[MHT]

My kids are forced to read "A People's History of the United States" by H. Zinn as their primary text in 11th grade American History. He is the Timothy Leary of American historians and approaches events in American history from the point of view of the losers (e.g., WWI from the point of view of the socialists, WWII from the point of view of the pacifists--Like "Who cares?"). Needless to say, my children have been ill-equipped to go onto college American history as they have absolutely no background in the subject and have been unable to take the Am Hist SAT II.

Avoid Zinn at all costs. (He is a true liberal, however, and will give his musings away free on the internet to anyone with enough time to waste to look at his website.)

[Burkeman1]

Howard Zinn is a Choumsky wanna be- and that is like comparing Beria to Stalin. Pathetic. Zinn is despicable.

[laurav]

Ok, Howard Zinn should NEVER be required as a primary text for studying American history, but it will probably keep the kids' interest as a supplement (most textbooks are so dreadfully dull anyway, and Zinn is at least lively). I read it and remained uncorrupted. He simply sees history as, to borrow words from Marx, a series of class struggles. Which makes him a good starting point for discussion: Why haven't the revolutions he keeps saying are on the cusp of happening, come about? He completely forgets the rise of the shareholder class, the upward mobility of minorities and immigrants, and that it's been conservative ideas that have been winning.

[alexgott]

I had to read Zinn's book last year for my 11th grade history class and I couldn't take it. Everyone else in the class lapped it up because they were in love with our commie of a teacher. He lived in East Germany for a while!

[pesto]

that book immediately came to mind, i had it assigned to me in a class for future history teachers, so i'm guessing it's getting assigned a lot! Horrible book..