A Renegade History of the United States

By: Thaddeus Russell

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Historian Howard Zinn demonstrated that there are compelling, alternative histories that are both scholarly and valuable. Now, Thaddeus Russell provides a challenging new way of reading history that will turn convention on its head and is sure to elicit as much controversy as it does support.

Russell shows that drunkards, laggards, prostitutes, and pirates were the real heroes of the American Revolution. Slaves worked less and had more fun than free men. Prostitutes, not feminists, won women's liberation. White people lost their rhythm when they became good Americans. Without organized crime, we might not have Hollywood, Las Vegas, labor unions, legal alcohol, birth control, or gay rights. Zoot-suiters and rock-and-rollers, not Ronald Reagan or the peace movement, brought down the Soviet Union. And Britney Spears will win the war on terror.

It was not the elitists who created real revolution in America nor the political radicals whom Zinn credits, but the people on the fringes of society who laid the foundation for change and were responsible for many of the freedoms we cherish today. American history was driven by clashes between those interested in preserving social order and those more interested in pursuing their own desires---the "respectable" versus the "degenerate", the moral versus the immoral, "good citizens" versus the "bad". The more that "bad" people existed, resisted, and won, the greater was our common good.

In A Renegade History of the United States, Russell introduces us to the origins of our nation's identity as we have never known them before.

©2010 Thaddeus Russel (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This is a fun read that makes a serious point. Even drunkards, whores, black pleasure-seekers, gangsters, and drag queens have contributed to American culture, and sometimes in surprising ways." (W. J. Rorabaugh, professor of history, University of Washington, and author of The Alcoholic Republic)

Fascinating perspective

It's funny how much you're not taught in school. This was such an interesting read full of fun and odd facts about the people who creates America. Highly recommend.

eye opener!!

love love loved it. going to listen over and over. what a good history book.

It's ok

I feel this book is long winded. The author droned on a bit on each topic and the narrator was a bit news casty

Interesting/Entertaining Revision of History

In general, I liked this book. It's obvious that Russell has a claim or argument in mind and then seeks to validate the claim by finding evidence that supports his argument while ignoring anything that doesn't. That being said, he makes some very strong arguments. Some are stronger than others. Take it all with a grain of salt. But he does present some facts that are simply inarguable and so there is plenty to learn from the book.

I'm a little surprised that I haven't heard more of an uproar about this book. Perhaps it's because the author isn't well known? I don't know. Russell has fewer than 1,500 followers on Twitter. Now, I realize that number of Twitter followers is of course not in any way proof of the validity of an author's argument. But if you're judging how well known a young author is, it's pretty telling. So back to the original point, perhaps the reason that you can't easily find passionate responses to Russell's arguments is that there just aren't enough people who've heard about it.

Still, I can't for the life of me figure out why he chose to make his "slavery wasn't that bad in the 1800's" argument in chapter 2. I mean at least 10 to 15 percent of the people that picked up this book had to have put it down forever at some point during the 2nd chapter.

Overall I thought the book was good, thus the 4-star rating. I found myself wanting to hear more when it was over, and that's always a great sign. But the overall story was just so-so. I'm not a big fan of books that are made up of a bunch of different small arguments or studies. I like to hear a running narrative on a broad subject.

And there were times when the repetition got a bit boring. Whenever you're listening to or reading a book where the author's main goal is to prove a theory or theories, you know there are going to be times when you get tired of it.

As for the narrator, Paul Boehmer is not my favorite. Boehmer isn't awful but he does take away some of the enjoyment for me. I had to listen to it on double speed to make his voice less of a bother. But that wasn't bad because the repetitive style of the book made some parts tough to get through as it was.

Hard to hate on something this entertaining

How can you go wrong with this one? Juicy and chalk full of crime, laziness and utter licentiousness, this book is a dream come true to history buffs who are also unprincipled slackers. That's not to say that it's not serious work, though. The research is solid and the facts are well presented. This is actual scholarship, not hacky journalism. Narrator Paul Boehmer's accent, intonation and rhythm are quite odd to me, and bug me sometimes, but he is chosen to read a lot of the best books, so I guess I'm stuck with him. You should really buy this book. It kicks ass.

Much needed perspective

Russell effectively argues that people from the underbelly of society we're critically important in bringing cultural change in America. He uses standard sources, like former slave interviews but draws very different conclusions, some are even quite uncomfortable.

I loved this book so much that I bought the paper copy after I listened to it. I wanted to read the footnotes and have it as a resource. I hated the narration but the book itself is extraordinary and has altered how I view many things.

A bit mind bending and entirely informative.

I didn't think much of the narrator at first but after a bit came to like his way of telling the story quite well enough. Definitely recommended.

HOLD ON - not your classroom history book

WOW, this is the back alley of history in the US. You'll learn things in here that nobody would dare teach in a classroom. This is tabloid type history lesson where nothing is held back. This is the greasy sh*t you want to know about and not the whitewashed facade we got in school.

Great alternative look at history

This book gives an account of American history from a different view than what we are taught in public schools. I've always been a fan of Howard Zinn's Peoples History, but Russell presents it from yet another angle. Loved it.

Insightful view of history

loved it! ideas challenge what we've all been taught. It's nice to hear an alternative and makes you question everything.