A review by booksgurrsandpurrs
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen

challenging informative slow-paced

4.5

 

Their authors are consumers, not practitioners, of archaeology, ethnobotany, linguistics, physical anthropology, folklore studies, cultural anthropology, ethnohistory, and related disciplines. Pg 95

 

Indian history is the antidote to the pious ethnocentrism of American exceptionalism, the notion that European Americans are God's chosen people. Indian history reveals that the U.S. and its predecessor British colonies have wrought great harm in the world. We must not forget this - not to wallow in our wrongdoing, but to understand and to learn that we might not wreak harm again. (Pg 134)

 

The author discusses not only the outdated textbooks in American classrooms, but the backtracking of factual historical events. Historical figures are posed as heroes with no nuance or blemishes to their character, Who is the intended audience, who authors the material and the deceptive framing of language to rationalize the States past wrongdoings. This is not just a case of outdated textbooks, but also re-publications , backtracking historical knowledge, and victim blaming. Financial and international political interference is posed as a humanitarian endeavor. Historical and modern events lack context; Why did an event happen and what were the consequences? Ultimately, lies of omission are a key factor.