The Untold History of the United States

There is quite a bit left out history books for political and religious reasons. I started to be very concerned when subjects were being left out of the curriculum..... civics, geography etc. This book fills in the blanks in US History. My background is I research so I always approach books like this with a big dose of skepticism.....until I run down 20 or so of the foot notes to their primary sources. They check out, are correct..... and complete. They create context and fill in the blanks. You may not agree with all of the conclusions but the events are correct and the fact that they have been "left out" of even college history texts is a reason to be concerned. That adage about those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it rings true.... Can you say Vietnam/Afghanistan?

This 784 page book was outstanding until I reached the 49% mark (LOC 11061 on my Kindle) at which point its content fell off a cliff. This ‘untold history’ shall remain untold because neither Stone nor Kuznick had the backbone to honestly report the story of 9/11.

Instead of doing a historical analysis what we get instead are the politics of Bush-43 & Cheney. Verbatim. There is a blizzard of information (structural engineers, financial data, eyewitnesses, etc) that documents what really happened that day. Why, mid-book, did Kuznick and Stone suddenly turn state’s witness?

Is this because of political correctness (political cowardice)? Or, is it because multiple people have been “disappeared” who illuminated the deceptions of 9/11? Or, is it journalistic cowardice knowing that the label ‘conspiracy theory’ would kill the marketability (sales) of this book? Or, because ‘Untold Story’ had already bucked the system with multiple untold truths – the addition of 9/11 would be pouring gasoline on a pre-existent fire … just a bit munch for myopic Americans? Why? Why? Why?

When anyone lies to me they are, in effect, calling me too stupid to understand the unvarnished facts of an issue. On encountering this Newspeak regarding 9/11 immediately I set aside my Kindle and did not bother to finish the book nor will I ever buy another by these authors. Joseph Goebbels is smiling from afar seeing how his manipulation techniques have so entwined themselves into the fabric of Ameicana as to make us the willing proles of doublethink.

None of the Kean Commissioners believed their 9/11 Report which was repeatedly blocked and lied to by the White House, Pentagon, CIA and FBI. Want to have some fun? Then go to Youtube and type “9/11 – The Whole Truth in 5 Minutes – James Corbett”. Ha Ha Ha

I have several friends in the CIA and MI6 … and know several professional pilots and retired military and all willingly share their opinions with me in private, but in public they grow mute. This story is a secret only because so many Americans refuse to allow contrarian information to be examined seriously. Just as the Soviets did during the Stalin Era. And the Germans under Hitler, the Jews kowtowing to Netanyahu, etc.

The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it. — George Orwell

If you enjoy a historical viewpoint that is anti-american, this is your book. Stone has produced a warped view of US history that should please all of our enemies.

This is a fascinating work for history buffs especially. This book when combined with the t.v. series shown on Showtime network, also available on Netflix, or DVD, is eye opening. This is the alternative view of what we've been taught of U.S. history during the twentieth century, and up to the Obama administration. I was surprised about how Truman came to be nominated by the Democrats to run as opposed to vice president Wallace. So many different angles to well known historical events, that shed a different light on them. All of this is backed up by actual facts that can be researched. My conclusion is that so much recent history has been suppressed or told in half truths, after being spun. This is the flip side of the same coin.

This is a refreshingly BS-free version of American history, unencumbered by the usual mile wide/inch deep K-12 textbook spin. I doubt, however, that Oliver Stone had very much to do with the book itself. Oliver Stone produced and directed a much too brief video adaptation of the book to accompany its publication, but there's no way to summarize a massive book like this into a single video. The recent 6-hour, 3-part PBS series on WWI is a good example of the kind of thing that this book also does very well. I think the Oliver Stone video is still available on YouTube. But that video in no way replaces the book itself.

Every country has a dark page in its' history and the USA is no different. Unfortunately, this narrative covers only the negative side. It contains no historical documentation and opinions of people that were actually involved at the time nor does it include any of the positives that made the USA a great nation. I definitely wouldn't recommend it. When I want my children to learn American History properly, I'll advise them to read books written by David Barton, Stephen Ambrose, William Bennett and David McCullough. They're much more honest , accurate and love the country which is more than I can say for Oliver Stone. Note: book obtained from an alternate source-not Amazon.

Beginning around 1900, the United States started acting like an imperial poser, and has expanded it’s “empire” steadily ever since, to where it has become the most dangerous nation on earth. That’s the basic premise of Stone and Kuznick’s book. If you think that Stalin was forced into the cold war by U.S. broken commitments, that he was really a good guy we turned bad, this is the book for you. If you think Gorbachov was a visionary peacenick who dragged a reluctant United States kicking and screaming away from constant military confrontation, then this is your book. If you believe that Harry Truman was perhaps the worst villain in our history for using the atom bomb against Japan when it was practically begging to surrender if only we would assure it’s people the emperor didn’t have to go, then by all means read this book. And so it goes.

I can’t say I “enjoyed” this book, all 600 plus pages, but I read it all and think it’s a worthwhile slant on American history that people should read. It certainly reaffirms the case that history is in the eye of the beholder; that what's emphasized and what sources are selected matter. Stone and Kuznick have a pronounced anti-American slant, yet make a strong case, e.g., that using the atom bomb at the time and in the manner we did made the decades long contest with the Soviet Union inevitable, and had we not used it, nuclear proliferation would not have occurred. However, if you believe Stalin, who knew almost from the outset what was going on in the Manhattan Project, would have stopped Russia’s efforts to develop it’s own bomb, then the tooth fairy lives.

Much of the book describes countless cases of meddling in South and Central America, using the shield of the “Monroe Doctrine” to benefit American business interests. And the many fiascoes in the middle east, including the first Obama term, are described in horrifying detail.The enmity many countries have toward Uncle Sam is well explained indeed. The one thing I believe is way off base is the depiction of every American president, starting with Hoover up through Obama as a bunch of fools and idiots. All in all, don’t take it as gospel, but it’s a fascinating read.

This is one of the best books that I've ever read. This book is truly a public service. I had no idea how ignorant I was about the activities of the United States Government.

I can't begin to imagine how much research was done to put this together. It took me months to finish this book because I was highlighting passages and checking references the entire time that I read the book. It seems like every page contained some of the craziest stories that I have ever heard in my life!

What kind of heart does it take to make some of the cold blooded, ruthless and downright evil decisions that are detailed in this book? I don't think I have that kind of venom pumping in my veins and arteries.

Oliver Stone, Peter Kuznick - THANK YOU. I feel like I owe you move money for this (despite the fact that I paid for the paperback and the DVD)! Reading it has been an unforgettable experience and I will be reading this and watching the film again.

Junk! Made up and debunked version of history.

A large number of people still think of the US as a benign global policeman for the protection of human rights, freedom and democracy. This books dispels the myth thoroughly with solid and accurate facts and evidence. The "good" policeman role may have been partly true 30 years ago (eg against Communism). But the last two to three decades have shown that the pursuit of imperial and economic power with little regard to the interests of invaded countries to be the dominant driver.