A History of the American People, written by Paul Johnson, as well as A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, is a different way to better understand the events that have occurred since creation of the United States to the 21st century. Although both authors tell the story of America in a similar way, they each put their own "brand" on it. Johnson, being an upper-middle-class Englishman, was never taught American history as a student, and this made him feel a sort of childlike sense of wonder about America. He writes, “…I finally came to American history completely fresh, without the prejudices or dislikes of a schoolboy or student.” Zinn, on the other hand, was the son of an immigrant to the United States and served in World War II and used the GI Bill to get his Ph.D. His rise from nothing as an immigrant to one of the greatest history writers of the 20th century century is truly amazing. He grew up learning about America, but he grew up in one of the most difficult times in America: the Great Depression. This causes his views on America to be more focused on the people who shaped and molded it into what it is today. One of the main differences between Zinn and Johnson, rather most historical authors, is that Zinn focuses more on ordinary people in creation. of the United States. For example, in the chapter “The Other Civil War,” Zinn focuses on the civil war that is not commonly written about. During this period, the only topic of concern for historians was slavery, but Zinn looks at the common people. This time period began the Industrial Revolution and not all people were focused on the war. Thousands of immigrants were looking for work, and the poor working conditions and low wages brought man... halfway... and Zinn is that their books complement each other very well, which makes them perfect for material teaching. Zinn covers ordinary people well, while Johnson covers bigger names like Lincoln and Jackson. Although it is difficult, I can say that I learned more from Zinn than from Johnson because much of what Johnson wrote I learned over my many years of history, while the history of ordinary people is much less known and written about, and it's just as interesting. Overall, I learned a lot from both authors and they go well together when learning American history. Works Cited Johnson, Paul. 1998. A History of the American People. HarperCollins.Zinn, Howard. 1995. A People's History of the United States. Rev. ed. Perennial Harper.Greer, Cora. “Competing Perspectives on the Past in U.S. History Textbooks.” AP Central. CollegeBoard, November 3, 2009. Web. May 12 2014.