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People's History of the United States,
by Howard Zinn.
Late in Howard Zinn's immensely popular
"alternative history" of the United States he
clarifies his intentions in writing the book, the "prospect
- for the first time in the nation's history - of a population
united for fundamental change." Leading up to his hope
for "the coming revolt of the guards," Zinn acts
like a deprogrammer, breaking down what most Americans have
learned about their country only to build it back up with
the truth as told by the people, the other 99% of the country
without power and riches. Where most textbooks and histories
center on the Presidents and others as saviors, the author
looks to the unspoken: Native American Indians, slaves,
women, those that were treated unjustly and those that revolted
against these supposed saviors. It's an illuminating yet
unsettling book, one that should be required reading in
the US as early as high school, if not for those abroad.
Zinn acknowledges the fact than any
history will be biased, even if it sticks to facts, because
all histories must omit other facts in order to tell a story.
That most histories have omitted those accounts of the people
and focused instead on the white males with money and power,
Zinn was driven to the enormous undertaking of shifting
American history's focus. Starting with Columbus's "discovery"
of the New World, the author goes beyond the long known
but played-down bad acts of the sailor to give us detailed
accounts of the genocidal violence that would continue for
hundreds of years. It is these first-hand accounts of various
atrocities that make up a lot of the book, giving it a powerful
weight but also making the flow a bit choppy at times. Continuing
through slavery, the rise of unions, women's equal rights,
Zinn keeps the focus on people's stories, though his coverage
of the 1960s and 70s takes aim at the country's leaders
and their drastic acts, shifting this focus ever-so-slightly
before it returns in the greedy decade that followed. The
newest edition adds a couple chapters on the Clinton presidency
and the 2000 election, further proof that the country's
history of violence and greed is alive and well, a breeding
ground for Zinn's "coming revolt of the guards."
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