A People’s History of American Empire was published by Metropolitan Books in 2008 as a graphic novel — illustrated by Mike Konopacki, adapted by Paul Buhle, with Zinn providing autobiographical narration. The book represents an attempt to bring the arguments and evidence of A People’s History to a new audience through the visual medium of comics.
The structure interweaves Zinn’s personal narrative (his radicalization through WWII bombing raids, civil rights activism, and Vietnam opposition) with a compressed history of American imperialism: the conquest of Native territories, the Spanish-American War, banana republic interventions in Central America, the Cold War, Vietnam, and the Iraq War. Each episode is drawn with stark, documentary-style illustration that emphasizes the human cost of imperial policy.
The graphic format works particularly well for the book’s argument: images of suffering bodies, destroyed landscapes, and military violence create an emotional impact that written narrative can sometimes abstract away. At the same time, the compression required by the medium means that Zinn’s arguments are presented more simply than in his written work — which may be either a strength or a weakness depending on the reader’s familiarity with the material.
Collecting A People’s History of American Empire
First edition (Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt, New York, 2008): Trade paperback original, graphic novel format.
Market values:
- First edition, fine: $15–$35
- Signed copies: $50–$150