A True History of the United States: Indigenous Genocide, Racialized Slavery, Hyper-Capitalism,

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A quick rundown of this product’s key features:

“Thought-provoking—a must read for [everyone] seeking a firm grasp of accurate American history.”  —Kirkus (starred review)

Brilliant, readable, and raw. Maj. (ret.) Danny Sjursen, who served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at West Point, delivers a true epic and the perfect companion to Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States.

Sjursen shifts the lens and challenges readers to think critically and to apply common sense to their understanding of our nation’s past—and present—so we can view history as never before.

A True History of the United States was inspired by a course that Sjursen taught to cadets at West Point, his alma mater. With chapter titles such as “Patriots or Insurgents?” and “The Decade That Roared and Wept”, A True History is accurate with respect to the facts and intellectually honest in its presentation and analysis.
 

Essential reading for every American with a conscience.Meticulously researched, Sjursen provides a more complete sense of history and encourages readers to view our country objectively.Sjursen’s powerful storytelling reveals balanced portraits of key figures and the role they played. 
“Sjursen exposes the dominant historical narrative as at best myth, and at times a lie . . . He brings out from the shadows those who struggled, often at the cost of their own lives, for equality and justice. Their stories, so often ignored or trivialized, give us examples of who we should emulate and who we must become.”  —Chris Hedges, author of Empire of Illusion and America: The Farewell Tour

