Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got… (2007)

Whoa...a must read for anyone who loves history but need to hear multiple perspectives. It is important that we investigate what we have taken as fact because there are always multiple sides/perspectives. ( )

I had a hard time getting into this book. I hoped that the second chapter would be better, but he continued to harp on the the same theme of all the bad things that happened under the hands of our "heroes." True or not, I just didn't get into it. ( )

Lies My Teacher Told Me takes several chapters to delve into fascinating historical subjects, focusing especially on the neglected narratives of two particular groups: African Americans and Native Americans. I thoroughly enjoyed the debunking of the reconstruction corruption myth, and the attention paid (and due) to John Brown. The book challenged me to wonder what an American History would look like if it didn't favor white history over all others, and took an honest assessment of the contributions of Native Americans, as well as African slaves, to the creation of what we now know as the United States. The book also introduced me to a couple of concepts that had eluded me, but are awe inspiring.

Tri-Racial Isolates, for example, were the bands of escaped African slaves and poor whites who joined up with the nearly plague-obliterated Native Americans to resist the expansion of the imperial project of the United States, and played a major role however other-ized they were by the dominant narrative of frontier savages. These people were at times called Seminoles, Cimarrons, Maroons, and other names.

The Requirement was a document read, in Spanish, to populations of Native Americans as they were met by the Spaniards that exposes the utter self-conscious brutality of the conquest of the Americas: "But, if you do not [...convert to Christianity immediately...:], and maliciously make delay in it, I certify to you that, with the help of God, we shall powerfully enter into your country, and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can [...:] we shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of them, and as such shall sell and dispose of them [...:] we shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, as to vassals who do not obey, and refuse to receive their lord."

But I think the most useful parts of the book weren't the pop history re-telling of the stories, which after all can be found in many other forms elsewhere, but the study of how we are affected by this loss of history, and glimpses of what our history would be if we took the positions of those other than the Europeans when composing our nations' history. I am struck by the Vietnam exercise that the author did with his undergraduate class, where because of their socialization and their relative allegiance to the upper classes, they believed that the more poorly educated were hawks, when in fact the opposite was true. The use of education as building allegiance and socializing youth is an important concept to take away from this book.

The book also took careful assessment of the day-to-day resistance of students to learning caustic and false material. As the author states, "we must salute young people for more than mere ignorance. This is resistance raised to a high level." Students rarely do the work required of them, preferring instead to do the bare minimum, slowing the pace of the class with work slow-downs and evasion techniques. By literally refusing to learn even the most basic facts put forth in the toxic classes of US History, students all over the US have opposed the whitewashing of their own history, whether they knew they were doing it or not. Day-to-day resistance doesn't threaten the system, but it does grind the system to a crawl.

The book told how high school students today loathe history as dead facts and drop it from their curriculum as soon as they get the chance, never to pick it up again. I can remember my senior year of high school being totally delighted by the new-found ability to drop history in favor of yet another lab science class. This is pretty ironic, given that as soon as I realized what an amazing source of inspiration and strength history was, I was constantly reading history books, and taking college-level classes. In contrast to the book's author's recommendations, however, it took being involved in struggle against first the Iraq War, and then against capitalism and the state, in order for me to get interested in history. After months of worrying that no one had ever attempted to uproot the vicious system we are living in today like I was attempting, I happened upon the book A People's History of the United States, and it provided and still provides no end of comfort and courage.

When my parents recommended this book to me, they told me that it helped them understand my perspective on the world and specifically of US History. That is a pretty resounding endorsement, given that whereas my mother has always been pretty open to learning things about US History that detracted from the dominant narrative fairy-tale, my father's position has ossified (as wealthier older men's politics tend to do) around liberal democrat dogma and the realm of the "politically possible." That he took the time and chance, when one day I left it at their house, to burn the audio CDs and then transfer it to my ipod, and then insist I listen to it, is a testament to the book's ability to reach even skeptical audiences.

Available (e-book style) at:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22590218/Lies-My-Teacher-Told-Me ( )

This was an enjoyable book that displays the underlying politics of printing a History textbook. Along with that, the book also discusses the whitewashing of history to preserve the status quo and not hurt feelings. It does this by alluding to things but not explicitly stating them in 18 high school level history texts that the author reviews. The texts referred to spread lies and outright misinformation. It almost seems as though taking High School Level United States History is a massive waste of time and resources.

This is further illustrated by the fact that once these students get to college, they commonly have to unlearn what they have learned. Rather than understanding that History is pretty much guesswork from primary sources, they are taught that Rote recitation of facts and dates is the only thing necessary to be a historian or to prove that you know history at all. There are many scholars that just throw up their hands and admit that they don't know.

Most of the books reviewed have a few problems; they are commonly over 600 pages in length, they focus on the wrong idea, they misrepresent the facts, and worst of all they make history seem boring.

So one of the things that history books do is remove the flaws from former Statesmen or Presidents. Take Woodrow Wilson for instance. There is no doubt that he did a lot of good things, but Wilson was also a horrible and unapologetic racist. He was the one that started Segregation in the Federal Government and indirectly encouraged the KKK. He also instituted the Federal Income Tax, so you have Wilson to thank for that too if you don't like Taxes in the US Government.

Talking about Columbus doesn't count since I already knew how much of a terrible person he was. In any case, if you only read your High School History text, this will be an illuminating and enjoyable experience. I really wish I could remember the Textbook that I used as a Sophomore in High School, but that is neither here nor there. ( )

Loewen was on a mission when he wrote this book. But why does that have to be a bad thing? He admits his biases right off so the reader can take it all into account. I did, and Loewen is right to be angry, confused and saddened by the state of secondary history education.

The bulk of 'Lies' is his comparison of leading American history textbooks with the current debates and, yes, facts that comprises modern history.

The textbooks uniformly fail at their task of providing an engaging and thought-provoking narrative of history. Loewen goes on to point out how the blandly optimistic white-washing of history done by these books turns kids, and future adults, away from the subject.

In some cases the omissions are not terribly important and in many ways Loewen may be overstating his case to suit his agenda as other reviews have pointed out - but does it matter if he has an agenda, an axe to grind, when the issue is this serious? Somebody needed to say something, and we all should continue to demand more.

Loewen's self-confessed white male guilt to the contrary, it's plain that history textbooks are still euro-centric, incoherent, irrelevant and stuffed full of useless 'extras' that bury any redeeming value in the main text that might still be there. I remember using a couple of the textbooks that Loewen reviews and, thank God, I had high school teachers who ignored much of it, but I can still remember the insipid study questions, the glossing over of numerous events and figures, Andrew Jackson definitely comes to mind.

Concessions have been made in the past decade, but the problem persists. The authors don't care, the publishers want a marketable product, states want to see their heroes mentioned and idolized, teachers want study guides and multimedia that theoretically will attract students' interest. Students are left not wanting to hear any of it.

Most of what made the real heroes of American history heroic - their personal struggles, their conflicted ideology, their triumph over obstacles, including those they brought on themselves, are pressed out and confined to little boxes in margins.

History doesn't have to be taught this way. ( )