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| A People's History of American Empire | 
 enlarge | Authors: Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki, Paul Buhle
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 2665
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0805087443
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.56973
EAN: 9780805087444
ASIN: 0805087443
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
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Product Description
Adapted from the bestselling grassroots history of the United States, the story of America in the world, told in comics form Since its landmark publication in 1980, A People’s History of the United States has had six new editions, sold more than 1.7 million copies, become required classroom reading throughout the country, and been turned into an acclaimed play. More than a successful book, A People’s History triggered a revolution in the way history is told, displacing the official versions with their emphasis on great men in high places to chronicle events as they were lived, from the bottom up.
Now Howard Zinn, historian Paul Buhle, and cartoonist Mike Konopacki have collaborated to retell, in vibrant comics form, a most immediate and relevant chapter of A People’s History: the centuries-long story of America’s actions in the world. Narrated by Zinn, this version opens with the events of 9/11 and then jumps back to explore the cycles of U.S. expansionism from Wounded Knee to Iraq, stopping along the way at World War I, Central America, Vietnam, and the Iranian revolution. The book also follows the story of Zinn, the son of poor Jewish immigrants, from his childhood in the Brooklyn slums to his role as one of America’s leading historians.
Shifting from world-shattering events to one family’s small revolutions, A People’s History of American Empire presents the classic ground-level history of America in a dazzling new form.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Propagating truth April 4, 2008
60 out of 69 found this review helpful
The word "propaganda" has an almost universally negative connotation. Whenever we use it, we generally mean to refer to systematic and deliberate misinformation. But it's worth remembering that the word is etymologically derived from the same root as the word "propagate," to increase or grow. Propaganda, as the word was originally used, is simply a means of spreading the news, of getting the word out to large numbers of people, of disseminating information that needs to be disseminated.
It's in this original sense of the word that A People's History of American Empire is propaganda. Using the medium of the comix or graphic novel, Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki, and Paul Buhle get the word out about a side of U.S. history that almost never gets taught in public schools, and about which many Americans even today remain clueless. Their treatment is entertaining and accessible--which means that it has a potentially huge audience--but neither patronizing nor simplistic--the book contains an extensive bibliography, and references both graphics and narrative claims. It's ideal for folks who have neither the time nor inclination to read Zinn's bulky classic A People's History of the United States, from which much of the volume is mined.
The format is ingenious. Zinn (wonderfully drawn, by the way) is the up-close narrator of the book. He begins by expressing bewilderment that the U.S. response to 9/11 has followed the same old violent pattern that the U.S. (and, of course, not only the U.S.) has typically adopted when threatened. This response, Zinn argues, ultimately only makes matters worse because it does nothing to get to the root causes of unrest. It is "an old way of thinking," one that tragically keeps following the same destructive script, and Zinn proceeds throughout the rest of the book to chronicle its many historical manifestations, ranging from the Wounded Knee massacre to the invasion of Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Central American nations such as El Salvador and Nicaragua (according to a list published by the State Department in 1962, the U.S. militarily intervened 103 times in foreign countries between 1798 and 1895). Zinn also discusses governmental and big business response to domestic workers' strikes (the Pullman strike and the Ludlow massacre, for example), and draws a connection between this "internal" imperialism and the "external" variety.
Of particular interest are Zinn's treatments of what he calls the "cool war," a culture and ethnic battle over black music in the 1950s, and the current Iraq War.
Another especially interesting feature of the book is its inclusion of Zinn's life story (derived from his autobiographical You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train) which traces his childhood poverty (and tenderness for his parents), his radicalization, his repudiation of violence following his service in World War II, his activism at Spelman College (which led to his dismissal), and his anti-war work--including the famous peace mission to Vietnam--during the Vietnam conflict.
Although the story of the insidious partnership between state and money is shocking and even horrifying at times, Zinn ends the book on an upbeat note. There's much to be hopeful about, he insists, when one considers the extraordinary achievements of the last fifty years. Legal racial apartheid in the U.S. was ended; the Vietnam war was stopped by public protests; velvet revolutions throughout Europe and South Africa succeeded in overthrowing tyranny in relatively bloodless fashion. So "to be hopeful in bad times is not foolishly romantic," Zinn concludes. "It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness" (p. 263).
Both of those messages deserve propagation.
Brilliant! The truth must be known! April 5, 2008
17 out of 24 found this review helpful
I just picked up this book today, and I don't often just start reading a book then buy it, but this one was well worth it. A brutal expose of the injustice going on in America, and perpetuated by it. Not just an expose of the "Rich Elite" and their hold on our supposed Democracy, but all those they've hurt to make an extra dishonest dollar as if they did not have enough already.
History the way it should be told for those who don't have time to read a dense history book! April 16, 2008
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
This book absolutely blew me away. I'm a big Howeard Zinn fan and remember using his book "A People's History of the United States" in high school for research projects.
This book takes Howard Zinn's arguments and presents them in a graphic adaptation that makes history come alive. There's real emotion in this book and it's a true page turner. During much of our own history we have been imperialistic and have taken advantage of the rest of the world to advance our own agendas, without regards to the suffering these actions have caused in many countries around the world. Let's turn back to compassion, collaboration and start promoting real sustainable development. In an election year this book should be convincing enough!
 Advocacy History April 27, 2008
7 out of 55 found this review helpful
A quick read of the prolog will let the reader know the viewpoint of the author. It is a shame this book is for sale in the history section of booksellers rather than current events or, even better, religion. The book's intention is to advocate the case for and possibility of a permanent end to war.
Conflict has been a part of human society from the beginning. Any objective historian understands this simple fact. Humans have not evolved past warfare either: witness the 20th century - the bloodiest century in human history. You can see anger, selfishness and fear displayed in the faces of babies and toddlers. Watch any political contest, even between the most "leftwardly evolved" leaders and you'll see they will do whatever it takes to defeat their fellow human.
The reason why this book has an audience is due to the sheer success the United States has enjoyed in warfare and its ability to maintain a formidable military. It appears that the lack of violence on the scale of World War II would indicate that we have perhaps turned the corner on our violent past and overcome our nature. Those who would initiate further conflicts are holdovers from the past that have yet to die out.
Sadly, those who believe human society has evolved past warfare don't seem to be able to point to the cause of this evolution. Nor can they answer the question what are the "evolved" to do when they live with, and are perhaps outnumbered, by the non-evolved?
Those with experience dealing with spoiled children can see the same mental and emotional processes at work. A spoiled child cannot imagine doing tasks that their parents do for them. Many will tell you that's something for parents to do or that they can't do it. Some can't even imagine doing it. They feel they are better than those children who have to do those tasks and look down on them.
Howard Zinn and his choir are simply the spoiled children and the U.S. government is the parent. He and is ilk will be quickly forgotten along with the rest of history's pacifists once the parent is no longer able to take care of them.
My concern is for those semi-educated public school teachers who see a "history book" in graphic novel format and seize upon selected articles to share with their students without any idea that the book is preaching a particular viewpoint.
Another Biased Book from Professor Zinn April 27, 2008
7 out of 55 found this review helpful
Educators like Howard Zinn are important because they present the view of history from the left of center or left wing point of view. What he tells is part of the story of America but it is not THE story of America. Mr. Zinn finds sinister motives in everything our country has done or is doing.
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