History is usually written by the winners. That’s the old cliché, right? But when Oliver Stone dropped Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States back in 2012, he wasn't just trying to rewrite the record—he was trying to set the whole thing on fire and see what rose from the ashes. It's a massive, sprawling, ten-part documentary series (with a hefty book to match) that basically tells you everything your high school history teacher was too scared or too bored to mention. Honestly, it’s a lot to take in.
Some people call it a masterpiece of revisionist history. Others think it’s a paranoid fever dream.
Whatever your take, you can't deny the impact. Stone, along with historian Peter Kuznick, spent years digging through archives to piece together a narrative that doesn't focus on the "Great Men" of history in the way we're used to. Instead, it looks at the pivots. The missed opportunities. The moments where the American Empire—a term they use very deliberately—could have taken a left turn but doubled down on a right.
What’s the big deal anyway?
The core of the project is really about the Cold War and the atomic age. If you grew up thinking the U.S. dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki solely to save a million American lives, Stone is going to ruin your day. He argues, quite forcefully, that the Japanese were already on the verge of surrender and the bombs were more of a "stay back" warning to the Soviet Union than a military necessity.
It's heavy stuff.
The series kicks off with World War II and moves through the Obama era, but it keeps circling back to one guy: Henry Wallace. You probably don't know who that is. Most people don't. He was FDR’s Vice President before Harry Truman, and Stone treats him like the "lost king" of American progressivism. If Wallace had stayed on the ticket in 1944, Stone suggests, we might have avoided the Cold War entirely. No nuclear arms race. No Vietnam. It’s a bold "what if" that drives the emotional heart of the first few episodes.
The Problem With the Standard Narrative
Why does Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States still cause such a stir? Because it challenges the concept of American Exceptionalism. That's the idea that the U.S. is inherently different and better than other nations, acting as a "shining city on a hill." Stone looks at the 20th century and sees something different: a series of coups, proxy wars, and corporate interests masquerading as "spreading democracy."
Take the 1953 coup in Iran or the 1954 one in Guatemala. In standard textbooks, these are often footnotes. In Stone’s world, they are the blueprint.
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He doesn't hold back on the presidents we usually lionize, either. JFK gets a relatively sympathetic treatment—Stone famously has a thing for Kennedy—but he portrays him as a man struggling against a "Deep State" (the military-industrial complex) that eventually won. Eisenhower is credited for his warning about that very complex, but he's also blamed for letting the CIA run wild in the fifties.
It’s not just a TV show
The book version is a monster. If you’ve seen the series, you know Stone’s voice—that gravelly, intense narration that feels like he’s telling you a secret in a dark alley. But the book, co-authored with Kuznick, is where the real academic receipts are. They cite sources that range from mainstream historians like Gar Alperovitz to declassified government memos.
It’s easy to dismiss Stone as a conspiracy theorist because of JFK or Nixon, but Untold History feels different. It’s grounded in a specific school of historiography called "Revisionism." This isn't about making things up; it's about re-interpreting the facts we already have. It’s about asking why we chose the path of global hegemony over domestic social programs.
Why the Critics Went Nuclear
Not everyone was a fan. Far from it.
The late Ronald Radosh, a conservative historian, absolutely tore into the project, calling it "ideological" and "pro-Soviet." Even some liberal historians felt Stone played too fast and loose with the "what ifs." They argued that Stone gives too much agency to individuals (like Wallace) and not enough to the massive, grinding gears of geopolitics that likely would have led to a Cold War regardless of who was in the Oval Office.
But here’s the thing: history is an argument. It's not a static list of dates.
When you watch Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States, you’re participating in that argument. You’re seeing a version of the 20th century where the U.S. isn't always the hero in the white hat. For a lot of people, especially those outside the U.S., that's not "untold" history—it's just history. For Americans, it can feel like a slap in the face.
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The visual style is wild
If you’re expecting a dry, Ken Burns-style documentary with slow pans over still photos, you’re in for a shock. This is Oliver Stone. It’s edited like a thriller. There’s archival footage, movie clips, psychedelic overlays, and a score that makes you feel like the world is ending.
It’s fast. Sometimes it’s too fast. You’ll find yourself hitting the back button to catch a quote or a name you missed. But that’s the point. It’s meant to be an assault on your previous worldview. It wants to shake you out of the "complacency" of the history you learned in fifth grade.
Key Figures You Need to Know
To really get what Stone is doing, you have to look at the people he spotlights. It’s a weirdly specific list.
