A Young People's History of the United States MP3 CD – Unabridged, June 21, 2016

As this book explains at the beginning, most history books, especially textbooks, look at history from the point of view of power – kings and presidents, scientists and writers and other noteworthy names. Therefore, much of this history is about the struggle over power – wars, coups, electioneering and other means of transferring power, whether peacefully or violently. Most of these books make claims to “objectivity” without acknowledging that in fact, they are all, of necessity, biased. Writing history is a matter of what gets written and what gets left out. Who gets to tell the story and who is silenced.Howard Zinn’s THE PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, on the other hand, has no pretensions about “objectivity. Zinn states up front that he is writing the history we don’t learn in school or read in the newspapers. He is telling the history of the people who have been affected by power and the struggle for power. In the Friedman/Thatcher/Reagan vision of “trickle-down economics”, Zinn is concerned about those getting trickled on and, more importantly, what those people have done and are doing about it. The original, adult version of this book is over seven hundred pages long. Zinn, along with co-writer Rebecca Stefoff, wanted to bring a more accessible version of the book to younger audiences, hence, THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, which is roughly two-thirds as long with significantly less writing per page.The young people’s version pretty much follows the adult version of the book, starting with debunking the myth of Columbus and continuing until about the date of publication, including information on the September 11 attacks, the war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq. The book ends with the Democratic resurgence at the midterm elections during Bush 43’s second term. Although Zinn makes it repeatedly clear that he doesn’t have significantly more love for the Democrats than the Republicans, he did seem to view this as a positive sign that Americans had had enough of abuses of executive power, foreign wars and empire building and federal overreach at home. Sadly, he lived just long enough to probably realize his hopes may have been overly optimistic.Of necessity, the young people’s version is significantly less detailed and more simplistic than the adult version, which can be a bit of a drawback as it exacerbates accusations of bias and inaccuracy. As noted, Zinn never pretends to be un-biased, but the simplification in this book does away with a degree of nuance that seems to lead to a number of statements that have been simplified to the point of generalization, and generalizations almost always carry a degree of inaccuracy.As simplified as this book is, I don’t recommend it for high school students (most of whom can handle the adult version). This book would be good for late elementary and middle school kids with adult guidance. I would like to see this book used in conjunction with a supposedly “objective” text book and maybe even an explicitly right-wing focused book. It would be a slow process, but a worthwhile exercise to have students comb through equivalent chapters and look for information among the texts that is outright contradictory versus information that is simply a matter of perspective.For instance, the view of Columbus as a “great” explorer who “discovered” America isn’t necessarily incompatible with the view of him as a conqueror and slave master of the Indians – it’s just a matter of whether you look at it from a European or an Indian point of view. Students should pay attention in each text to see whose voices are included and whose are not.But other sections, such as the Civil War, may present contradictory information among the texts. For instance, was the Civil War fought over slavery or not? Who was the aggressor? In these cases, students should be helped to find primary sources which may support one position or another. In this way, students will begin to understand how we know what we know about history and to understand the limits of objective “truth” in history, which really makes up a large chunk of what studying history is really all about, rather than simply memorizing names and dates.One of the biggest drawbacks to both this version and the adult version of this book is the lack of footnotes, endnotes, bibliography or other references. Some sources are mentioned in the text itself and there are many quotes from ordinary people’s letters to the editor or elected officials or interviews with the media. But without adequate information to trace those sources for one’s self, the book suffers a small loss of credibility, even for those who support Zinn’s message and perspective. Students especially need to understand where historical information comes from and that, while it may represent an interpretation, the information underlying that interpretation comes from actual historical events as documented in many different sources.Everyone, from the most flaming radicals to the staunchest conservatives, should read Zinn’s work simply for the neglected viewpoints he offers. If his information is wrong, then it should be easy enough to dispute it, debate it and determine the truth of the matter. But no one, child or adult, is going to be “indoctrinated” simply by hearing an alternate viewpoint or different interpretation. And, while Zinn’s viewpoint is definitely quite harsh on the power structure that has frequently led America in a bad direction, the book is not itself anti-American. In fact, the book is quite optimistic in the idea that ordinary people, standing up for what they believe in, have the power to change history and thereby correct the mistakes of our imperialistic, racist, classist past to create a more equitable and just future as enshrined in our founding documents.

Eye opening for anyone not too familiar with the history and details!

Like new, just with a birthday note.

Had I known what an anti America dangerous piece of propaganda trash this is, I would have never wasted a nickel on it.

