A People’s History of Florida 1513-1876

[Kim Sky]

Looks like a must read ... would be great to invite him to speak in JAX ! ....

A People’s History of Florida 1513-1876: How Africans, Seminoles, Women, and Lower Class Whites Shaped the Sunshine State

Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, predicted that the bottom class perspective of history would eventually gain ground, enveloping the old way of narrating history as told by the powerful. Since then, numerous historical events have been redefined through the outlook of common people that were involved from the bottom-up, forever altering how we understand history.

No more romantic diatribes glittered in patriotic myths. No more traditional heroes, standardized viewpoints, unquestionable "facts," or generalized falsehoods. Just plain raw truth that is not afraid to stampede powerful governments with the herd of popular outrage.

A People's History of Florida follows the People's History tradition, documenting the active involvement of African-Americans, indigenous people, women, and poor whites in shaping the Sunshine State's history.

Url: http://adamwasserman.org/

[Joe]

To be fair, Howard Zinn is a communist. I don't mean that in some contrived Rush Limbaugh "that damn liberal is a commie!" sort of way either. I mean, he is an actual Marxist.

Consequently, absolutely everything he writes is geared toward the Marxist view that social class is THE defining characteristic of all politics, history, and life.

Basically, Zinn's entire purpose in life is to write history books that emphasize as much as possible that the lower classes are oppressed (with the implicit assumption that some of them get angry and become Communists - who are now often called Radical Socialists, Revolutionary Socialists, International Socialists, etc. etc.)

So anyway, take Zinn for what he's worth. I can't comment on Adam Wasserman as I'm not familiar with his works. Although I would suspect that anyone advocating a "bottom class perspective" of history is probably fundamentally tied to Marxist thought in one form or another.

[stephendare]

Howard Zinn is also an amazing historian, and he is a great resource for an alternate view of historical events.

Whether you agree with his politics or not, the fact is that the history of regular people is every bit as valid and just as interesting as the history of the superwealthy, which our history books tend to reflect.

I happen to like the Eudora Welty, Studs Terkel, Howard Zinn approach to history telling personally.

Besides, his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me" is not only eye opening, but it makes our history so much grander than the distorted mythology pushed onto the rest of the country by the PTA controlled textbook committees of the great State of Texas.

[Wiseman55]

To be fair, Howard Zinn is a communist. I don't mean that in some contrived Rush Limbaugh "that damn liberal is a commie!" sort of way either. I mean, he is an actual Marxist.

Consequently, absolutely everything he writes is geared toward the Marxist view that social class is THE defining characteristic of all politics, history, and life.

Basically, Zinn's entire purpose in life is to write history books that emphasize as much as possible that the lower classes are oppressed (with the implicit assumption that some of them get angry and become Communists - who are now often called Radical Socialists, Revolutionary Socialists, International Socialists, etc. etc.)

So anyway, take Zinn for what he's worth. I can't comment on Adam Wasserman as I'm not familiar with his works. Although I would suspect that anyone advocating a "bottom class perspective" of history is probably fundamentally tied to Marxist thought in one form or another.

Actually Howard Zinn is an anarchist.

Howard Zinn: Anarchism Shouldn't Be A Dirty Word

If you don't understand the differences between anarchism and Marxist, I suggest you read the Anarchist FAQ.

[BridgeTroll]

Not sure he is a marxist or an anarchist.  He is clearly left of center but there is nothing wrong with that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Zinn

[Wiseman55]

Regardless, the book looks good. Howard Zinn is an excellent historian and its great that somebody applied his People's History perspective to Florida history.

[JeffreyS]

"A people's history of the United State's" is a great lesson in perspective. A different person's shoes can mean so much.  Agree or not it will make you think about what you where taught in school.