This book certainly has some important points, and much of it is interesting and informative. The central premise that our textbooks are biased to color history is well supported. However, as one can surmise from the less glowing reviews, the author rants way too much, and much of the book is repeating the same point over and over. By the end of the book, I was quite ill from the hurling of pieties from the mountain.

This book is a must read. After finishing this book I immediately bought several copies for friends and relatives. I was outraged to find just how much I have been lied to and how these lies and omissions have changed my world view. This was an eye opener.

I can not praise this book enough.

This book was in good condition and I received it in a timely manner. HOWEVER, the book I intended to purchase and the one I received were not one in the same. The seller listed the old version of the book - which contains less information, is a few years old, and has a different cover than the one pictured on the product page.

This paperback book is "dedicated to all American history teachers who teach against their textbooks". That claims all the textbooks are wrong but any history teacher who goes against them is right. How can that be? Who is James W. Loewen? This book does not give his background (except on the back cover). Its 444 pages cover many topics. Loewen seems to take a contrary view to Official History by presenting another point of view. Is he motivated by contrariness? Schoolbooks are a product designed to meet the needs of their customers to educate and train the young who grow into adults. Their minds and thinking are controlled by education. The author of this book also wants to control the minds of his readers. The young and naive may be impressed with these essays. Note the irony in the title! Only the knowledgeable will recognize the errors in this book if they choose to read it.

How reliable is Loewen? On page 195 he states "thousands of white Southerners volunteered" to join Sherman but cites no references. The northern counties of Alabama were pro-Union and provided a cavalry that served as Sherman's bodyguard. Many captured prisoners switched sides ("Galvanized Yankees"). Sherman was a former banker and president of a Louisiana college who sympathized with slavery for cotton production. I don't know the percentages of Southerners who were pro-Union or Northerners who were pro-Confederacy. Loewen's nonsense about "ideological strengths" is pure bullspit given the massive manufacturing strength in the North, its railroads, shipping, and politics. Some say the North won because of its income tax and greenback to pay the costs of war. Its grain and petroleum earned more money in Europe than the limited cotton trade. Perhaps the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected a statue to the Confederate dead in Camp Randall Wisconsin because of a prisoner of war camp (p.196)? The Union recruited Confederate prisoners to serve in the Indian Wars in Minnesota and westwards ("Galvanized Yankees").

Loewen didn't do his homework in calling the XIV Amendment a "shining jewel", or demonstrates his bias and error. Other writers have commented on the word "persons" (p.197). That "similar legislation", the so-called Equal Rights Amendment is really a Gay Marriage Amendment. What is Loewen thinking? Why is there nothing in this book about Prohibition? Is America the land of opportunity and equality (p.213)? Don't the history books of other countries also have a positive outlook (p.281)? Chapter 9 discusses the reports on the Vietnam War and shows Loewen's faults: "the War of 1812 lasted only half as long as the Vietnam War" (p.295). There was no declared "Vietnam War" and no peace treaty. There is censorship in the media then and now; you have to search for the truth. Some obscure publications with more news may have slanted opinions. Comparing textbooks has little meaning for people who are not on a Board of Education or can't pick and choose among corporate offerings. [There is no mention of kickbacks to those who choose the books.] Most people get their "history" from Hollywood entertainment. [One poll years ago found people who remembered "Marshal Dillon" of Dodge City; he was a fictitious character on TV.] Why is there no book to answer those six questions (p.254)? Aren't teachers the employees of the school system (p.256)? "To raise a moral question would come across as a violation of classroom norms" (p.256)? Should children be allowed to think for themselves (p.257)? The last paragraph explains the mission of the history books (pp.257-258): they don't prevent the initiation of the next imperialist war. Your opinion may differ.

This is a great book, offers some different perspectives on some major American myths. Certainly an excellent companion to most major texts on American history.

Very good read, bares the truth to our history, a very disapointing history, I recommend anyone who wants the real truth about our history to please read this book. Its an eye opener...

It's terribly sad that a person so ignorant was able to find a publisher to put this tirade in print. It shows how truly low American publishing has fallen.

When I was in school, history was one of the most boring topics on the menu. The books were dry as dust and the "learning process" was little more than rote memorization. As a senior, I finally encountered one good teacher who went off the curriculum. That changed my life, and I took a degree (as well as additional graduate work) in history.

When I saw this book, I was stunned. I couldn't believe I'd missed the first edition and eagerly picked up the second. It's excellent. It doesn't follow the public-school model of discussing only positive aspects of American History, while discounting anything negative that might upset parents or kids. It shows where we've been -- warts and all.

This is the way history should be taught in schools. As it is, we're lying to the kids to "protect" them from inconvenient facts. This does no one any good. To this day, I encounter people who (for example) firmly believe Colonial America was an egalitarian, religious paradise when this is obviously not the case. I always wondered why they were unable to let go of these beliefs in the face of other evidence. Then I read this book and understood. All they knew was what they learned from the really horrible texts used in public schools.