Our Top Reviews

Reviewer: David Lindsay
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An Important Book and an Enjoyable Read
Review: This is an important book and an enjoyable read. Danny Sjursen provides an objective and balanced view of American history and he is brutally honest. Sjurssen was an instructor at West Point, and he covers the period from 1600 to the Obama years, in 38 short chapters. Major events like the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Vietnam, and the Old West have their own chapters. Sjursen is a myth buster. After reading the book, I started to wonder whether America’s foreign policy problems date back to the propaganda that people are taught at school. A belief in American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny perhaps leads to a belief that Muslim countries can be Americanized, and we will be treated as liberators in the countries we invade. In recent decades, the pragmatic, cynical, realpolitik of a Kissinger has been replaced by a sort of deluded arrogance that Americans are smarter than everyone else and they know what is best for people living in faraway countries. In later chapters, Sjursen discusses current American politics. Having served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he is critical of what he views as American imperialism, the forever wars and the military-industrial complex.All countries have their myths and national heroes. Countries work better if there is a common culture and shared values. The US has built a national identity from scratch and it is something it has done exceptionally well. Historical accuracy has usually been less important than the need to create a national story that people could be proud of. It is about time there was an honest reappraisal of the past and this is what Sjursen has achieved. The book also documents the dark side of American history. Sjursen discusses slavery, racial apartheid, the genocide of Native Americans, and the continuing expansion of the American Empire since the English arrived.Sjursen argues that the US has always had an imperial agenda and it continued to expand its “empire” westwards from the original 13 colonies. The invasion of Canada in 1812 and the Monroe Doctrine were part of a plan to dominate the Americas. Once that was achieved the U.S. stopped Japan and Germany from dominating Asia and Europe in the 20th century. Once WW2 was won, the Soviet Union became America’s new adversary and it maintained forces in Europe to check Soviet expansion. “Regime change” did not begin with the administration of George W. Bush, but has been an integral part of U.S. foreign policy for more than one hundred years. Starting with the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 and continuing through the Spanish-American War and the Cold War and into our own time, the United States has not hesitated to overthrow governments that stood in the way of its political and economic goals. It now has 800 bases in over 80 countries and China is now the main enemy. Americans are reluctant to admit they have an empire or that they intend to remain the world’s dominant power. Lately, some of these wars have not gone well. Sjursen believes that the Vietnam War was unnecessary and Washington completely misunderstood the conflict. America’s elites seem to suffer from bipartisan groupthink when it comes to foreign policy.Sjursen starts in the early 1600s with the early English settlers. For my US citizenship test, I had to learn about the pilgrims, Puritans, and the Founding Fathers. I went to a school called the Mayflower in England, some locals had sailed on the ship. I later lived about 10 miles from where John Winthrop’s family had lived in England and I had studied the English Civil War in school. I was aware of England’s religious history and became aware of how it is often misrepresented in the US. John Winthrop arrived in Massachusetts from England in 1630. He coined the phrase “City on a Hill” which has been used by presidents to explain America’s uniqueness. School textbooks always mention religious freedom as the impetus to seek new lands. Sjursen claims that the Puritans sought refuge from the Church of England’s oppression. That is not really true. The UK was in religious turmoil and the government wanted to appease the country’s different religious groups. The moderate Protestants, the Catholics and the Puritans. Catholic terrorists had tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. People were aware of the Thirty Years War which was taking place mostly in Germany (1618-1648), Over eight million Protestants and Catholics died in a brutal religious war. There was a power struggle in England throughout the 1630s which did end in a civil war (1642-51).To anyone from Britain, the Puritans are viewed as religious fanatics and they are a strange group to put on a pedestal. The Puritans ruled England under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell in the 1640s and 1650s. The Puritans in many ways resembled the Taliban. They executed King Charles I (in 1649. They also banned Christmas, shut down the theatres and required women to dress modestly. Catholic priests were hung, drawn and quartered. Oliver Cromwell became a dictator. He viewed the Pope as the antichrist and believed Catholics were heretics. Cromwell committed war crimes against Catholics in Ireland. It seems ironic that so many Irish Catholics ended up in a city founded by Puritans. As Sjursen points out the Puritans were intolerant of groups with different beliefs, and that included Native Americans whom they sold into slavery. They also liked to burn women they believed were witches. After Cromwell died in 1658, hardline Puritanism had burnt itself out in England.I moved to Boston from England in the 1990s and went on a guided tour of the city’s landmarks and was told that the British ran an evil empire, which is why the Americans wanted independence. The assumption being that the good Britons escaped to the US, the bad ones were left behind. The Revolutionary War is at the heart of America’s conception of itself. The struggle for liberty against an evil empire is the country’s creation myth. Sjursen provides a good analysis. What he does not say is that by the 1770s New Englanders were probably the wealthiest people in the world. They were unhappy, even though they were lightly taxed, liberally governed, and prosperous. They had been protected from France and Spain by the British military, but they did not want to pay for that protection. Americans paid lower taxes than citizens in Britain. According to Harvard professor Niall Ferguson, in 1763, UK citizens paid 26 shillings a year in taxes, the equivalent in Massachusetts was just one shilling. The level of taxation was not the issue. The new taxes introduced by Parliament were abolished by 1775.In his book, ‘Dangerous Nation’ author Robert Kagan argues that the colonists wanted the British to kick the French and Spanish out of North America and to crush the Indians. Once the French were gone the British were no longer needed. Sjursen claims the colonists viewed themselves as “proud Britons” when the Seven Years War ended in 1763. The Founding Fathers identified themselves as British, but they were ambitious men. By 1776, they decided they no longer needed Britain and many wanted to go it alone. They needed a new identity and a new national story.Sjursen claims that only about a third of the colonists supported the revolution in 1776. Sjursen suggests many of the colonists wanted to have the freedom to grab Indian land west of the Appalachian Mountains, which the British had forbidden. For the Southerners, it was also about maintaining slavery as an institution. Slavery was illegal in England, and this was re-confirmed in a 1772 legal judgement over a runaway slave. There was a growing abolitionist movement in Britain and William Pitt, who became prime minister in 1783, would make speeches in Parliament condemning slavery. There were concerns in the South that London may attempt to restrict slavery in some way, the times were a-changing.Sjursen claims the British got stuck in a guerilla war and they were not ruthless enough, he believes they felt they were fighting their own kith and kin. The rebels lost every open field battle until the French turned up. I once read an American history book that claimed George Washington was the greatest general in world history, which is laughable. What I did learn about the war in England was that the generals on both sides were incompetent and the Americans only won the war because they had help from the French and Spanish. Sjursen points out that Washington was a war criminal, and he may have started the Seven Years War. When he served with the British army, he was a disaster. Later, most of his slaves ran away and fought with the British. Sjursen points out that most slaves and Native Americans supported the British during the Revolutionary War, they believed they would be treated better by the British.As a Brit, I have always the deification of the Founding Fathers puzzling. They have become infallible demi-gods. They were members of the moneyed elites and protected the interests of their class. James Madison who drafted the Constitution said that the government ought to “protect the minority of the opulent against the majority.” The Founding Fathers have been described by Harvard professor Jill Lepore as flawed hypocrites. Franklin owned five slaves, but he also appeared to oppose slavery. Jefferson fathered children with his 16 years old slave Sally Hemmings. Madison sneakily invaded Canada when the British army was fighting Napoleon in Spain.The Founding Fathers were not really democrats in the modern sense, they were afraid of the mob. In 1789, only six per cent of the population–white, male property owners–was eligible to vote. The rights of women, slaves, and Native Americans were ignored in the Constitution. Jefferson did not agree with the veneration heaped on his generation and believed the Constitution must be open to amendment. Jefferson believed in the principle that “the earth belongs to the living and not to the dead” which meant that previous generations could not bind the current generation to pay their debts or to accept the laws and constitution drawn up by their ancestors. Why should the views of an 18th-century politician like James Madison, on a subject like abortion, bind Americans for all time? Unfortunately, many seem to believe that the Constitution is perfect and divinely inspired. Originalists like former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia seemed to believe they were interpreting Holy Writ. The English WASP population is now small but the writer Robert Kaplan believes that “to be an American is to adopt the Anglo-Protestant culture of the original British settlers.” In the Southwest, the majority of the population will soon be Hispanic and Catholic. The veneration for the original English WASPs will probably end at some point and there will be some historical revisionism.The chapter on the Old West was entertaining for anyone who enjoys old Westerns. Sjursen claims that it is a “story teaming with less fact than fiction.” Many of the cowboys were black and Mexican, and there was a fair amount of homosexuality in the all-male communities. The all-white macho culture depicted in films is definitely a myth. The cowboy era only lasted about 20 years. There is no evidence that the gunfights depicted in Hollywood movies ever happened. Some Western heroes were cold-blooded killers. It appears that Hollywood created most of the myths of the Old West.Each chapter contains information that refutes many of the “facts” handed down by Hollywood or history textbooks. The book is well worth a read. In later chapters, Sjursen becomes more controversial by discussing modern American politics. He also believes in universal healthcare and gun control. He views Obama as a failure. Sjursen’s views on endless war and America’s ruling class are similar to those of Tucker Carlson on Fox News. Sjursen disapproves of the current political class in Washington whom he believes are steering the country in the wrong direction.

