# Think Tank > History >  Best US History book?

## realtonygoodwin

What is the best US History book? I own The Five Thousand Year Leap, and A Patriot's History of The United States.

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## low preference guy

I really liked  A Renegade History of the United States.

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## TCE

> What is the best US History book? I own The Five Thousand Year Leap, and A Patriot's History of The United States.


Are you looking for an "unbiased" history book? A hugely extensive one? Or a few important events summed up in a more concise fashion and format?

A. We had a dozen pages or so in debate on the topic in another section about a year or so ago and the conclusion was that there is no such thing as an unbiased history book.

B. Rothbard's collection would probably be your best bet here, especially if you wanted a libertarian stance.

C. Again for the libertarian slant, all of Tom Woods' books are on different eras. If you wanted a more breezy summer read, I would start there.

And a special mention for A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

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## Vessol

Conceived in Liberty by Murray Rothbard is pretty good.

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

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## FrankRep

*Basic History of the United States (Set of 6)*

Perfect for students, the Basic History series also gives adults the background necessary to fully understand today's events. (1996, pb)

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## malkusm

"Crisis and Leviathan" by Robert Higgs provides a great history from about 1885 through 1970 or so.

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## realtonygoodwin

I guess I am looking for an all encompassing volume that would be appropriate to teach at a high school level. Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I will check them all out. Gonna pass on Zinn though.

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## Sola_Fide

You will never look at American history the same again...

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## Sola_Fide

> And a special mention for A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn.



???

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## Maximus

Check out Thomas Woods' books as well

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## TCE

> ???


You've never heard of it or you don't understand why I would list it? If it's the former, it's by Howard Zinn, http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Histor...8551136&sr=8-1, and it is told from the perspective of the common man. Sure, it has a slant and while I don't always agree with his conclusions, it is a cool, different perspective from the standard American history. Before reading, just be aware that he is militantly anti-war, and yes, I know that's an oxymoron. 

If the latter, well...I guess I defend my taste in books. I like it, but you're free to disagree.

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## ForLibertyFight

I'm currently reading

A History of the American People by Paul Johnson.

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## low preference guy

> I'm currently reading
> 
> A History of the American People by Paul Johnson.


that's a good one too.

it gets the great depression right.

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## Zatch

"The Politically Incorrect Guide" series: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...ncorrect+guide

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## Austrian Econ Disciple

I like Murray Rothbard's _Conceived in Liberty_ and Alexis de Tocqueville's _Democracy in America_. Haven't read Zinn's book, or the others mentioned in here like Renegade, though I would like to at some point. Also recommend the PIG's to American History. There is also no better material to understand the history than going straight to the source first hand. The letters betwixt the power shapers in early American history are quite fascinating. The same goes for the Southern War of Independence time period. Read the soldiers writing first hand and its powerful stuff. I prefer the first-hand information to later revisionist works (but, I quite enjoy these too). 

Also, if you can find old Newspapers definitely read those. As with all things there is bias in everything so read with a critical eye

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## BamaAla

> You've never heard of it or you don't understand why I would list it? If it's the former, it's by Howard Zinn, http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Histor...8551136&sr=8-1, and it is told from the perspective of the common man. Sure, it has a slant and while I don't always agree with his conclusions, it is a cool, different perspective from the standard American history. Before reading, just be aware that he is militantly anti-war, and yes, I know that's an oxymoron. 
> 
> If the latter, well...I guess I defend my taste in books. I like it, but you're free to disagree.


Maybe that would have been a decent read coming from the other side had I just picked it up and read it, but a committed socialist history professor at the University of Alabama killed that one for me. It was a strange juxtaposition because that 90 minute class was some real America hating stuff followed by a Spanish Empire class 15 minutes later that was taught by a hardcore white legend professor.

To answer OP, there is no answer. History books have bias and history itself isn't black and white. Pull facts from academic books and then worry about the opinions that surrounds those facts. For any event in history, there will be several qualified authors with varying ideas about the event; read them all.

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## Sola_Fide

I've never read more anti-Christian, anti-capitalist, collectivist crap than Howard Zinn's book.  It was hands down the worst book I've ever read.  His atheism is wrong, his idea of the noble savage is wrong, his collectivism is wrong, his view of history is wrong, etc etc etc.  It is Marxist garbage.  His thesis is completely antithetical to the principles of Liberty.  Absolute trash...

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## erowe1

I really enjoyed reading Paul Johnson's, _A History of the American People_.

