted to give it an average of 2 stars, but didn't because if taken for what it is, a one-sided perspective, it does a good job. Even though it has the words "young people's.." in the tittle do not misinterpret it like I did. I found the information presented and the tone in which it was presented incredibly depressing. Maybe because I didn't go in prepared for it. But the worse part is that it offers no references to back the opinions of the author. It is pretty heavy handed with no apologies made and with very little room for the reader to draw their own conclusions nor annotations to check the facts. (Again my fault for expecting different.) It is very well written, but ultimately there is no charm to entice the young reader. And that it is ok since it is hard to write charmingly when one writes about atrocities and genocide. Nevertheless, there is no greater beauty than having students arrive at their own historical conclusions after studying and analyzing various texts including primary sources. For that, there are no short cuts. Only individual hard work through research will do to create the students' opinions. But before individual hard work can happen, inspiration needs to come first for many of my students. I was hoping for more of a middle of the road point of view. One that I could use as a charming, and hopefully inspiring introduction that would pique their interest before starting a lesson. If that is your goal for the young reader, then get another book like "A little history of the United States".

I found this book very helpful in asssisting my son to understand what history is -- a story told from a certain point of view, usually that of individuals in power, although there are thousands of stories that run parallel and counter to that narrative stream. Some detractors rage rhat this is left wing, liberal, "commie propaganda." It is not that, unless we allow that standard history books (many, many published by Texas companies with politically conservative -- even corporate -- points of view approved by that state's Department of Education) are, at least in part, "right wing" propaganda. Zinn offers histories from the point of view of millions and millions of those who did not, and were not allowed to, contribute to these "standard" histories and whose experiences were seldom recorded and rarely considered until the civil rights revolutions of the 1950s through today: slaves whose progeny became American citizens but whose lives were defined in many cases by their race alone; Native Americans, whose rich and deeply spiritual cultures were all but destroyed by those who wrote our history books; immigrants -- always "other" and initially despised and feared by those who took their land and continue to marginalize them; women, who fought for every opportunity they ever had but are still bedeviled by the deep-seated misogyny of a society dominated by straight white men. You don't need to be gay or a poor white farmer or a Syrian refugee, a Sioux, an Arawak or a young girl in a 19th century glove factory to know this. All of us should learn our own "real" history. It is not "unAmerican" to consider all aspects of the country's development, even the sorry, sad and ugly parts. We need to know our nation to appreciate its glories and correct its flaws and so should our children. This is where we start. It is not perfect and you might take issue with some of Zinn's statements. That's okay, too. I certainly take issue with what I find in standard texts. Nothing is perfect but both -- all-- sides need to be considered.

I feel compelled to respond to some misinformation propagated by another reviewer regarding the book where it is stated that "...[the author] claims on page 209 that "The beginning of the Declaration of Independence says that 'We the people'..." 'We the people'? In the Declaration of Independence?"

The reviewer places the quote entirely out of context. The quote is from the last chapter, which is a prologue or summation of the book by the author. Thus, an opinion by the author is valid, and not some distortion of the historical record as implied. The author is not quoting the Declaration of Independence, he is making a point about it; which would be clear if you read it in context.

This is not a complete history but an overview of The history of the United States. It assumes that you already have a basic outline of historical events. It makes a good supplementary reader for a fifth grade level classroom, and provides an alternative perspective that can lead to healthy discussion. Is it opinionated? Yes. But why would anyone ever think that ANY book would be referred to as gospel? Let students know that there are many ways of presenting information and let them know how to approach the errors and biases that are in every text critically.

Volume One begins with Columbus, which, if we are talking about American History(obviously we are not)is a little late in my opinion, and it runs through the Spanish-american War(shouldn't that be the Cuban-Spanish-American-Filipino-Guam War?). Volume Two begins with "Class Struggle" and runs through the "War on Terror." That sequence itself reflects a distinct perspective. I think that perspective is healthy. To find yourself looking for and questioning the opinions expressed in this reader is a good thing. It is always good to know the difference between an opinion and a fact, and to know when the record reflects a strong bias. Perhaps a sense of cognitive dissonance is a positive step toward thinking through the historical record more critically, and not being too smug in your own opinions. The democratic process requires an informed society. Mr. Zinn doesn't appear to think that our children are very well informed, and I applaud his attempt to do something about it. Whether you agree with him or not, at least we should be talking about it proactively with our kids.