And this is not a "liberal rewriting" of history, as some others have claimed. The author provides exhaustive footnotes and other references from primary materials to support his points. The difference between this and public school texts is that the latter are forced to tread a narrow political line, and consequently discard any distressing or negative data in favor of dumbed-down pablum that's acceptable to school boards.

Throw away your textbooks except as studies in deception and childish delusion. This is real history. Read it, learn, and understand.

I purchased this book years ago and I still have it. I purchased it after high school (catchy title - what can I say) and have been a history fan ever since. This book should be required reading. Who decided that dry facts and dates are what should comprise a history class? History becomes fun and fascinating when you move past the whitewashed versions of people and truly examine their motivation, inner demons and flaws. I have gone on to read a multitude of history books and continue to search for the soul in people who have accomplished things that aren't regulated to footnotes.

If you've never had in interest in history and remember cringing at the site of your 1000-page textbook and droll high school American History teacher, this book will engage and enthrall you.

Even people with a profound interest in history and some historians will learn a thing or two from this eye-opening Loewen account of how and why history textbooks failed us as children and continue to fail children K-12 today.

This is an excellent book. I listened to most of it during a long drive. It kept my attention without overwheleming me so I could drive safely. The information presented is informative and will change your perspective on a number of issuse in American history.

I was extremely disappointed in this book. I don't argue with the majority of what the author has to say, or most of his information, but it seems as if every other paragraph he's telling you why misinformation is a bad thing, how you've been duped, his opinion on why you've been duped, and what you should be doing about it. Not a bad idea in small doses, however, the non-stop rhetoric distracts from the information he's providing. I found the book tiring after a mere 50 pages.

If you've read nothing but history textbooks from high school, a lot of the information contained within these pages might surprise you, as well as keep you interested. If you're a history buff there's not a lot new here.

I don't dispute the author's basic message, only his seeming determination to repeat it ad nauseam. Do yourself a favor and read the intro, absorb the premise, look for your own primary sources (Compare, compare, compare!) and easier-to-digest secondary sources, then as the author seems to recommend--think it through for yourself.

I must begin by saying that the author has some very valid points to make...actually, about 4 or 5. The points are then belaboured and repeated to the point where you think: "Didn't he already say this three times already?". This book came out during the very popular, "everything is so dammed Eurocentric" sentiment bandwagon of the 90s. The question is whether you wish to teach kids to be so incredibly cynical as a learning foundation. It's a bit like reading a book on the world by Abbie Hoffman. There's truth in there somewhere but you have to filter out the ranting--and there's a lot of that! To be honest, the truth is probably somewhere in between.

My U.S. History teacher taught on this form of work... but to have it all down in writting to review and show to other people, or on hand for quotes... I love the quotations Loewen uses at the beginning of each chapter, and the reference given to each textbook he reviewed... and if you thought U.S. History was boring, it was because you were not told the truth. So get this book and learn the reality you were lied to about.

I want to focus on one particular aspect of this wonderful book; the description of the typical high school history textbooks. Looking back at the texts I realize that for an adult to even want to continue reading non-fiction after having to go through the bland, washed out, noncommital non narrative that is American high school history is a wonder in itself. He did a pretty good job of describing just how high school text books portray events and it's no wonder I never connected with the text; there was nothing to connect with.

While high school history textbooks aren't a major authority on history, they are the only history most of the US citizens will receive and at least partially remember. What they will come to learn slowly, too slowly, over time is that most of the attitude taken in these books is dangerously biased and sometimes all out wrong.

It can be dry in some parts but just fast forward if you think your done with the topic. You may miss some interesting things though so just try and sit through all of it.

Recommended before teaching any history course.

I recently completed the Introduction to Sociology; and my professor suggested this book. Because I respected his way of teaching, I took his advice and bought the book. This book is indeed a treasure. There is probably no discipline more important than history; because everything and everyone has a history. A doctor can't properly treat you without knowing your medical history. To understand anything or anyone you must first know their or its history. This society has spent an inordinate amount of time lying to the people; for whatever reason; so very few of us are aware of the importance of history. This book is a must; not only for adults, but children as well. This is a treasure, and I am not going to apologize for being redundant.

The book is absolutely a must read. I highly recommend it, though I have a few issues with it. Here is one:

"We must not congratulate ourselves that our society now treats everyone fairly and manifests attitudes that allow accurate interpretations of the past."

