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Pairing A Patriot's History and A People's History makes for some interesting perspective. They don't really offer explicit points/counterpoints, but they certa

Pairing A Patriot's History and A People's History makes for some interesting perspective. They don't really offer explicit points/counterpoints, but they certainly frame things differently over similar time periods (which cover America's coming of age to a powerful world presence). https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-History%C2%AE-United-States-Columbuss/dp/1595230017 https://www.amazon.com/Patriots-History%C2%AE-United-States-... https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0062397346 https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-History-United-States/dp/0062...

tejinderss 8y ago
I know these books are great but do you know any book which is shorter read, sitting around 1000 pages each those are quite heavy reads
- SeanBoocock 8y ago
  A People’s History is ~800 pages and clips along at a good pace. I don’t know that you can go much shorter with an overview of such a long period without sacrificing a lot of substance. I’d highly recommend making the investment into A People’s History - easily one of the most significant histories of America - and Howard Zinn’s other work if you end up appreciating it.
  - UncleSlacky 8y ago
    You can read it online at the link below if you want to dip in without too much commitment. It's quite an easy read, targeted at high-school level, which you may or may not find annoying: http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html
- timtyrrell 8y ago
  The kids version is a lot shorter, not sure if it is just more terse or what: "A Young People's History of the United States"
jml7c5 8y ago
I am wary of A People's History myself, as he tends to pick his conclusions first, then cherry-pick anecdotes to support those conclusions. These articles are good overviews of some of the issues: Howard Zinn's History Lessons: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/howard-zinns-history-lessons https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/howard-zinns-history... Undue Certainty: Where Howard Zinn's A People's History Falls Short: https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Wineburg.pdf https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Wineburg... While it may be interesting to pair A People's History with A Patriot's History, it is like watching a news network interview where they pull in the "person from the left" and "person from the right" to argue at each other. One is usually better off hearing a single person who acknowledges both sides of the issue.

tejinderss 8y ago

I know these books are great but do you know any book which is shorter read, sitting around 1000 pages each those are quite heavy reads

SeanBoocock 8y ago
A People’s History is ~800 pages and clips along at a good pace. I don’t know that you can go much shorter with an overview of such a long period without sacrificing a lot of substance. I’d highly recommend making the investment into A People’s History - easily one of the most significant histories of America - and Howard Zinn’s other work if you end up appreciating it.
- UncleSlacky 8y ago
  You can read it online at the link below if you want to dip in without too much commitment. It's quite an easy read, targeted at high-school level, which you may or may not find annoying: http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html
timtyrrell 8y ago
The kids version is a lot shorter, not sure if it is just more terse or what: "A Young People's History of the United States"

jml7c5 8y ago

I am wary of A People's History myself, as he tends to pick his conclusions first, then cherry-pick anecdotes to support those conclusions. These articles are good overviews of some of the issues: Howard Zinn's History Lessons: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/howard-zinns-history-lessons https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/howard-zinns-history... Undue Certainty: Where Howard Zinn's A People's History Falls Short: https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Wineburg.pdf https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Wineburg... While it may be interesting to pair A People's History with A Patriot's History, it is like watching a news network interview where they pull in the "person from the left" and "person from the right" to argue at each other. One is usually better off hearing a single person who acknowledges both sides of the issue.