This book is a completely biased version of US History written by an avowed Communist agitator who believed in the worst version of Stalinist Communism, and was completely indifferent to the reality of Historical events. For example-- he passionately contested the reality that the Rosenbergs in fact spied for the Soviet Union when all the evidence (ultimately including the files of the Soviet intelligence community they served, which were opened, albeit after Zinn was dead, conclusively proved that they served as Soviet spies and that Ethel was the more useful spy of the two-- see Public TV documentary on the subject).

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. First tell them positive main story. Best save Zinn for college or later.

By far the most accurate telling of this country's history. Howard Zinn gives us a picture of what has happened and how this country has evolved, not simply names & dates. Not everything is good and not everything is bad. We are merely human, as we're those who lived here before 1776, and quite a lot of how social injustice has shaped our growth. A must read for anyone interrested in the history of the Americas

I am an US historian by training and profession, and a long time admirer of Howard Zinn's works. I first read Zinn A People's History of the United States (P.S.) in high school and was simply blown away with his intellectual verve and passion. Here was history told from a different perspective, here were topics that had been formally excluded from consideration within my traditional, consensus oriented textbooks. It was not refreshing, but alarming almost. I was 14 and was a product of public schools that had fed me stories about national heroes and founders--women, nonwhites, workers, resisters need not apply--and suddenly I had new histories to consider and new ways to think about the nation's past. I am forever grateful. I became a historian, in part, because of Zinn's works.

Zinn's writing challenged historical orthodoxy in my high school and college classes. I didn't want my daughter to wait until high school, so I purchased this accessible, pared down version of the book for her a few years ago when she was in elementary school. It was a nice companion to the more limited, traditionalist histories/social science she was taught in her elementary classes. The mandate to teach to test doesn't allow k-12 much time or leeway to dig deeper into interpretive issues, and Zinn's work challenges the narratives offered by most k-12 courses. Having my daughter read this work has opened up opportunities to have larger discussions about the nation's past and future. There are deficits in the text to be sure--images and fascimilies of historical documents, etc would have helped to engage the reader more, for instance. But I don't recognize any of the lurking boogeyman shrilly denounced [in all caps at that!] by some of the other reviewers.

One of the best books on American history that there is, I really appreciate the writing style and depth that Mr. Zinn takes on all his books. A must read for anyone who is interested in going deeper than textbook level on real American history.

This book is so freaking awesome! I read this for a class and at first i was thinking it was going to be awful, but as i read this book i was exposed to so much of history that was completely "hidden" in the curriculum when i was in school. This book exposes all the bad parts of history that most people do not know. i would suggest this book for anyone, in fact i gave my book to my sister because she knows nothing about american history, this well tell her everything and more

Well-written. Some readers may be put off by the pro-worker, left-leaning approach to history. I'm not, as books like these provide an excellent corrective to history as it is usually taught in public school. Excellent history spine for free-thinking or secular homeschoolers looking for alternatives to providential history.

For an older adult who can remember the fifties, this is a history that informs me of historical currents that were not obvious at the time. For young people, this is a very readable supplement to the twentieth century US history that is taught in schools.
I highly recommend this. Further similar reading might include Loewen's Lies My Teachers Taught Me.

My Chinese IB students, particularly those in the IB/DP stream, benefit tremendously from this version. Less reading, slightly less complicating, yet making its points loud and clear about aspects of American history.

I have read the original "People's History" and am about to order this version for my 12-year-old son to read. In reading the various reviews here I felt compelled to comment, although my experiences stem from the original title.

I find the review about the author's "mean spirited view of America" to be the most entertaining, and how we "should not teach young people such a negative view of America." Or the other reviews with comments about "snarling at references to Washington and Lincoln," and "George Washington being a capitalist elitist who was fighting to keep the poor down thru the formation of a faux- republic government..." Really shows how we Americans love to believe what we like to believe, and especially tend to believe what we are taught by our teachers in school, and by this mighty government that leads us- and deceives us. Come on people; try thinking for yourselves for once- what's the worst that could happen? Still other reviewers call it 'leftist crap;' so entertaining, and somewhat depressing, too, to realize how close-minded so many people are to anything but their own version of the truth. What one reviewer refers to as Zinn's opinions... I cannot even begin to guess at what he thinks he is referring to. There are for the most part nothing but plain and substantiated facts (with listed sources) laid out in this, and in the full version of "People's History," so it is quite hard to believe that someone could make so ignorant a comment. But then it's also hard to believe what many people will do to hide from the truth in their own lives right here in present day as well.