I don't know what planet he lives on, but this is not the reality in my world and the folks I know personally. There is no such things as equality. Big Sistah Pat

"the problem of Reconstruction was integrating Confederates, not African Americans, into the new order." Since the textbooks find it hard to say anything really damaging about white people, their treatment of why Reconstruction failed lack clarity." True dat! True dat - Big Sistah Pat

"When the present investigator started his inquiry, the preconception was that it had to be focused on the Negro people.....But as he proceeded in his studies into the Negro problem, it became increasingly evident that little, if anything, could be scientifically explained in terms of peculiarities of the Negroes themselves.....The Negro problem is predominantly a white......problem." Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma

Problems:

I was relatively pleased with the author until he came to Lincoln. His assessment of Lincoln and Black folks was pure garbage. He made Lincoln to out to the friends of my ancestors. Lincoln hated them. He did not want to emancipate blacks. If they had to be emancipated he wanted them to be shipped off to Haiti, S America, and /or the African continent. He wanted them out of America. Unfortunately for him, the government did not have the resources to make this happen. The emancipation proclamation did not free black folks. The Lincoln myth has been propagated throughout America, the same as the myth that Columbus discovered America.

This is the reason I can only give the book a solid four stars. However, it is absolutely worth reading. However, I would encourage everybody to read Lerone Benett's Lincoln Forced Into Glory. If you would like to know how he really felt about the folks of African descent in his own words. I was disappointed in the author for trying to perpetuate the Lincoln lie.

I loved reading this book. It caused me to stop and think about some of the things I learned in High School.

I just bought my 2nd copy to give to a relative. I really love this book and I plan to save it for our daughter to read later on.

This book really is what is made out to be on the cover "Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong." Loewen points out many of the inacuracies taught in the American history classroom in a way that is enlightening for any citizen. The book is broken down into thematic chapters that help any student of history conceptualize the issues being dealt with at that time.

The points the author makes are fair, important and, up to a point, interesting. But the book seems to be sold more as an anecdotal "here's the history you don't know" when it's really more of a "here's how a conservative, pro-European, America-can-do-no-wrong bias has become the foundation of much of the teaching of US history." So it wasn't as fun a book as I expected it to be. And, after a while, I wanted to yell "okay, okay, I agree with you! Just stop arguing at me. I get it."

A very interesting book as the author's main premise is that many standard school history books provide superficial history and quite often only put a positive spin on all subjects whether actions by the government (Vietnam) or individuals such as Lincoln and Woodrow Wilson. For example, he debunks the importance of Columbus and explains why modern Native Americans despise Columbus as one who was very harsh to Indians he encountered and he documents that fairly well and he contrasts his facts with what is typically printed virtually as pabulum in several history books he quotes. Other contrasts include the image of John Brown as a violent religious fanatic in contrast to being a fervent abolitionist, Lincoln as doing what was politically expedient regarding race relations and slavery, Woodrow Wilson's support of the Klan and segregation of government employees, the post Civil War treatment of blacks in America that was frequently and geographically severe and the U.S. government's questionable involvement in Vietnam. A number of the points the author makes are fascinating and in particular the post Civil War race relations needs to be told as the "Jim Crow" laws were very harsh and discriminatory. The criticisms of the book lie in that it tends to be too negative and part of the culture of total destroying all heroes. The book would be much better served to discuss the relative positive points of those in our history with more balance. For example, Columbus was harsh to many Indians he encountered but most if not all the Conquistadors were extraordinary cruel to the Indians particularly Desoto. Columbus is not exempt from those cruelties but there is evidence that he may not have been directly involved in them certainly to the extent of others of his vain. The author does show some individuals very positively such as Helen Keller who's early modern controversial politics were deemed unworthy to mention. Lastly, I was more interested in the historical nuggets that the author writes about and became a little tired of the time out documentation of all the school books' with weak descriptions, I got the point early and would have preferred limited references to these public books as time went on as the history was much more interesting. This is a very good book but emphasizes too many of mankind's warts without balance, thus not for the faint of heart. A greater mix of human positives would have enhanced the book.

Any serious or semi-serious student of American history will be horrified by high school textbooks on the subject. Apart from their bias, they are utterly unreadable. They suffer from ADD more than the kids do. They're all over the place and they make no point at all, let alone inspire or evoke any normal response. They're despicable. So this dissection of textbooks from the point of view of their historical inaccuracy is to be praised and enjoyed. Nobody who sits down and reads books would ever sit down and read a textbook. Why would you waste your time?

My question is based on a much more cynical viewpoint. It seems to me that no tribe, religion or nation ever tells the truth about its origins. How could they? No one is going to be willing to sacrifice their life, the only thing they've got and God's miraculous gift, for a second rate tribe, religion or nation. You're going to be willing to die on some pavement or in the mud some strange place because of a conviction you have that your death is worthwhile, that it serves some greater purpose. No one is going to be willing to believe that it is sensible to sacrifice his life to perpetuate a manipulative, slave driving oligarchy. No, you want to believe that the nation exists and that it's good and that it appreciates this incredible sacrifice.

It doesn't.

Nations eat us for breakfast.

