The Peoples History of the United States.

Howard Zinn 's A People 's History of the United States : 1492 - PRESENT Revised edition , 1995 . NY : HarperPerennial

First published in 1980 , Zinn 's book was revised and updated in 1995 The front cover describes the book as a step toward a coherent new version of American history ' The back cover calls the book an antidote to establishment history ' In twenty-three chapters (675 pages with index ) and an Afterword , the author offers an alternative history of the United States , claiming to give voice to those whose stories are usually ignored . Instead of

writing from the viewpoint of the powerful and elite , he turns to the exploited , even to the victims of American history . The idea that US history is a story of progress , of national unity and of single-minded pursuit of the American dream misrepresents what happened , he argues . Instead of assuming that there really is a United States ' with a single national interest ' he describes history in terms of conflict between different interests History is usually presented to make people believe the establishment version that glorifies the nation , its leaders , seeing a string of iconic events as almost always representing progress . Calling this the memory of a state ' he says that this history is not really our history , since nations are not communities and never have been (p 9 . He does cover such iconic events as the Civil War (chapter 9 ) and Vietnam (chapter 18 ) but focuses on less well know episodes , telling the story from the bottom up...