Reviewer: jdmcox
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Get a bigger picture
Review: Just right for me. I know “the big picture” of USA history, and this book brings into better focus the parts that are not usually included in USA history. Andrew Jackson’s party reminds me of the Trump party, and John Quincy Adam’s party reminds me of the Democrat party. Same …, different day. The author “tells it like it is (was).” It’s by a thoughtful author for thoughtful readers, without the obviously prejudiced views found in other histories.

Reviewer: A. E. Powell
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A true and honest history of the US
Review: An amazing and complete review of American History without the sugar coating typically applied to the subject. A fabulous book.

Reviewer: Casey Allison
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Truthful and powerful
Review: The United States’ truthful history is hard for me to read yet it was needed in order for meaningful discussion to happen. Hopefully, citizens can start to dismantle the systems of power in place ( like white supremacy) that allows the rich to get richer and poor to sink lower into poverty. Well researched and a biting critique of our Presidents, the author gives his opinion eloquently.

Reviewer: Reader #1
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Review: No empty platitudes here, no flag-waving chauvinism, just the raw unvarnished truth coupled with endless parallels to the America we live in today. This is the good, the bad, and the ugly of American history. The good is here, but 2/3 of the book is about the bad and the ugly – racism, genocide, economic injustice, imperialism. There are heroes here, but they all have feet of clay. And there are villains. Like Howard Zinn’s People’s History and like the writing of Noam Chomsky, this book skewers the claptrap you were fed in high school history classes. It is essential reading for every American with a conscience. Amazingly this is the history Sjursen taught to cadets at West Point. The prose absolutely sizzles. It’s one of those books it’s difficult to put down. Reading it you will be both ashamed and proud to be an American. You will see your country objectively, possibly for the first time. It’s not pretty but it’s what we are.

Reviewer: T. McKay
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great read
Review: Everyone should read this. it dispels all the myths taught in school

Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Should be required
Review: Startling, well written, it rings with truth. Well researched and referenced. This book should be on the required reading list in every high school in the land!

Reviewer: anthony williams
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The perfect companion book to Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the US
Review: I had read Major Sjursen’s work in Truth Dig and seen him interview with Chris Hedges and Oliver Stone so I had insight to the book before I bought it. Brilliant, readable and very raw, a true companion workTo provide a full understanding of empire as it pertains to the US. Where Dr. Zinn covers more key figures and the role they played which has been covered over, The major has much broader brushstrokes to the events of the time. Unflinching in honesty, especially for a warrior, he adds new texture and depth to our story. Every 18 year old should have read both and registered to vote. That would be a suitable civics class in lieu of the miserable civics our youth are being taught today, if at all

Reviewer: Aganeta Friederichsen
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It was a gift for my husband and he definitely likes what he’s reading. Thank you

Reviewer: Nathalie U
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great writing, something I can never forget. It teaches disturbing things about not only the US but Europe Africa and many other countries and regions of the World… We are all in it somewhere, and I would advise as many people as possible to read it!

Reviewer: G B WILLIAMS
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
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Review: This is one of the best and inform ed histories I have ever read. It should be the core book for every American in school and university.It clearly shows that much of USA history a role is not factual, it is little more than fictions.As they say in ‘who shot lvalence valance ‘ print the myth not facts

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Another interesting American I discovered via RT International. A war veteran who knows what he has seen, and knows what he is talking about. Things are not good for the crumbling Empire, like all Empires before it,they disappear into the dustbin of history.

Reviewer: m d jamison
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Amazing that this book has been written by this guy, a veteran, tutor at West Point ticks a lot of boxes for the believers in American exceptionalism and here he bursts a lot of their shibboleths

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