So history has always been national mythology, not a factual account. It seems to me that a factual account would be even more intolerable than that implied here in this revelatory book. The truth is one group kills another just the way one animal kills another, or, as with the ants, uses another. There is not much to feel exalted about. The people who are squished by your progress are just as much God's creations as you are.

We are at a dead end. The problem for those who hope civilization may survive is much bigger than history textbooks. It's a question of what a human being is, what it can be, whether there is any hope at all.

The price beats what most college bookstores charge. I always reccommend purchasing online it could cut the cost of the book in half. However if your going to purchase your college book online you should visit the college bookstore and find out what the instructor requires for the class a few weeks ahead of time so you dont get stuck paying for expedited shipping.

Loewen should have titled his book, Lies the History Book Told Me. He obviously hasn't been inside a high school history class to see what goes on. The US History team at my school decided to read this as a way, we thought, to gain new information. Instead, what we got was an opinionated critique of history books and accusations that aren't true in any of our classrooms. Perhaps a brand new teacher, who doesn't know anything and teaches straight from a book, might fall prey to some of what Mr. Loewen says, but, in over thirty years of teaching, I haven't met any history teachers who deliver the version that Mr. Loewen suggests goes on in the classroom. The book is misleading and not helpful at all to a person who knows any history.

Here's how Loewen did it. He compiled a bunch of high school history text books, grabbed his well worn copy of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" and got to writing. As a high school teacher I'm not surprised that Loewen found his material for "America's History Texts" on the dusty shelves of the Smithsonian. Maybe he should have looked a little harder, like his local high school, than a realiance on what have to be outdated text books that support his thesis. I'm just hoping Loewen is paying royalties to Zinn, who did all this 15 YEARS PRIOR TO THIS BOOK, and did a much better job.

As a history teacher I thought this book could enlighten me, but really it only depresses me. According to Loewen, everything good about American history (and America) is a fake distortion by WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants)...wait a minute, America IS great! Columbus IS the first American hero. Washington SHOULD be honored. It IS okay for Peace Corps members to grow intellectually, even SPIRITUALLY; Vietnam WAS lost because a Democrat president escelated it, and hippy protestors gave aid and comfort to the enemy.

This miserable author is either a liberal Democrat, a former hippy, a member of Barack Obama's church, a Marxist, or all of the above. Well, I'll just pray and ask God to forgive him for wasting a bit of my life by reading "Lies My Teacher Told Me."

A must have for any history buff who is seeking the truth. I purchased this book for a class and wish I would have heard about this book many, many years ago!

Who can argue that high school history is not boring? I would say it is meant to be that way.

On pp 305 Dr Loewen quotes Jonathan Kozol: "School is in business to produce reliable people." Here he is close to the essence of the matter: School is in business to produce reliable workers.

Kids are taught to show up on time and do what they're told. They do everything in groups and teams, not independently. This is designed to mimic the work environment which awaits them when they graduate. They are most especially not taught to think critically of anything, including their country's past. That comes later if at all.

All of Dr Loewen's revelations are known, even well-known. Books like 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus and The Settlement of the Americas: A New Prehistory give us good picture of pre-Columbian America. Any recent study on the Founding Fathers will present their warts (many) as well their virtues (few). Chomsky gives us the only sensible reasons for Vietnam that I've ever seen, and why we did what we did.

The point is that the truth is out there, we just have to seek it out. Are the kids ready for it? Should it be spoon-fed to them? I say no to both questions. There should be hints, though. Primary and secondary sources should be listed, and the school library should have some of them.

If I taught history, I would say, "Let's do history instead of just read about it." I'd send them out to interview their parents -- "Dad, tell me about grandpa." They could create their own history, they'd probably get excited about it. Then we would have a little leverage, small stories to use to get into the big story.

It was wargaming that got me interested in history. There's another entry point, the fun and competition of gaming the past. It also shows the outcome was not a foregone conclusion.

There's no point crying about how dismally we teach history. Take responsibility for your kid's eduaction and teach them yourself! Take them to the library, get them into reading. That's about all you need to do, really. They'll find their own way to the truth.

Everyone in America should read this book. We all need to wake up and realize whats actually going on in our country. Don't be brain washed by textbooks!!

... that I have ever read. Every page is an eye opener. And, as the author promised in the introduction, the real story is much more interesting than the pablum found in high school textbooks.

