Synopses & Reviews
Containing just the twentieth-century chapters from Howard Zinn's bestselling
A People's History of the United States, this revised and updated edition includes two new chapters — covering Clinton's presidency, the 2000 Election, and the "war on terrorism."
Highlighting not just the usual terms of presidential administrations and congressional activities, this book provides you with a "bottom-to-top" perspective, giving voice to our nation's minorities and letting the stories of such groups as African Americans, women, Native Americans, and the laborers of all nationalities be told in their own words.
Review
"Professor Zinn writes with an enthusiasm rarely encountered in the leaden prose of academic history...His chapter on Vietnam — bringing to life once again the fire-free zones, secret bombings, massacres and cover-ups — should be required reading...A step toward a coherent new version of American history." New York Times Book Review
Review
"Zinn has written a brilliant and moving book from the point of view of those whose plight has been largely omitted from most histories....An excellent antidote to establishment history." Library Journal
Review
"Howard Zinn's history is a very different one. It's about the folks at the bottom, the people." Philadelphia Bulletin
Review
"Zinn has written his masterwork, a Grand Tour of the 20th century's cultural landmarks, both great and small." Choice
Synopsis
Howard Zinn's best-selling classic A People's History of the United States revolutionized the literature of America's history by allowing everyday citizens to tell the story of a nation in their own words. Containing just the 20th century chapters from A People's History, The Twentieth Century features a comprehensive overview of the last hundred years. From the closing of the Western Frontier to the "War on Terror," The Twentieth Century is an invaluable guide to one of the most remarkable periods in human history.
Howard Zinn (1922-2010) was a historian, playwright, and activist. He wrote the classic A People's History of the United States, which has sold more than two million copies and was featured in a documentary on the History Channel. His other writings include the play "Marx in Soho" and his autobiography You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train. He received the Lannan Foundation Literary Award for Nonfiction and the Eugene V. Debs award for his writing and political activism.
"Professor Zinn writes with an enthusiasm rarely encountered in the leaden prose of academic history..." -- Eric Foner, New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Howard Zinn is a historian, playwright, and social activist. He was a shipyard worker and Air Force bombardier before he went to college under the GI Bill and received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He has taught at Spelman College and Boston University, and has been a visiting professor at the University of Paris and the University of Bologna. He has received the Thomas Merton Award, the Eugene V. Debs Award, the Upton Sinclair Award, and the Lannan Literary Award. He lives in Auburndale, Massachusetts.