A People's History of the United States

The book served as the primary source material for the 2009 documentary film titled The People Speak, which features various actors and musicians performing readings of historical documents and letters cited in the text.

The narrative structure relies heavily on primary source documents such as letters, diaries, and speeches from marginalized groups to provide a bottom-up perspective that contrasts with the traditional focus on political and military leadership found in academic curricula.

The book was a runner-up (finalist) for the National Book Award in 1980, the year it was first published, though it did not win. It has since sold more than two million copies and become a widely assigned text in American schools and colleges.