Naturally I examined my own history education when I read this book. What startled me the most is the "revelations" Mr. Loewen provides to us did not startle me at all. My history teachers, and I think most throughout the country, made sure students knew US presidents owned slaves, Christopher Columbus did not "discover" America, and that the natives who were here before Europeans (whom, for all his PC-ness, he refers to as Indians) were all but wiped out due to violence and disease. His liberal undertones permeated throughout the book, but I nodded and went along, knowing it is always beneficial to know someone else's point of view.
And then he discussed recent history, specifically the 80s and 90s. I agreed 100% with him that teachers neglect recent history, far more concerned we memorize dates and know about the distant past. I also agreed this prevents students from understanding 20th/21st century causality. However, his philosophy (not facts) about 9/11 disturbed me. As someone who is very familiar with Islamic culture, language, and religion, it shocked me that he said that after the events of that day occured, we should have focused on what was wrong with our own policies rather than how to combat extreme Islam. This is called blaming the victim, which he says in an earlier chapter is something the winners of history do all the time. His writing moved from history to philosophy while still claiming that he offered an unbiased look at the truth of American history. What in fact happened is that he simply went all the way to the other side of the spectrum. I agreed our country needs to look at its textbooks and revise how history is taught, but he claims most textbooks turn history into pro-American propaganda, turn human beings into gods, and bore children. All he has managed to do is retain the propaganda, making it anti-American, turn human beings into White Devils that never did anything just, and discourages children from seeing the goodpoints about a country with a unique history.

Some political commentators have complained that it is fashionable to criticize American history and that the rage in the writing of textbooks in this subject is to "blame America first". Usually no evidence is given for these claims, and so they can be comfortably dismissed as lukewarm rhetoric containing no substance or validity. And this mind-numbing prattle leaves open the question as to whether American history should indeed be criticized or "blamed first" for the world's social ills. The only thing that matters in the scholarship of history, whether American or not, is the truth, the bare naked truth. Certainly one cannot expect an author/historian to be free from social and political bias, but along these lines historians have a special status, in that they must be more self-critical than those in other professions. The must endeavor to identify their biases, and tame them to the degree possible, and their goal in their writings must be to report and analyze the historical facts, and the works they produce must be their calling, not the building of their reputations. Above all, they must not be concerned with placating a particular religious, political, or ethnic group, and if a publisher objects to the content of their manuscript, they must argue vociferously for its inclusion. Failing this, it is better to remove the work from the public domain rather than have it be a loose, unfocused conglomeration of words with no factual or rational content.

This book contains claims that may provoke some to riot, if not literally then figuratively. Those readers who do not want to disturb their cognitive equilibrium are advised not to pick it up, for it holds all players in American history accountable for their acts. Some of the "heroes" of American history, such as Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and Woodrow Wilson are exposed as being villains, and even to some extent thugs or war criminals. Certainly every flag ever flown or waved has been tainted with the corpuscles of savagery against its own citizens and brutality against those that are not. The United States is no exception, and as the author shows in this book, its flag remains without blemish in the minds of many due to the content of its history textbooks. Engaging in blind sycophancy to patriotic fever, and willing to put down inkblots on paper that bear no resemblance to reality, the authors of these textbooks, who are frequently unknown in spite of the names on the books themselves, have allowed American history to be distorted to such a degree as to make it appear serene and benevolent. It is as though the American government has never done any wrong, and its citizens always reside on a lofty moral plane, one that is higher than the other peoples of the world.

But the war against Mexico, the forced relocation and slaughter of American Indian tribes, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, the horror of the American intervention in Vietnam, and many other acts of brutality by the American government, acting through some of its citizens, provide ample evidence that the history of the United States is tainted with violence and savagery. No slow-talking, calm rhetoric is going to change this, and the author argues convincingly that the inclusion of these facts in textbooks is essential to uncovering the truth, the bare naked truth, that all require to solidify their status as true citizens. Coming to grips with these facts may be painful for many, and it make take long periods of time for their minds to recover from the mental handicap induced by the textbooks of myth and lore. This book is a good start in this recovery and hopefully many like it will find their way in the desks of student and teacher alike, giving them a view of the past that is resonant with what is known; giving them a history without masks.

Some political commentators have complained that it is fashionable to criticize American history and that the rage in the writing of textbooks in this subject is to "blame America first". Usually no evidence is given for these claims, and so they can be comfortably dismissed as lukewarm rhetoric containing no substance or validity. And this mind-numbing prattle leaves open the question as to whether American history should indeed be criticized or "blamed first" for the world's social ills. The only thing that matters in the scholarship of history, whether American or not, is the truth, the bare naked truth. Certainly one cannot expect an author/historian to be free from social and political bias, but along these lines historians have a special status, in that they must be more self-critical than those in other professions. The must endeavor to identify their biases, and tame them to the degree possible, and their goal in their writings must be to report and analyze the historical facts, and the works they produce must be their calling, not the building of their reputations. Above all, they must not be concerned with placating a particular religious, political, or ethnic group, and if a publisher objects to the content of their manuscript, they must argue vociferously for its inclusion. Failing this, it is better to remove the work from the public domain rather than have it be a loose, unfocused conglomeration of words with no factual or rational content.

