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Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
neladon's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
"The antidote to feel-good history is not feel-bad history but honest and inclusive history."
Lies My Teacher Told Me is a startling look into how American history is taught or rather manipulated into an overbearing white eurocentric view and bleached of meaning and context. Loewen highlights how history textbooks present bland and disconnected series of events that ultimately do little to bridge how the past lays the foundation and shapes our future and how damaging this "education" is for students and for society at large.
This book blew me away and I think it is definitely one that everyone should read. Even nearly 30 years from its first publication it speaks volumes.
Lies My Teacher Told Me is a startling look into how American history is taught or rather manipulated into an overbearing white eurocentric view and bleached of meaning and context. Loewen highlights how history textbooks present bland and disconnected series of events that ultimately do little to bridge how the past lays the foundation and shapes our future and how damaging this "education" is for students and for society at large.
This book blew me away and I think it is definitely one that everyone should read. Even nearly 30 years from its first publication it speaks volumes.
erinlcrane's review against another edition
3.0
I almost feel bad about giving this 3 stars because I think there’s a time and a place for it. I’ve just read and watched other things that introduced me to most of this information already, so I was largely bored.
One of the reviews I saw said this is an exchange of wrong trivia for right trivia, and that’s a good description. And the result is boring ☺️ As he notes later in the book, students don’t remember a bunch of factoids easily. I think he delivers factoids because he spends much of the book correcting what history books teach… which is factoids.
I do appreciate his core idea - that our grade school history books are currently nationalistic to the point of falsifying and hiding important information.
I got the most out of the chapter about how history textbook publishing works. I didn’t know much of what he shared there, so I found it enlightening.
One of the reviews I saw said this is an exchange of wrong trivia for right trivia, and that’s a good description. And the result is boring ☺️ As he notes later in the book, students don’t remember a bunch of factoids easily. I think he delivers factoids because he spends much of the book correcting what history books teach… which is factoids.
I do appreciate his core idea - that our grade school history books are currently nationalistic to the point of falsifying and hiding important information.
I got the most out of the chapter about how history textbook publishing works. I didn’t know much of what he shared there, so I found it enlightening.
wyvernfriend's review against another edition
4.0
Probably more interesting if you're from the US, Irish textbooks probably suffer from similar problems.
my_name_is_jess's review
5.0
This was an eye-opening and enlightening read that challenged conventional narratives in American history and addressed how we are taught history as students in the United States. This was beautifully researched and also offers a refreshing (but nuanced) perspective on a number of historical events.
Perhaps most importantly, this book is accessible, making complex historical issues understandable and compelling. It brings to light the shortcomings of traditional textbook publishing and while I was aware of the sad state of history education in the US, I was shocked to learn how deep the problems run.
Audiobook narration: 4/5
Perhaps most importantly, this book is accessible, making complex historical issues understandable and compelling. It brings to light the shortcomings of traditional textbook publishing and while I was aware of the sad state of history education in the US, I was shocked to learn how deep the problems run.
Audiobook narration: 4/5
hardcover_hardon's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25