A Young People's History of the United States, Volume 1: Columbus to the Spanish-American War

by Howard Zinn

Book Overview

A Young People's History of the United States brings to US history the viewpoints of workers, slaves, immigrants, women, Native Americans, and others whose stories, and their impact, are rarely included in books for young people.

Volume 1 begins with a look at Christopher Columbus's arrival through the eyes of the Arawak Indians, then leads the reader through the earliest struggles for workers' rights, women's rights, and civil...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1583227598
• ISBN13: 9781583227596
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Triangle Square
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.6" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 to 15 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 10

Customer Reviews

A true history of the "people."

For so many groups of people who never got a chance to see themselves in history textbooks, Zinn's A Young People's History is a gem. Far from being "leftist" or "radical," his book tells this nation that it is ok to confront the less-than-humane paths America has taken on its quest for world recognition.

A Nice Primer

This book and its companion Volume 2 are the perfect introduction to US history. Based on Zinn's larger work, this focuses on a younger audience. It is informative and provides prospective that is different than the material taught in schools. Every child in the US should read these books.

Great Work and Much Needed

As with all of Mr. Zinn's works, this series is clearly written and thorough. Mr. Zinn's writing is very readable, it is always reminiscent of his own pace and phrasing as he speaks. I had been hoping for something like this for a long time. I have given away quite a few copies of The People's History of the United States, but was at a loss for what to do for younger readers. It was proposed by a friend that these books are so constructed and easy to read and understand that maybe even one of the still-confused right-wing supporters might be able to finally get it. In the U.S.A. all most people get is a highly inaccurate and mythologized public school American History education. It is no wonder that they fall victim to Fox news and the propaganda machine of the present regime. They have no frame of reference to weigh facts and spin. They might even actually believe that "They hate us for our "freedoms" and other laughable sound bites. Events do not occur in a vacuum. Truthful history is all we have to clarify and help us learn to prevent the mistakes of the past. The young are our hope so they must be informed.