This book contains claims that may provoke some to riot, if not literally then figuratively. Those readers who do not want to disturb their cognitive equilibrium are advised not to pick it up, for it holds all players in American history accountable for their acts. Some of the "heroes" of American history, such as Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and Woodrow Wilson are exposed as being villains, and even to some extent thugs or war criminals. Certainly every flag ever flown or waved has been tainted with the corpuscles of savagery against its own citizens and brutality against those that are not. The United States is no exception, and as the author shows in this book, its flag remains without blemish in the minds of many due to the content of its history textbooks. Engaging in blind sycophancy to patriotic fever, and willing to put down inkblots on paper that bear no resemblance to reality, the authors of these textbooks, who are frequently unknown in spite of the names on the books themselves, have allowed American history to be distorted to such a degree as to make it appear serene and benevolent. It is as though the American government has never done any wrong, and its citizens always reside on a lofty moral plane, one that is higher than the other peoples of the world.

But the war against Mexico, the forced relocation and slaughter of American Indian tribes, the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, and many other acts of brutality by the American government, acting through some of its citizens, provide ample evidence that the history of the United States is tainted with violence and savagery. No slow-talking, calm rhetoric is going to change this, and the author argues convincingly that the inclusion of these facts in textbooks is essential to uncovering the truth, the bare naked truth, that all require to solidify their status as true citizens. Coming to grips with these facts may be painful for many, and it make take long periods of time for their minds to recover from the mental handicap induced by the textbooks of myth and lore. This book is a good start in this recovery and hopefully many like it will find their way in the desks of student and teacher alike, giving them a view of the past that is resonant with what is known; giving them a history without masks.

Lies is a great alternative to traditional history taught in public schools offering the reader an honest look into our past.

A brilliant analysis of what's wrong with American history textbooks,filled with interesting historical facts that deliver the brutal truth about Columbus, America's first 16th century settlers were Africans, the real cause of the American Revolutionary War, etc. Why, in addition to boring them to death, our current approach to teaching history corrupts students and leaves them ill-equipped to achieve modern social, political, economic and ecological solutions using the past for modeling. America's history textbooks only celebrates white, upper class achievements -- perpetuating a feeling of worthlessness among racial minorities and the poor. Throughout our history, American governments and Presidents are shown as positive, caring, hopeful, and well-meaning. Which, of course, leads educators into a deadly trap, as the students mature and begin to understand from outside sources that they are being lied to by teachers whom they should be able to trust. Why there was a war in Vietnam doesn't appear in high school history texts, but it does appear as a subject in popular rock and hip hop song lyrics.

If you love American history and seek the real story, this is the right book. Loewen's prose is superb, the pace is quick and thorough, and you walk away thirsting for more. Essentially, what's wrong with American history textbooks is what's wrong about America -- instead of dealing with the truth about the challenges we face, we are consciously detoured from one "success" to another. We are left uninformed and disarmed; yet it is a philosophical truth that we learn from mistakes not from successes.

Loewen shows the rules of textbook writing, which are entirely aimed at gaining approval by textbook evaluators, specifically those who represent major purchases, like Texas and California. Accordingly, everything that might offend anyone, is excised. The victims, of course, are our students, and ultimately, our country. What falls by the wayside is the truth. Worst of all, the textbook publishers have made history a dreadful bore, when real history engages the emotions as well as the intellect. Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me," does that!

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Book Got Wrong by James W. Loewen teaches the truth about history, giving some rather disturbing facts and percentages, such as 90% of high school history classes never even mentioning Vietnam. It brings out a non-familiar side of Helen Keller: most students are simply taught that she was a blind and deaf girl who learned how to speak, but a good number don't know that she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union, or that she sent $100 to the NAACP with a letter of support. She also supported Eugene V. Debs, the socialist candidate, in each of his presidential campaigns. Even presidents have been picked over, leaving out what I believe to be vital information, such as the fact that Woodrow Wilson's interventions in Cuba, The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Haiti helped dictators, like Batista and Trujillo. He wasn't just racist; he would frequently question the loyalty of "hyphenated Americans." Hero's such as Christopher Columbus are forced into the light; diseases such as smallpox and the bubonic plague were passed onto those that the Europeans met, which helped Europe to conquer not only the America's, but the islands of the Pacific. Columbus's intention when he set out wasn't just to explore, or even trade, but to conquest and exploit, using religion as his justification.
"Learn from the past to prepare for the future." Many people have said it, presidents, teachers, parents. But how can we learn from the past if all we get are lies? Read this book. You'll be astonished at what's been hidden from you.

THis book is great for K-12 youngsters. The price should be $4.00 because people can buy more than 1 book. LAUSD should have this in its textbook list!

This is a book that has valuable information, logical and well annotated, that is essential to understanding the history that we think we know. Teachers especially should spend time studying this to see that the history that we have been taught and find in our textbooks is insufficient and sometimes just incorrect. I recommend this book for anyone who seeks to dig beneath the surface of traditionally accepted learning to find the fascinating stories of real history.

