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A review by patspencer
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
3.0
This is an interesting look at the sanitization of history in American textbooks. It demonstrates something that I guess the author thinks we are all too ignorant to know--that people who rise to notoriety may have other, and possibly negative aspects, to their behavior or attitudes.
I enjoyed learning such things as the history of the symbol of the eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch is a symbol of the Iroquois League and Ali's statement about his refusal to serve in the Vietnam War. However, I did not enjoy his lack of setting history in the norms of the day rather than judging them by current norms and expectations. Nor did I appreciate what I and others in my book club took as condescending comments regarding high school history teachers.
Perhaps some of these issues were covered at the end of the book, but I must admit that I was off-put by his attitude and will not finish.
I enjoyed learning such things as the history of the symbol of the eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch is a symbol of the Iroquois League and Ali's statement about his refusal to serve in the Vietnam War. However, I did not enjoy his lack of setting history in the norms of the day rather than judging them by current norms and expectations. Nor did I appreciate what I and others in my book club took as condescending comments regarding high school history teachers.
Perhaps some of these issues were covered at the end of the book, but I must admit that I was off-put by his attitude and will not finish.