{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260406T231758Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1586422537?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1586422537","authors":["Daniel Sjursen","Daniel A. Sjursen"],"book_id":"9781586422530","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781586422530","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781586422530.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","description":"“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","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781586422530","publication_date":"20210601","publisher":"Pushkin Press","slug":"a-true-history-of-the-united-states","subtitle":"Indigenous Genocide, Racialized Slavery, Hyper-capitalism, Militarist Imperialism and Other Overlooked Aspects of American Exceptionalism","title":"A True History of the United States"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS036000","confidence_band":"high","label":"U.S. History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL003000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Civics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL032000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Political Writing","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS036000","confidence_band":"high","label":"U.S. History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL003000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Civics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL032000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Political Writing","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"U.S. History","score":1,"slug":"u-s-history"},{"label":"Civics","score":1,"slug":"civics"},{"label":"Political Writing","score":1,"slug":"political-writing"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy U.S. History","Good for readers interested in history","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Marcus Rediker"],"book_id":"9780143114253","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780143114253.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":15.6542,"title":"The Slave Ship","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780143114253"},{"authors":["David McCullough","Dorie McCullough Lawson","Michael Hill"],"book_id":"9781668098998","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781668098998.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":15.1998,"title":"History Matters","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781668098998"},{"authors":["Jon Meacham"],"book_id":"9780399589829","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780399589829.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":11.7208,"title":"The Soul of America","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780399589829"},{"authors":["Corey Brettschneider"],"book_id":"9781324110880","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781324110880.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":11.7079,"title":"The Presidents and the People","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781324110880"},{"authors":["Thom Hartmann","Sean Pratt","Kalorama"],"book_id":"9798890571847","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9798890571847.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":11.6264,"title":"The Last American President","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9798890571847"},{"authors":["Erika Lee"],"book_id":"9781476739410","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781476739410.jpg?v=20260406T231758Z%3A2026-04-06T23%3A17%3A58Z","score":10.8898,"title":"The Making of Asian America","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781476739410"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history of the united states"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history books for adults"],"label":"Adults","score":0.2025,"slug":"adults"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:military industrial complex"],"label":"Military","score":0.1382,"slug":"military"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:african american history"],"label":"African","score":0.1109,"slug":"african"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, Adults, Military.","Reading lane: U.s. 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