I asked for and recieved this book and the author's other dreck about wrong history in the U.S. (roadsigns) for Christmas, 2007.

The author is wrong. The author is biased. The author doesn't care about facts; he has a message to promote.

I regret asking my relatives to spend their hard-earned money on this poorly-researched propaganda and I regret wasting what precious time I have reading it.

Can I speak any more forcefully about how rotten and disgusting this author's alternate history "history" really is? This is the sort of drivel that should get one's tenure revoked and should cause employers to fire Mr. Loewen for outright academic dishonesty.

This book should be part of the curriculum at every high school in America. Between the "establishment" histories and pop culture, we raise children who are thoroughly misinformed about what really happened in our past. In conjunction with Howard Zinn's A PEOPLE'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES (Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005) or its "young people's" versions, Loewen's iteration could render history relevant to student's lives. A personal example of Loewen's effect is that his reporting on J.Edgar Hoover's white supremacism was one of the keys I used to unlock the story of Billy Graham's undermining of Martin Luther King, Jr. in my biography, THE PRINCE OF WAR: BILLY GRAHAM'S CRUSADE FOR A WHOLLY CHRISTIAN EMPIRE (Brave Ulysses Books, 2007). I keep my copy of LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME near at hand in my office, as a quick reference on spuriousness in reporting. This book is essential.

If for no other reason, I would highly recommend this book for the expose of the average American history textbook's condescending treatment of the Native American culture and religion. Loewen quotes the passages in his considered textbooks that deal with the Native American religion and culture and rightly points out that if European religions and cultures were handled in the same sing-song tone, it would be considered offensive and insulting. He also does a marvelous job of pointing out that several Native tribes were farming settlements who were uprooted and forced into the now-stereotypical life of the nomadic hunter.

I also applaud Loewen for pointing out that these textbooks all gloss over the fact that the 'founding fathers' were - as a majority - slaveholders and it wasn't just a bunch of nameless, faceless evil Southerners who mistreated African Americans, but rather an entire country.

I somehow missed his 1995 book, upon which this volume is based. Apparently he dives into current events, discussing how the whitewashing of America's past is taking place before our eyes. Given karl Rove's fantastic comments that Congress forced the president into Iraq, it is hard to disagree with Loewen's conclusion.

It is also hard to disagree that today's school history texts are, for the most part, **** (insert whatever four letter word you find handy). As Loewen points out, if a kid of any age can sit down with a 1200 page Potter novel, and enjoy the act of reading, how difficult is to draft and publish a volume of US history, warts and all, that can do the same thing? I can tell from the opening "Publishers' comments" that Loewen struck a sensitive nerve with them and they had to attack his book the only way they could - by calling him a liberal. Loewen's point is not that history is liberal, conservative, moderate, or neocon, history is factual, and our kids don't have the opportunity to view events in ways that educate, inform, or make them think.

His review of America's corporate based aggression in the middle east have led directly to our current mess. Don't you think that learning that history may change the conversation from President Bush's ridiculous "They hate us for our freedoms" to an honest review of our attacks on Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq over the past 50 yrs. There are reasons why they hate us - because of how we have acted before.

This is a wonderful book, informative and shocking in how little we are taught about our country's past.

This is the second edition of "Lies My Teacher Told Me," updated from an earlier edition. I wish it did not have such an inflammatory title. Most of the mistakes we are taught in American History classes are not deliberate on the part of the teachers (although they do seem to be deliberate by text book authors.) Judging from Mr. Loewen's examples, the use of textbooks in American History classes in schools should be completely abandoned, and classes should be project oriented using primary source material. This can be done more easily now we have the Internet. Textbooks are so bad that history is one of the few disciplines where the more we study it, the less we know!

I consider myself pretty well read, but I was surprised by some of the facts in this book. For instance, I had thought of Woodrow Wilson as one of the "good guys" and had no idea that he segregated the federal government.

I did know that European diseases killed the Native Americans, but I didn't realize it was 90 percent of East Coast Indians. I had read Las Casas, but I hadn't realized the extent Columbus was involved in this horror. In other words there is a lot to be learned in this book if you can get past the title. It is a little shrill but a worthwhile read. People like Mr. Loewen should also remind Americans that, although George Washington had slaves, he set the precedent for treating prisoners humanely.

I have a bone to pick with all nonfiction these days. I HATE END NOTES! I want to be able to glance at the bottom of the page to learn where that information came from and any other relevant information. Now that footnotes are so easily handled by word processing programs, they should be more common. Instead, they are less common. A mystery.

Mr. Loewen feels that, if we were more accurate in our presentation of history and taught about the controversies, we would learn from history instead of being doomed to repeat it. On the other hand, perhaps he is wrong. In the past, our government sometimes did despicable things, but it always tried to keep those acts secret from the American people because we wanted to be considered the "good guys." Now it makes no pretense about it, and the American people in the 2004 election have voted to continue every un-American or unconstitutional thing the government has done. Perhaps, learning about the clay feet of our previous icons made us so cynical, that we have said, "So what?" In other words, we might turn his whole argument on its head. I would like to see some studies. Since he is a social scientist, he could initiate them.

