Pairing A Patriot's History and A People's History makes for some interesting perspective. They don't really offer explicit points/counterpoints, but they certainly frame things differently over similar time periods (which cover America's coming of age to a powerful world presence).
I am wary of A People's History myself, as he tends to pick his conclusions first, then cherry-pick anecdotes to support those conclusions. These articles are good overviews of some of the issues:
While it may be interesting to pair A People's History with A Patriot's History, it is like watching a news network interview where they pull in the "person from the left" and "person from the right" to argue at each other. One is usually better off hearing a single person who acknowledges both sides of the issue.
A People’s History is ~800 pages and clips along at a good pace. I don’t know that you can go much shorter with an overview of such a long period without sacrificing a lot of substance. I’d highly recommend making the investment into A People’s History - easily one of the most significant histories of America - and Howard Zinn’s other work if you end up appreciating it.
You can read it online at the link below if you want to dip in without too much commitment. It's quite an easy read, targeted at high-school level, which you may or may not find annoying:
http://historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html
Howard Zinn's History Lessons: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/howard-zinns-history...
Undue Certainty: Where Howard Zinn's A People's History Falls Short: https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/Wineburg...
While it may be interesting to pair A People's History with A Patriot's History, it is like watching a news network interview where they pull in the "person from the left" and "person from the right" to argue at each other. One is usually better off hearing a single person who acknowledges both sides of the issue.