A brilliant book for any young person who can healthily entertain the possibility that all too often a government's chief goal is to maintain control over the populace, keep them pacified, and ensure that everything it does has the appearance of being 'squeaky clean.' This book shows the US government for what it really is, and truth be told, it is a frightening- and all too accurate if too seldom heard- portrayal of history. A must read for any young person whose parents would like to begin him or her on the way to thinking for himself and perceiving things from other viewpoints.

It's about time someone tell the truth about American history without glossing over the 'icky' stuff. Our young people need to hear all sides of history, so as not to repeat the many mistakes of out predecessors. Sure beats all those censored Texan school textbooks of today.

This is a perspective on American history that my children will not be taught in school. His research is thorough, and the book is very well written. My 10 year old enjoys it immensely, and so do I. I wish I could find an enlightened account of California history, too.

This book is liberal garbage. The liberal point of view is acceptable, but the one-sided advancement of liberal views — for children!! — is not. To illustrate, the author depicts the war in Southeast Asia as the US government’s attack on a peasant country, rather than truly educating by also explaining the geopolitical forces at play. This is not a book for any parent who wants an educated child. This is a book for a parent who wants to indoctrinate a child with unthinking, knee-jerk liberal views.

Every author, historian and journalist has their biases. Most try and back up there biases with facts, Zinn does not, he changes or omits facts to fit his bias.

A few examples of this are: on page 144 he states " Bush administration started two wars in four years" he is referring to the Panama and the first Iraq war. Ok, Panama, perhaps. But he started the first Iraq war? Come on, Iraq invaded Kuwait, not a whole lot of gray area there. On page 69 he states that the evidence against the Rosenbergs was week. However later evidence from the USSR archive provide that in fact they were spies for the USSR. His entire chapter on World War one is misleading, he would lead a reader to believe that WW I was about corporations trying to make a buck, he leaves out how badly Wilson wanted to stay out of the war and only after the Zimmerman letters came to light and the Germans were trying to get Mexico and Japan to attack the US did Wilson choose to go to war with the vast support of the American public.

It seems like on every other page I was amazed at the inaccuracies in this book. Bias is fine but please back it up with some sort fact.

While at times Howard Zinn puts forth interesting theories, facts occasionally get in the way. For example, he claims on page 209 that "The beginning of the Declaration of Independence says that 'We the people'..." 'We the people'? In the Declaration of Independence?

I'm not sure if this is just an issue with Rebecca Stefoff's adaptation, or Zinn's facts, but it's clearly an issue. This isn't a history book, but more a political opinion book which happens to use history to support the author's arguments.

--13 year old history buff

Complete left-leaning, biased rubbish. American history as taught for the last 200 years is consigned to the dustbin. The contributions of those (white males) who made the United States of America the unique experiment it is are discounted and vilified.
Beware what you wish for.

This book was a great disappointment. It is biased and should not be used with grade school children without a more balanced approach to American history. It does not have a bibliography or footnotes to support what is presented. Quotes are very obscure and there is no authentication of primary or secondary sources. The author obviously has very negative feelings about what has happened in American History and only presents his negative attitudes about the history of a great country. I finally gave up and didn't even read Part 2, and I have a master's degree in American History and have taught over 30 years. I consider this book anti-American.

This book was a great disappointment. It is biased and should not be used with grade school children without a more balanced approach to American history. It does not have a bibliography or footnotes to support what is presented. Quotes are very obscure and there is no authentication of primary or secondary sources. The author obviously has very negative feelings about what has happened in American History and only presents his negative attitudes about the history of a great country. I finally gave up and didn't even read Part 2, and I have a master's degree in American History and have taught over 30 years. I consider this book anti-American.

An extremely biased view of American history. The author put such a spin on so many different subjects that it disgusted me. I much rather prefer and fair balanced look at historical events without the authors political bias inserted.

I was required to read this book for an Elementary Social Studies Education class and part of the class was to read a chapter and then discuss in class our thoughts. I always loved history and I was considering it as a major before I chose Early Childhood instead. As I read this book I found so many inaccuracies that it is not even funny but the best part is that the inaccuracies are not blunt which is why there are so many positive reviews for this heavily opinionated and inaccurate book. There is just enough info left out and put it to spin the wheel of racism, fuel the fires of hate, and make it sound like the USA is always the bad guy. I am by no means denying the bad parts of history, I am simply saying that History should be taught and learned the way it happened free of modern political influence.

