Since its original landmark publication in 1980, A People?s History of the United States has been chronicling American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version of history taught in schools – with its emphasis on great men in high places – to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace.

Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People?s History of the United States is the only volume to tell America?s story from the point of view of – and in the words of – America?s women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, the working poor, and immigrant laborers. As historian Howard Zinn shows, many of our country?s greatest battles – the fights for a fair wage, an eight-hour workday, child-labor laws, health and safety standards, universal suffrage, women?s rights, racial equality – were carried out at the grassroots level, against bloody resistance. Covering Christopher Columbus?s arrival through President Clinton?s first term, A People?s History of the United States, which was nominated for the American Book Award in 1981, features insightful analysis of the most important events in our history.

Few works of American history have done more to change the way in which recent generations have looked at their past than Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Currently in its twenty-fifth printing, with more than 450,000 copies sold, Zinn's work presents more than five hundred years of American social and cultural history, going well beyond the wars and presidencies of traditional texts to tell the stories of working men and women. For the first time, Zinn has abridged the original text for classroom use. Questions and activities to encourage critical thinking, topics for writing and discussions, and a bibliography of related materials by educator Kathy Emery accompany each chapter covering American history from Columbus to Clinton.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [635]-653) and index.