Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong | James W. Loewen | Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

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Lies My Teacher To...

	Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong James W. Loewen Touchstone, 2007 - 464 pages average customer review:based on 423 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An introduction to American history without masks.

Some political commentators have complained that it is fashionable to criticize American history and that the rage in the writing of textbooks in this subject is to "blame America first". Usually no evidence is given for these claims, and so they can be comfortably dismissed as lukewarm rhetoric containing no substance or validity. And this mind-numbing prattle leaves open the question as to whether American history should indeed be criticized or "blamed first" for the world's social ills. The only thing that matters in the scholarship of history, whether American or not, is the truth, the bare naked truth. Certainly one cannot expect an author/historian to be free from social and political bias, but along these lines historians have a special status, in that they must be more self-critical than those in other professions. The must endeavor to identify their biases, and tame them to the degree possible, and their goal in their writings must be to report and analyze the historical facts, and the works they produce must be their calling, not the building of their reputations. Above all, they must not be concerned with placating a particular religious, political, or ethnic group, and if a publisher objects to the content of their manuscript, they must argue vociferously for its inclusion. Failing this, it is better to remove the work from the public domain rather than have it be a loose, unfocused conglomeration of words with no factual or rational content.

This book contains claims that may provoke some to riot, if not literally then figuratively. Those readers who do not want to disturb their cognitive equilibrium are advised not to pick it up, for it holds all players in American history accountable for their acts. Some of the "heroes" of American history, such as Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and Woodrow Wilson are exposed as being villains, and even to some extent thugs or war criminals. Certainly every flag ever flown or waved has been tainted with the corpuscles of savagery against its own citizens and brutality against those that are not. The United States is no exception, and as the author shows in this book, its flag remains without blemish in the minds of many due to the content of its history textbooks. Engaging in blind sycophancy to patriotic fever, and willing to put down inkblots on paper that bear no resemblance to reality, the authors of these textbooks, who are frequently unknown in spite of the names on the books themselves, have allowed American history to be distorted to such a degree as to make it appear serene and benevolent. It is as though the American government has never done any wrong, and its citizens always reside on a lofty moral plane, one that is higher than the other peoples of the world.

But the war against Mexico, the forced relocation and slaughter of American Indian tribes, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, the horror of the American intervention in Vietnam, and many other acts of brutality by the American government, acting through some of its citizens, provide ample evidence that the history of the United States is tainted with violence and savagery. No slow-talking, calm rhetoric is going to change this, and the author argues convincingly that the inclusion of these facts in textbooks is essential to uncovering the truth, the bare naked truth, that all require to solidify their status as true citizens. Coming to grips with these facts may be painful for many, and it make take long periods of time for their minds to recover from the mental handicap induced by the textbooks of myth and lore. This book is a good start in this recovery and hopefully many like it will find their way in the desks of student and teacher alike, giving them a view of the past that is resonant with what is known; giving them a history without masks.

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Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

A brilliant analysis of what's wrong with American history textbooks,filled with interesting historical facts that deliver the brutal truth about Columbus, America's first 16th century settlers were Africans, the real cause of the American Revolutionary War, etc. Why, in addition to boring them to death, our current approach to teaching history corrupts students and leaves them ill-equipped to achieve modern social, political, economic and ecological solutions using the past for modeling. America's history textbooks only celebrate white, upper class achievements -- perpetuating a feeling of worthlessness among racial minorities and the poor. Throughout our history, American governments and Presidents are shown as positive, caring, hopeful, and well-meaning. Which, of course, leads educators into a deadly trap, as the students mature and begin to understand from outside sources that they are being lied to by teachers whom they should be able to trust. Why there was a war in Vietnam doesn't appear in high school history texts, but it does appear as a subject in popular rock and hip hop song lyrics.

If you love American history and seek the real story, this is the right book. Loewen's prose is superb, the pace is quick and thorough, and you walk away thirsting for more. Essentially, what's wrong with American history textbooks is what's wrong about America -- instead of dealing with the truth about the challenges we face, we are consciously detoured from one "success" to another. We are left uninformed and disarmed; yet it is a philosophical truth that we learn from mistakes not from successes.

Loewen shows the rules of textbook writing, which are entirely aimed at gaining approval by textbook evaluators, specifically those who represent major purchases, like Texas and California. Accordingly, everything that might offend anyone, is excised. The victims, of course, are our students, and ultimately, our country. What falls by the wayside is the truth. Worst of all, the textbook publishers have made history a dreadful bore, when real history engages the emotions as well as the intellect. Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me," does that!

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Great listen

Lies is a great alternative to traditional history taught in public schools offering the reader an honest look into our past.

Truth be told

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Book Got Wrong by James W. Loewen teaches the truth about history, giving some rather disturbing facts and percentages, such as 90% of high school history classes never even mentioning Vietnam. It brings out a non-familiar side of Helen Keller: most students are simply taught that she was a blind and deaf girl who learned how to speak, but a good number don't know that she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union, or that she sent $100 to the NAACP with a letter of support. She also supported Eugene V. Debs, the socialist candidate, in each of his presidential campaigns. Even presidents have been picked over, leaving out what I believe to be vital information, such as the fact that Woodrow Wilson's interventions in Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Haiti helped dictators, like Batista and Trujillo. He wasn't just racist; he would frequently question the loyalty of "hyphenated Americans." Hero's such as Christopher Columbus are forced into the light; diseases such as smallpox and the bubonic plague were passed onto those that the Europeans met, which helped Europe to conquer not only the America's, but the islands of the Pacific. Columbus's intention when he set out wasn't just to explore, or even trade, but to conquest and exploit, using religion as his justification.
"Learn from the past to prepare for the future." Many people have said it, presidents, teachers, parents. But how can we learn from the past if all we get are lies? Read this book. You'll be astonished at what's been hidden from you.

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