Lies My Teacher Told Me
Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
"Every teacher, every student of history, every citizen should read this book. It is both a refreshing antidote to what has passed for history in our educational system and a one-volume education in itself."
—Howard Zinn
A new edition of the national bestseller and American Book Award winner, with a new preface by the author
Since its first publication in 1995, Lies My Teacher Told Me has become one of the most important—and successful—history books of our time. Having sold nearly two million copies, the book also won an American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship and was heralded on the front page of the New York Times.
For this new edition, Loewen has added a new preface that shows how inadequate history courses in high school help produce adult Americans who think Donald Trump can solve their problems, and calls out academic historians for abandoning the concept of truth in a misguided effort to be "objective."
What started out as a survey of the twelve leading American history textbooks has ended up being what the San Francisco Chronicle calls "an extremely convincing plea for truth in education." In Lies My Teacher Told Me, James W. Loewen brings history alive in all its complexity and ambiguity. Beginning with pre-Columbian history and ranging over characters and events as diverse as Reconstruction, Helen Keller, the first Thanksgiving, the My Lai massacre, 9/11, and the Iraq War, Loewen offers an eye-opening critique of existing textbooks, and a wonderful retelling of American history as it should—and could—be taught to American students.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- About the Author
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Contents
- Preface: Lies My Teacher Told Me in the Age of Alternative Facts
- Introduction to the Second Edition
- Introduction: Something Has Gone Very Wrong
- 1. Handicapped by History: The Process of Hero-making
- 2. 1493: The True Importance of Christopher Columbus
- 3. The Truth About the First Thanksgiving
- 4. Red Eyes
- 5. “Gone With the Wind”: The Invisibility of Racism in American History Textbooks
- 6. John Brown and Abraham Lincoln: The Invisibility of Antiracism in American History Textbooks
- 7. The Land of Opportunity
- 8. Watching Big Brother: What Textbooks Teach About the Federal Government
- 9. See No Evil: Choosing Not to Look at the War in Vietnam
- 10. Down the Memory Hole: The Disappearance of the Recent Past
- 11. Progress Is Our Most Important Product
- 12. Why Is History Taught Like This?
- 13. What Is the Result of Teaching History Like This?
- Afterword: The Future Lies Ahead—and What to Do About Them
- Notes
- Appendix
- Index