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1.03k reviews for:
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
James W. Loewen
4.04 AVERAGE
1.03k reviews for:
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
James W. Loewen
4.04 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Violence
challenging
informative
medium-paced
informative
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Zeer fascinerende filering van de geschiedenisboeken die in Amerika worden gebruikt bij het middelbare onderwijs. Zoals je uit de titel van dit boek kunt afleiden: dat zit niet echt lekker, met die boeken.
"When you're publishing a book, if there's something that is controversial, it's better to take it out", aldus een van de uitgevers.
"The result is a treatment of the recent past along the line suggested by Thumper's mum: 'If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all.'" aldus de schrijver van dit boek ...
Door het onderwerp wel heel erg op Amerika gericht (duh), maar omdat het goed uitlegt wat de geschiedenisboeken fout doen (en hoe het wel zit) ook nog eens inhoudelijk zeer leerzaam.
Nu maar hopen dat het in Nederland niet zo erg is :-)
"When you're publishing a book, if there's something that is controversial, it's better to take it out", aldus een van de uitgevers.
"The result is a treatment of the recent past along the line suggested by Thumper's mum: 'If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all.'" aldus de schrijver van dit boek ...
Door het onderwerp wel heel erg op Amerika gericht (duh), maar omdat het goed uitlegt wat de geschiedenisboeken fout doen (en hoe het wel zit) ook nog eens inhoudelijk zeer leerzaam.
Nu maar hopen dat het in Nederland niet zo erg is :-)
Ever since I was 10 and my dad told me the shocking true story of Thanksgiving, I have taken a personal interest in the shameful parts of history that they don’t tell you about in school. So as a vehement detractor of censorship and sugarcoating the truth, I was always going to like this book.
The author [a:James W. Loewen|8458|James W. Loewen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201179473p2/8458.jpg] covers a variety of topics from American history to dissect, including the genocides ordered by Christopher Columbus, the racism of some of our most famous presidents, our rarely-mentioned dark involvement with Haiti, and even the Communist beliefs of Helen Keller. I’d heard some of these stories before, but definitely not all of them. Learning about these topics was downright mind-blowing- particularly the state of race relations over time. We tend to think about it in very simple terms (i.e., everyone was racist before the 1960s, and then it got way better), but of course it was much more complicated than that. In any case, Loewen provides a lot of food for thought and presents our history from a significantly more interesting perspective than our schools do.
Something worth mentioning about this book is that the title is misleading. Its main purpose is not actually to bust myths and teach you real history. That is certainly part of it, but only insofar as it supports Loewen’s main idea- that we need to change the way we write our history books. Most of this book is actually devoted to comparing twelve popular textbooks and discussing how they use blind patriotism, lies of omission, and the deification of important historical figures to make U.S. history boring and PC. Loewen goes into the process of how these books are published, how educational boards review and censor the truth to “protect” our youth, and the storytelling devices they use to make more sympathetic characters out of flawed men. This is compelling material, but not quite what the book's title promised.
I learned a lot from this book- it reignited my interest in history, and taught me many things I did not know. I wish it had taught me a little more and focused less on the flaws of our educational systems, but I still think it’s an enlightening read. 8.5/10
The author [a:James W. Loewen|8458|James W. Loewen|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201179473p2/8458.jpg] covers a variety of topics from American history to dissect, including the genocides ordered by Christopher Columbus, the racism of some of our most famous presidents, our rarely-mentioned dark involvement with Haiti, and even the Communist beliefs of Helen Keller. I’d heard some of these stories before, but definitely not all of them. Learning about these topics was downright mind-blowing- particularly the state of race relations over time. We tend to think about it in very simple terms (i.e., everyone was racist before the 1960s, and then it got way better), but of course it was much more complicated than that. In any case, Loewen provides a lot of food for thought and presents our history from a significantly more interesting perspective than our schools do.
Something worth mentioning about this book is that the title is misleading. Its main purpose is not actually to bust myths and teach you real history. That is certainly part of it, but only insofar as it supports Loewen’s main idea- that we need to change the way we write our history books. Most of this book is actually devoted to comparing twelve popular textbooks and discussing how they use blind patriotism, lies of omission, and the deification of important historical figures to make U.S. history boring and PC. Loewen goes into the process of how these books are published, how educational boards review and censor the truth to “protect” our youth, and the storytelling devices they use to make more sympathetic characters out of flawed men. This is compelling material, but not quite what the book's title promised.
I learned a lot from this book- it reignited my interest in history, and taught me many things I did not know. I wish it had taught me a little more and focused less on the flaws of our educational systems, but I still think it’s an enlightening read. 8.5/10
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I thought I grew up with a great education, but after reading the book it became clear how little I was taught. I'd recommend this book to anyone curious about the world, not simply history buffs. It's an enlightening read for anyone curious to know more about our country's history and the political turmoil that has shaped it. Definitely will pass this book along to friends, family, and hopefully it's knowledge to my kids someday.