A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn challenged me before I even opened it. The length seemed daunting and yet when I finished it also seemed liked it could've been much longer, perhaps even multiple volumes. I took my time with A People's History of the United States. I even listened to part of it as an audiobook but also read those same parts in the paper copy. Zinn tells the history of the United States that gets left out of the official history books by telling the story of the people instead of the elite. A People's History of the United States made me think about how lacking all my history classes were. It's fascinating to study the actions and interactions of regular people, especially when those actions dispel the myths of the romanticized history that offers people the excuse to ignore the parts they don't like. Zinn demonstrates repeatedly how change comes when the general population gets tired of being trodden on by the rich and unites to demand change only to fall into the trap of being divided repeatedly. A People's History of the United States demonstrates how history repeats itself and how society tends to learn little from it while also demonstrating that people have more power than we think. Zinn explores how resistance has always been a large part of how change gets made even if it doesn't always make it into the history books. Zinn looks at the history of the United States from myriad groups' perspectives and the actions those perspectives generated. A People's History of the United States is an eye-opening, easy to read exploration of myriad peoples' role in creating the society we live in, for both better and worse.


Currently Reading:


Voices in the Air: Poems for Listeners by Naomi Shihab Nye

On Freedom by Timothy Snyder


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