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1.04k reviews for:
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
James W. Loewen
4.04 AVERAGE
1.04k reviews for:
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
James W. Loewen
4.04 AVERAGE
informative
fast-paced
ummm...I loved this book.
Loewen's cases on why american history textbook editors feel they need to sugarcoat events from our past (Vasco de Gama's Fountain of Youth was actually a business venture for more slaves), the reasons certain truths are left out of student's lessons (Woodrow Wilson was a raging racist, having almost single handedly removing African Americans from the White House during his presidency) and the overtly biased slant in our textbooks toward European conquests (in 1492 Columbus discovered the Americas, even though people had already been living there for centuries?) are thought provoking. They helped explain "not-right" feelings I remember having in American Government class with Mr. Dean where the textbook would glide over statements that glaringly required cause and effect reasoning (The US assisted in overthrowing Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatamala at the height of McCarthyism stating the gov't was concerned with stopping the spread of communism. The effect that's left out of the books is rioting occured with the Guatamalan people that was so angry mob-ish that our goverment sent troops into that country over a dozen times the next 12 years killing thousands on both sides.)
And what the author rights about American's sense of entitlement, consumption and progress is stupefyingly applicable to the environmental issues we are currently hearing about. Oh, it pissed me off right.
Loewen's cases on why american history textbook editors feel they need to sugarcoat events from our past (Vasco de Gama's Fountain of Youth was actually a business venture for more slaves), the reasons certain truths are left out of student's lessons (Woodrow Wilson was a raging racist, having almost single handedly removing African Americans from the White House during his presidency) and the overtly biased slant in our textbooks toward European conquests (in 1492 Columbus discovered the Americas, even though people had already been living there for centuries?) are thought provoking. They helped explain "not-right" feelings I remember having in American Government class with Mr. Dean where the textbook would glide over statements that glaringly required cause and effect reasoning (The US assisted in overthrowing Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatamala at the height of McCarthyism stating the gov't was concerned with stopping the spread of communism. The effect that's left out of the books is rioting occured with the Guatamalan people that was so angry mob-ish that our goverment sent troops into that country over a dozen times the next 12 years killing thousands on both sides.)
And what the author rights about American's sense of entitlement, consumption and progress is stupefyingly applicable to the environmental issues we are currently hearing about. Oh, it pissed me off right.
A bit repetitive at times, but really drives the important points home. A worthwhile read/listen.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I read this book at the perfect time, my senior year of high school. This book has a had a significant impact on my life and the very way that I think. The best.
Update: Re-read this (audio this time) before reading the new graphic novel. So glad this was required reading for my high school history class
I am a teacher, so I do feel I have to start by pointing out that the title is a bit misleading. The author evens admits this in the introduction. Textbooks don't give all of the information. As a result, most teachers can't give students all of the information. This book, and its predecessor, changes that game.
The information revealed in this book adds so much depth to history. I have found myself including little tidbits in my own lessons, and I'm an English teacher! I think high school students, but really students of any age, would benefit from reading this book. It not only proves itself to be a fountain of information, but it also creates a great lesson in itself for comparison to history textbooks. I definitely plan to introduce this book in my own classroom. And while the year is almost over at this point, I plan to encourage my own students to check it out for some summer reading.
The information revealed in this book adds so much depth to history. I have found myself including little tidbits in my own lessons, and I'm an English teacher! I think high school students, but really students of any age, would benefit from reading this book. It not only proves itself to be a fountain of information, but it also creates a great lesson in itself for comparison to history textbooks. I definitely plan to introduce this book in my own classroom. And while the year is almost over at this point, I plan to encourage my own students to check it out for some summer reading.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
My biggest takeaway from this book is that critical thinking is important and should be used to think about our history. History isn't just facts. It is also how we interpret and understand those facts.
3.75
A 90s read (its age can be felt in some places) that always reminds me of my own experience learning history in school. Some parts can be wordy but when the subject is interesting it’s easy to get wrapped in. Shows the value of teaching history as connected threads between the past and future.
A 90s read (its age can be felt in some places) that always reminds me of my own experience learning history in school. Some parts can be wordy but when the subject is interesting it’s easy to get wrapped in. Shows the value of teaching history as connected threads between the past and future.