It's Thanksgiving Day in America, a peaceful celebration I've often felt nostalgic for while living abroad. My usually quarrelsome aunts and uncles were always more gracious on the Dia de Gracias than on other, more materialistic holidays like Christmas.

The account of the "First Thanksgiving" in Dr. Loewen's book is a good deal more plausible, less chauvinistic, and more instructive in real citizenship than the mythic tale in American history textbooks. Much the same can be said for the other chapters of this forthright and amusing book. There are already more than 200 reviews of it on amazon; YOU can be thankful that I won't expatiate any more. And I am very thankful that there are honest, intelligent historians, representing different political philosophies to be sure, ready to laud and also to castigate the Americam people. Thanks, James Loewen!

I read this book and was very disappointed. It is not a book for
anyone who has studied history.
It is as simplistic and bias as a jr high history class.
My advice---give it a miss. I sold my copy on Ebay.

The book itself does not shed any light on things that most who have studied history already know. Yet it now puts the blame on teachers who are the ones trying to correct the wrongs of past teachings. Prior to 1980, a coach was hired and then stuck in history in order to "teach" history because "anyone can do that." Not so anymore. Schools are now hiring teachers who actually know history and do not have to rely on a horridly written, inaccurate, and boring textbook. Lies my teacher told me is a misnomer and shifts the blame from parents and school administrators who don't know any better. These are the people who would rather see their children win a sporting competition than see them graduate. It should be called "I should have listened to my teacher, Lies my textbook told me." Poor product with not much new information for anyone who is acquainted with history.

James W. Loewen's book "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong", despite its somewhat misleading title, is not a U.S. History debunking book such as "Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History" by Richard Shenkman. Lies My Teacher Told Me is a thoughtful historiographic piece of well-researched writing analyzing the failures of High School U.S. history textbooks and the teaching of American history in U.S. public High Schools.

James W. Loewen received his PhD in sociology from Harvard University and has taught at Tougaloo College, the University of Vermont and the Catholic University of America. Dr. Loewen spent two years at the Smithsonian researching twelve of the most common High School American History textbooks. "Lies" is a rebuke of such textbooks. Through a myriad of examples Lies My Teacher Told Me beautifully illustrates the problems with standard textbooks such as the emphasis on memorizing a disconnected string of name and date factoids, the omission of any thing controversial and portraying history as a "dead" subject in which all decisions regarding past events have been made, put to rest inside bland lifeless pages memorized in a night, regurgitated on a test in the morning, and soon after forgotten. This book has been called "politically correct" by Publishers Weekly apparently because it calls for U.S. history classes to discuss minorities, the middle and lower class throughout U.S. history. Loewen points out that typical U.S. history text books are "politically correct" in that the publishers bend over backwards to not offend whites, males, protestants, northerners, southerners, and just about anyone in between leaving us with bland history that bores everyone.

James W. Loewen's book is a "...refreshing antidote to what has passed as history in our educational system..." as professor Howard Zinn has written. Many readers may ask "what about the good things?" in regards to Loewen's dark portrayal of the treatment of the poor and disenfranchised members of society throughout American history. This book is an antidote, however if you never experienced the poison "Lies My Teacher Told Me" may seem unnecessary. If the reader has taken a well rounded high school history class discussing workers, women, minorities, technology, changing popular culture, other issues beyond the typical insular textbook AND presidents and wars, then it may seem as if Loewen is beating a dead horse. Loewen assumes that the reader has undergone a thorough absorption of pro U.S. military and political history and does a great job of explaining why we must give high school students more.

Anyone interested in education and how history should and should not be taught will love this book. However if you wish to read a pure history debunking book this is not it, try "Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History" by Richard Shenkman (or don't, as with most debunking books Shenkman plants almost as much bunk as he weeds out). Another warning, this book is heavy on historiography (the history of history). For many readers this will be there first taste of historiography (ironically one thing Loewen argues we should learn about in High School) and may leave you with a bitter experience. "Lies" is more about the history of teaching American history (historiography) then it is American history itself.

For academic historians history is a living breathing field. Historians "do" history they don't memorize it. History is a perpetually shifting field of conflicts, problems and controversy. One of "Lies" main goals is for academic history to jolt some life into the long dead history of the high school variety and it achieves it brilliantly.

I was recommended this book by a friend. I am quite a realist and pooh-pooh conspiracy theories and the like for the most part. But this is a wonderful book, with its statements backed by evidence and scientific data that make it hard to refute. Would recommend it as essential reading for everyone, not just the history buff. These are common everyday falsehoods that we need to open our eyes to.