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

I started reading this book at least ten years ago. I would sit down, read a chapter, and then be so enraged I'd have to put the book down for awhile. Sometimes it was a few weeks, sometimes a few months. Then, as the issues and negative aspects of American history were repeated so obnoxiously in recent years I didn't pick it up at all. But I knew I would get back to it because, in my belief, it is the duty of every American citizen to read this book.

Yes, it will anger you. Yes, it will make you feel ashamed and uncomfortable. Yes, it is a whole lot to take in. But it is necessary. By now, you have realized that a lot of the things you were taught about this country are not true. It's time now to dig further into our dark past and be informed, lest we continue to repeat these same mistakes in the future.