- Henry Wallace: The Vice President who wanted to cooperate with the Soviets and end colonialism. He’s the "hero" of the piece.
- Curtis LeMay: The general who orchestrated the firebombing of Japanese cities. Stone uses him as the avatar of American militarism run amok.
- George Kennan: The architect of the "containment" policy, whom Stone argues was later horrified by how his ideas were used to justify endless war.
- Allen Dulles: The longtime CIA director. In this narrative, he’s basically the villain in the shadows, pulling strings across continents.
It’s a cast of characters that makes the 20th century look less like a march toward freedom and more like a high-stakes poker game played by men who were often terrified, arrogant, or both.
What about the later years?
The series eventually catches up to more modern times, covering the Reagan era, the Bush years, and the rise of the surveillance state under Obama. Stone is particularly scathing about the "War on Terror." He sees it as a continuation of the same patterns established in the 1940s—an endless search for an enemy to justify a massive military budget.
He sort of suggests that we've become a "security state" where the original goals of the republic have been swallowed by the needs of the empire. It’s a grim outlook. But Stone isn't a cynic; he’s a disappointed romantic. He clearly believes America could be better, which is why he’s so mad about what happened.
Is it actually "Untold"?
Technically? No. Most of these facts are available in university libraries. You can read about the My Lai massacre or the School of the Americas in plenty of academic books.
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But is it "untold" to the average person? Probably.
Most people don't know that the Soviets did the heavy lifting in defeating Nazi Germany, losing 27 million people in the process. Most people don't know that the U.S. overthrew democratic governments in the name of fighting communism. By bringing these facts to a mainstream Netflix/Showtime audience, Stone made them "told."
How to Watch (and Read) Without Going Crazy
If you're going to dive into Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States, don't just take it at face value. That would be ironic, considering the show tells you to question everything.
- Watch it with a search engine open. When Stone makes a wild claim about a specific memo or a secret meeting, look it up. Usually, the event happened, but the interpretation is what’s up for debate.
- Read the companion book. It’s much more detailed and provides the context that the fast-paced editing of the documentary sometimes skips.
- Compare it to a "standard" history. Read something like Doris Kearns Goodwin or Stephen Ambrose alongside it. See where the narratives diverge. The "truth" is usually somewhere in the middle.
- Pay attention to the "pivots." Stone is obsessed with moments where history could have gone a different way. It’s a great exercise in thinking about how small decisions have massive, 50-year consequences.
Actionable Insights for the History Buff
If you want to move beyond just being a passive viewer, here is how you can apply the "Untold History" lens to your own understanding of current events:
- Look for the "Third Way": Stone emphasizes that there are almost always more than two options in foreign policy. When you hear that we "must" do X or Y, ask what the third, unmentioned option is.
- Follow the Money: Stone focuses heavily on the defense industry. When a new conflict arises, look at who benefits from the spending, not just the rhetoric.
- Question the "Official" Timeline: Often, the reasons given for a war or a policy change at the time are not the reasons that show up in declassified documents thirty years later.
- Study the Vice Presidents: If Wallace taught us anything, it's that the person "one heartbeat away" can change the course of human history.
Oliver Stone didn't set out to make a balanced documentary. He set out to make a counter-argument. Whether you end up agreeing with him or wanting to throw your remote at the TV, he succeeds in making you think about the power of the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.
Start by watching the first episode on World War II. It’s the most controversial and, arguably, the most important for understanding the rest of his thesis. If you can handle his take on the atomic bomb, you’re ready for the rest of the ride. Use the book's extensive bibliography to find original source materials, such as the diaries of Henry Stimson or the private letters of Harry Truman, to see the raw data Stone used to build his case.
Key Takeaways for Deeper Research
- The Wallace Theory: Investigate the 1944 Democratic National Convention. It’s one of the most pivotal "what if" moments in political history.
- Nuclear Diplomacy: Look into the work of Gar Alperovitz regarding the decision to use the atomic bomb.
- The Dulles Brothers: Read The Brothers by Stephen Kinzer for a more in-depth look at the CIA/State Department duo that Stone critiques.
- Post-War Japan: Research the "Reverse Course" policy in occupied Japan to see how the U.S. shifted from democratization to building an anti-communist bulwark.
Understanding this perspective doesn't mean you have to reject everything you've learned before, but it does mean you'll never look at a standard history textbook the same way again. The real history of any nation is always more complicated, darker, and more human than the myths we create to protect our collective ego.