To provide just two examples that everyone would find familiar: The Dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan and the Carpet Bombings / Firestorms of Berlin, Germany. This book condemns the actions that won the Allies World War 2 on both fronts as "inhumane"and declares Roosevelt a warmonger for the actions taken. First of all, Since when is war "humane"? Secondly and incidentally, The Atomic Bombs were the most humane courses of action against Japan because the whole nation -every man, woman, and child- would have fought to the death for their home and countless American and Russian Soldiers would have lost their lives in the process (Russia was preparing to invade Japan but canceled their plans when the Bombs were dropped). A "Shock & Awe" attack was the only thing that would have broken their spirit and preserved the lives of not only the people there but the entire Japanese race as well as the Soldiers on all sides. Zinn goes on to say that the USA could have at least allowed the Emperor (who the Japanese regarded as a divine deity) to remain in power, but the reality of the situation was that if the USA did not defeat Japan totally then they would have risen again and there would have been another war with Japan as soon as 30 years later, or earlier.

As for the German front, if only military targets were bombed then Germany would have won the war because they disguised many of their factories as elementary schools and other public civilian buildings which is part of how the Nazis were able to come to power under the Versailles Treaty that ended World War 1 and kept Germany under heel in the first place. Zinn states that the pilots were not even trying to hit civilian targets; gee, I wonder why?! Maybe it was because there was no external visual difference between civilian and military targets.

If you must read this for a class then do so to get your 'A', but do not swallow it. After your finals, throw it in the fireplace.

America has not had and official declared war since World War 2. Korea, Vietnam, Middle East, Middle East again all have technically been conflicts and police actions.

War is not pretty, and a nation that has the willingness and ability to do what must be done to win will win and a country that is more concerned with being humane will either loose or face conflict unending; history has shown us this time and time again.

History is Violent, ideals are peaceful. Ideals can flourish when conflict and turmoil is something that happens across the ocean in some far way place. I wonder how even the strongest of willed idealist will hold up when reality is knocking at their door?

Howard Zinn is applying ideals to history and war in this book; do not be taken for a ride.

As some others have stated, this book reads more like an editorial. The book is filled with opinions, and very biased ones at that. I have studied history at the graduate level for years and If I wrote like this, I would never have received my degree! The fact that this is used in schools is troubling; not because I think Zinn has a "communist agenda", but because he simply does not present history in an objective, academic manner. Also, to those of you who are saying Zinn knows the book is biased and intended this to counter the textbooks that have sugar coated and white washed history: how is this going to solve anything? You don't write an extreme book to counter another extreme book, especially if your intention is to give a true and clear account. This book is not academic, and will not give students a true idea of what it means to study history from all sides.

When an author decides to write a book about history, it should be done with all sides being represented. This is an editorial and only the author's OPINION is given, not the entire truth about the events. It's extremely one sided and biased. If your child was given this at school, you need to be taking action. Propaganda is warping your child's mind. History needs to be factual, not opinion, and certainly not one sided. This is NOT a history book, this is an author's VIEW POINT, very very different. The author praises communists and anarchists and condemns capitalists at every opportunity. The author is extremely liberal and has forgotten what made America so great.

This author obviously hates the United States of America. His story of America is nearly completely negative. Most historical events are explained in Marxist class warfare terms. If I didn't known the true history of this great nation I would wonder how anyone could stand to live in such a horrible place.

At first I thought this book was simply the ramblings of a mad man. However, I came to realize that Zinn is clearly a communist zelot on the order of Lee Harvey Oswald. This paperweight of a book is his attempt to assassinate the United States as a means of making up for his personal inadequacies. He despises the United States for its wealth and power and blames capitalism for all ills. His dissolutioned and dower attitude toward great American historical figures points most assuredly to a clinical narcissism - no one could be more successful or impactfull than he lest they be corrupt and evil. He does not support any of his assertions with actual fact but rather wild claims of sinister intentions by every single American historical figure of note. In short, do not let your kids' minds be poisoned by this kindling. Don't want to take my word for it? The New York Times (ever the stalwart of conservative opinion) wrote a book review that was a little less harsh, but basically points in the same direction.

With half truths and distortions this diatribe is nothing but leftists garbage. This book is simply bad for kids and bad for our proud nation.

This is demoralizing propaganda detrimental to kids.

http://www.the store.com/review/create-review/ref=pe_6680_17699130_c

Having lived through 70 years of American history. I take exception with this authors mean spirited view of America. He constantly points out Americas faults and down plays much good. I am sending this book back.
How sad to give this negative idea of American history to a young mind.

Howard Zinn is not a real historian. America is the greatest country on earth, but Zinn tries to tell you the opposite. This book is only good for starting camp fire. Find a real historian who does not have a personal agenda. I recommend "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville.