About this title: Why do so many Americans have little grasp of the ideas that shaped their nation? In this groundbreaking book, Loewen not only exposes the villain--textbooks that are embarrassing combinations of blind patriotism and outright lies--but reinstates suppressed information in a fascinating chronology. 26 photos.
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Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Touchstone
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780684818863ISBN:0684818868
Description: Good. Books have varying amounts of wear and highlighting. Usually ships within 24 hours in quality packaging. Satisfaction guaranteed. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Touchstone
Date Published: 1996-09-03
ISBN-13:9780684818863ISBN:0684818868
Description: Very Good. Soft cover, minimal shelf wear, previous owner's sticker on back side of front cover, back cover has a hole punch where price was located, clean text, binding tight. read more
Description: Touchstone, NY, c.1996, 14th. trade paperbk. prtg. 383pp. a little inking & highlighting, cover & front ep soiled where stepped on, ow good copy. read more
Description: Fine. 0684818868 In Great Condition Softcover ~ Slightest shelf-wear ~ PRISTINE text, ~ We would ship within 24 Hours, reply to customer emails ASAP, accept returns and offer 100% satisfaction guarantee! read more
"Purchased for my son in law (a secondary social studies teacher). He found it a great resource and said as time goes along, american historians are writing the truth about events in our past. Especially chapters on the treatment of blacks and indians in this country and some of the "Heroes" that were not such heroes.
Would like to see a similar book written on the changes in our Science understandings since the 60's."
"This biggest reason I'm rating this book so high is that it was so thought-provoking. Loewen reviewed 12 common American history textbooks and analyzed the content based on historical accuracy and bias. Unsurprisingly, they all presented a very sanitized and rosy view of American history. His argument is that most of the textbooks in use 1. are very Euro-centric, marginalizing minorities (especially african americans and native americans); 2. "heroify" major historical figures so much that they ignore any faults or human characteristics; 3. extinguish the possibility of critical thinking by avoiding controversy; 4. rely so much on memorization that students cram for tests and then purge their minds of the information to make room for the facts in the next chapter; 5. are factually inaccurate, because they regurgitate info from old textbooks without sourcing new historical research 6. Exclude primary sources... and there are probably some more important points that I'm forgetting.
I agree with most of these conclusions, but to prove them, Loewen was a bit extreme in the opposite direction. To prove his point, the book ended up presenting a very sensationalized version of American history, because he was including only the worst examples of our past, to show what was excluded. By the end, I was exhausted.
Ultimately, I finished the book realizing that I have a lot of gaps to fill in my knowledge of American history, especially in the recent past. Although I already realized that there it is impossible to write an unbiased history, it's made me more aware of how to study history more objectively and review my sources more critically.
Wow. I didn't intend to write an essay. Sorry about that."
"This book was far more than I expected. Although I already knew a little of what the author wrote about, I was engrossed with all the further information he gave me. The book is written, moreover, in a style that makes it very easy to read, and illustrated well to me the tragedy of not giving young people in high school a more complete view of history. As I recall, even in the 1950's when I took history, we students could sense that the view presented was unrealistic. After all that's been made public knowledge since the 1960's and with information so widely spread because of the media and films, today's young people must see immediately that their history books are ridiculously false representations of history. Many will feel contempt for the writers, their teachers, and the adult society in general, not a good thing. I hope this book encourages the situation to change. Note: I would be very careful, though, about how to teach history to pre-pubertal children. They too are aware that the world iscontains both bad and good, but for most of them, the face of the world they see is mostly supportive. I feel they should be allowed to continue with that as their dominant reaction, because at that point they need a sense of security to develop their personalities. They still may be informed that people, even people who once lived in their country, have not always cared about others as they should. Of course, now, with all the murders and crime that even young children see on television, that will not come as as great a surprise to them as it did to more protected children of previous generations. In any case, I hope school history books at all levels show both the amazing things that humans have accomplised as well as their ethical failures."
"I love works that give you the uncensored truth about history, but this particular book left me feeling as though the author had something to prove, rather than reveal."
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