It's not as revisionist as you might want. It's definitely pro-Lincoln, pro-central bank, pro-WWII, etc. But it's an overall really thorough and really well-written book. I don't hesitate to recommend it.

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## JasonC

Does anyone have a recommendation for the WW1-WW2 eras, specifically?

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## IDefendThePlatform

I really liked "Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power" by John Steele Gordon. It's a popular history and focuses more on the people who developed America economically rather than on politicians. I think it would be excellent for high schoolers.

http://www.amazon.com/Empire-Wealth-...ref=pd_sim_b_5

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## moostraks

> *Basic History of the United States (Set of 6)*
> 
> Perfect for students, the Basic History series also gives adults the background necessary to fully understand today's events. (1996, pb)


This is the set we use for homeschooling at the high school level. It is libertarian in flavor and it has a teacher's manual. We reinforce with period appropriate primary source and literature works.

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## SamuraisWisdom

There is no such thing as an unbiased secondary history source.  The best thing you can do to learn history is to do research and dig up primary sources, but even those sometimes have hints of bias/misinformation.  The most important skill to learn while researching history is to differentiate between fact and opinion.  Most history books are factually correct, but are laced with the author's/editor's opinion which can skew the learning experience.  Sometimes it's good to take two or three books on any given topic and compare them to find the common ground.

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## oyarde

> Does anyone have a recommendation for the WW1-WW2 eras, specifically?


Best wwll books are those written by the guys who survived it .

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## RileyE104

Carroll Quigley's Tragedy and Hope

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## Maestro232

> *Basic History of the United States (Set of 6)*
> 
> Perfect for students, the Basic History series also gives adults the background necessary to fully understand today's events. (1996, pb)


I second this recommendation.  They were my history books in highschool.

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## affa

> Does anyone have a recommendation for the WW1-WW2 eras, specifically?


Personally, I'd recommend John Keegan's various books on war history.  He's got tomes for WWI, WWII, and more.  


RE: Zinn.   I'll second that recommendation.  You don't need to agree with everything in a book to read it, and anyone that refuses to read a book because they might disagree with it is making a mistake.  It's important to challenge your own ideas and beliefs.   Zinn may not be right on everything, but no historian is or can be; and his perspective is an important one, whether you personally agree or disagree with it.

One of the problems with our culture today is that, via personal selection of the media we devour, many people tend to intentionally propagandize themselves.  That is, we watch only the news channels we already agree with. Read only books we already agree with.  Magazines.  Websites.  And on and on.  This is not intellectually healthy long term

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## oyarde

I once ran into a book "Don't know much about History" . It would probably be good enough to keep High School kids attention for awhile .

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## amy31416

If I taught history, the first subject covered in my syllabus would be historical/historian bias. That would prepare a kid for a lifetime, rather than just an exam. Plus, I'm a big fan of using multiple sources in learning any topic.

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## moostraks

> If I taught history, the first subject covered in my syllabus would be historical/historian bias. That would prepare a kid for a lifetime, rather than just an exam. Plus, I'm a big fan of using multiple sources in learning any topic.


 You wouldn't believe how hard it has been to find a history course I can tolerate. It is of absolute importance that any material used be analyzed by teacher and student together to reveal the biases of the person doing the writing. I have had this discussion with my children often, beginning in second grade when they do more independent reading for history. I have spent a bulk of my school money on books used for a ridiculously short period never to be used again on the subject of history.

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## Kade

Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

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## DirtMcGirt

"Give Me Liberty!: An American History"  Volume 2 by Eric Foner.    This text was used in my General Elective class.  I found it easy to read and covered a lot.  Volume 2 starts at year 1865 and runs to present.

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## Kade

> You will never look at American history the same again...


Sure, if you believe that a profoundly displaced version of Natural Rights as a basis for American ontology is creamed with the substantive intellectual deprivation Singer guffaws on about, on the backs of Locke and Burke no less; and this is less perverse then the metaphysical goose-stepping on modern deliberative Democratic theorists he consistently engages in...  Singer is lazy.

Where have we gone in our progress if we still roll around in the feces of Aristotle and don't even have the decency to take a shower?

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## ValidusCustodiae

> Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.


I could not agree more.  If you want a candid understanding of many very controversial issues surrounding our early republic, this book is a must read!

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## realtonygoodwin

> Does anyone have a recommendation for the WW1-WW2 eras, specifically?



World War I: The Rest of the Story and How It Affects You Today, Revised Edition
by Richard J. Maybury
and
World War II: The Rest of the Story & How It Affects You Today, Revised Edition
by Richard J. Maybury

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