Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong: Amazon.co.uk: James W. Loewen: Books

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present (Modern Classics)

by Howard Zinn

4.9 out of 5 stars (7) �9.53

History in Practice (Hodder Arnold Publication)

by Professor Ludmilla Jordanova

2.3 out of 5 stars (3) �13.48

What is History? with a new Introduction by Richard J Evans

by Edward Hallett Carr

4.0 out of 5 stars (9) �6.28

Uncle Tom's Cabin (Wordsworth Classics)

by Harriet Beecher Stowe

4.8 out of 5 stars (13) �1.99

Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic

by Tom Holland

4.7 out of 5 stars (62) �7.67

› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

american history

historiography

education

history

philosophy

cultural

liberal

howard zinn

textbook writing

teaching

socialism

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars People read it!, 10 Mar 2009

By	Denis Peskov - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Text Book Got Wrong (Hardcover)

I am Russian. In my short lifetime (i'm 28 only) they have re-written Russian/Soviet history textbooks already two times, changing black to white arbitrarily, whatever suited the government better.
No nation wants to look bad. But producing fairy tales and lying to yourself is not a way out. And after acknowledging all sides of your heritage you are not going to be any worser. Quite the opposite, i think.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You Know (And Don't Know) Is Wrong, 7 May 2008

By	Sordel (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The author's argument in this fascinating book is that high-school history textbooks in the U. S. - which he identifies as an instrument of social conservatism - should become more accurate and thereby become an instrument of positive social change. It's a rather specialised topic (one that might not seem of particular interest to someone who is not involved in public education in North America) yet leads to a compelling and very enjoyable book for the general reader.

Much of the book is taken up not with direct "lies" told by textbooks, but with the idea that in suppressing the truth about American history these books have suggested things that are false. To an extent, the book presents first the mythologized America of the textbook (and popular culture) and then debunks these myths with established historical information. I'd like to pretend that through general knowledge I knew most of the "corrections" but in fact most of them came as much as a surprise to me as they would have done to someone who had only had a high school education in U. S. History. I'd give some examples, but you'll have more fun reading them for yourself.

The book is not flawless. Loewen is an ideological writer, and the version of history that he advocates (one that emphasizes the positive role played by ethnic minorities, for example) is as guilty of regarding History as an instrument for social indoctrination as the one that he attacks. In Britain - where to the best of my knowledge History has not been confused with Social Studies since (at latest) the decline of the British Empire - his own assumptions may seem odd.

There are other minor blemishes. A late chapter on the Iraq War seems to have been written more with the desire to hammer another nail into the coffin of the Bush regime than to strengthen the argument of the book. Moreover, Loewen is somewhat optimistic (though perhaps broadly right) in assessing how effective some of his teaching methods might be in the classroom.

Nevertheless it is difficult to contend with two of his conclusions: that History teaching at school must become more accurate; and that students should be taught to understand that not every issue in History can be settled decisively by reference to agreed facts.

Those interested in revisionism, or those who enjoy seeing strips torn off the Stars & Stripes, will find much to enjoy in this book, but beyond this constituency it is also a thought-provoking study of how societies express social values through history and legend. The book is an easy, enjoyable read, which probably goes some way to explaining how a book on historiography turned into a major bestseller. It is also meticulously researched and could form the basis of broader and more specialised reading in its subject. Highly recommended.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I was really excited about reading this book, but....., 20 Aug 2008

By	World Traveller (Everywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Text Book Got Wrong (Hardcover)

I have just finished this book and have to wonder if I've been duped. It's a catchy title so that may have gripped me. First, I understand that to give a complete book's research for each of the subjects highlighted would make the finished product huge and probably put off a lot of readers and lose the publisher and author money. But I get the feeling that he is somewhat guilty of what he is accusing our history books of doing; picking out the bits they like and running with them, without giving enough information about some things to understand the full story. Second, we are expected to come to the same opinion as the author and I don't know why that is so important to him, but it's obvious to me that is what he is after. I thought the idea of the book was to give us the information to form our own opinions, seeing as most of us weren't there or that the information was not easily obtained through the media, etc. He complains that books we have available are wrong, but how does he know the books and articles he references are correct and why is his bias so blatant? There is truth in the statements that "History is written by the victors" and "There are two sides to every story." Give me both sides, please.

I've got a fairly open mind and I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong, but I'm not sure this was the book I wanted. I wanted unbiased facts and I didn't get them.

In summary: Much ado about information on subjects obtained by doing a bit of research yourself.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 3 customer reviews...

Listmania!

History & Myth - Some Good Reads: A list by Barry Cunningham "bazc"
Books Everyone Must Read!: A list by P R Pfeiffer
The All-Time Best Historical Books: A list by Dublinia

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Historiography
Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Study & Teaching
Books > History > World History
Books > Study Books > Teachers Resource > Education Studies & Teaching > Educational Policy & Practice
Books > Study Books > Teachers Resource > Education Studies & Teaching > History of Education

Look for similar items by subject

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.

	56% buy the item featured on this page: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong 4.0 out of 5 stars (3)
	18% buy A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present (Modern Classics) 4.9 out of 5 stars (7) �9.53
	17% buy Lies My Teacher Told Me 4.2 out of 5 stars (63)
	5% buy Guns, Germs and Steel: A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years 4.2 out of 5 stars (124) �6.97

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

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Product details

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Customer Reviews

Customer Discussions

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Listmania!

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject

Feedback

Your Recent History