We homeschool and my now 10yo son has never been much for academics; put an erector set, a bucket of LEGO or wooden models in front of him and he's suddenly an engineer - just don't ask him to draw you a picture, or write ANYTHING...but say,"bedtime!" and he's off like a shot to the toothbrush and the nightly read. Since utero, I've been reading to him nightly for as long as he wants and we were on no-graphics chapter books by 4. Some he retains, he loves; others he hates and won't ever let me forget (heavens forbid I try to trick him with something more my speed - curtains for Mama;-).PHotUS is compulsory reading in my peer group, so when I learned about this youth-friendly adaptation, neatly condensed but lacking no important - vital, sometimes discomforting but FACTUAL - bits of history, I barely blinked at pushing it to the front of the nightly queue. I explained that, "this is homework, but it is very interesting and sometimes so fantastic that it will sound like a Grimm tale," and was met with some protestation, but I knew that the Zinn estate would never approve something that didn't at least run laterally to the grown-up version and I persevered.At the risk of going on and on, I'll wrap it up: He openly and accurately scoffs at "Columbus Day", politely setting anyone straight on what he now o owe to be the real story. He asked me how to spell "neutral" during computer time so that he might watch Zinn's 2004 biopic (which is held back by the parent filter on the tube, of course); he wept when he learned of slavery, he has a good grasp on Reconstruction, suffrage, and some drips of economics that I don't even claim to fully understand. Recently we watched the People Speak together and I've never been more proud in my life.Look, I went on and on anyway...he plays video games, too.Thanks to Rebecca Stefoff for such a concise, respectful and "entertaining" adaptation of our True History. I couldn't have gotten this far without you.

My husband read the “adult” version of this book sometime ago and has frequently referenced it. Generally not my cup of tea but when I saw this young people adaptation I gave it a try and I don’t regret it at all. So much information even as a relatively easy read. I kept a notebook to jot down things I wanted more information about. You will shake your head many times in disbelief, disappointment but gain knowledge Recommended esp if you are not very knowledgeable about true US history

Absolutely in LOVE with this book. To find out Zinn helped do something for kids is just Wonderful. My child is 9 and this looks like it will be perfect for us. There are pictures... it looks like it's going to be great, and I will update if this opinion changes.One really cool idea I think we're going to do, is once we have read this, we are going to get and read a local school's History textbook. In this way, we will be able to compare the two versions of history, and explore reasons Why they might be so different.I've already read Zinn's A People's History (for adults) and was blown away by it. He likes to use original documents like diaries, slavery purchase records, and official files to Support his statements and ideas. I respect Zinn. I am SO glad he and the 2nd authour are going to explain to my son exactly what monstrosities Christopher Columbus and his ilk have done to People, and all in a digestible and not overwhelming format for kids.

Greetings. This is essential reading to flesh out the weak sauce taught to in history class these days. Parents would be wise to add the context found in these pages to their children's education. Thanks for the read. Have a stellar day.

A People's History of the United States (P.S.) を若者向けに縮約したもの。英雄たちの物語として描かれがちな歴史を、抑圧された側の立場から描くというオルタナティブ的立場をとった本だが、縮約版のためなのかどうか（私は「大人版」は未読である）、普通の歴史では扱われる事柄がなかったり、年代が前後したりと、記述にかなり濃淡がある印象である。本書だけではアメリカ史のおさらいはできないだろう。また、通史をある程度知っていないと、著者が何を批判しているのか分かりにくいと思われる部分も少なくない。歴史年表を片手に備えるか、簡単な通史を読んでから取り組んだ方が、この本の意図するところはくみ取れると思う。 A People's History of the United States (P.S.)

通常のアメリカ史であれば、コロンブスのアメリカ新大陸発見からピルグリムファーザーズのアメリカへの植民、そして、マニュフェストデスティニーによる西部への開拓、民主主義、大統領、世界の警察官となります。　しかし、本書は別の切り口からアメリカ史を物語っていきます。　時には、インディアンの視点、時には、黒人奴隷の視点、時には、被差別有色人種の視点です。　現在のアメリカ政治状況の対立軸として、差別を取り上げ、抑圧され続けた人々の生活を抑圧史として描いたのが本書です。　そのため、白人によるインディアンの虐殺から始まり、お金儲けのための黒人奴隷酷使など、白人の富の蓄積のためにこれでもかというほどの悲劇を物語ります。　しかし、現代、そして、現在に近づくほどに通常の政治史へと変化するわけですが、ここに本書を読んでいて歴史というものがどのようなものかということを考えさせられました。　歴史とは、現在の政治状況を肯定するために物語るものという役割です。　本書は、英語で書かれていますが、若者が読みやすいように、なるべく簡単な単語で書かれており、英語学習者のためにも良いと思います。