Monday, December 10, 2001
Lies Across America
by James W. Loewen
This one's essentially a sequel to Loewen's earlier work Lies My Teacher Told Me, and like all sequels it's somewhat inferior. However, Lies My Teacher Told Me was a great book so this one is worth checking out even if you have read the first. The theme of these two tomes is that when we Americans remember our history, we tend to be biased. We hype the things that make us feel good and ignore, if not lie about, our failures, sins and weaknesses. Loewen gives a number of examples of this and then tells the "true" story, warts and all. (I enclose true in quotes because although I believe there is such a thing as truth, I don't believe that it is something one can possess. Loewen is as capable of error and bias as the rest of us.) In Lies My Teacher Told Me he looks at American History text books to show what garbage we're trying to feed our high school students. In Lies Across America, he looks at the garbage some of our historic sites push to the general public. In all he reviews 95 sites from coast to coast. Some he dissects thouroughly, others he uses as an example of errors that are repeated in a number of monuments. All are written in a rather entertaining style, and all contain material that is thought provoking. (well, all but one...you can figure out which one it is.) If you're like me, reading this book will make you never trust an expert again. (WARNING: This book is not suitable for members of the United Daughters of the Confedracy. Mr. Loewen does not appreciate your efforts.)
LibraryThing link
This one's essentially a sequel to Loewen's earlier work Lies My Teacher Told Me, and like all sequels it's somewhat inferior. However, Lies My Teacher Told Me was a great book so this one is worth checking out even if you have read the first. The theme of these two tomes is that when we Americans remember our history, we tend to be biased. We hype the things that make us feel good and ignore, if not lie about, our failures, sins and weaknesses. Loewen gives a number of examples of this and then tells the "true" story, warts and all. (I enclose true in quotes because although I believe there is such a thing as truth, I don't believe that it is something one can possess. Loewen is as capable of error and bias as the rest of us.) In Lies My Teacher Told Me he looks at American History text books to show what garbage we're trying to feed our high school students. In Lies Across America, he looks at the garbage some of our historic sites push to the general public. In all he reviews 95 sites from coast to coast. Some he dissects thouroughly, others he uses as an example of errors that are repeated in a number of monuments. All are written in a rather entertaining style, and all contain material that is thought provoking. (well, all but one...you can figure out which one it is.) If you're like me, reading this book will make you never trust an expert again. (WARNING: This book is not suitable for members of the United Daughters of the Confedracy. Mr. Loewen does not appreciate your efforts.)
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, JamesLoewen
// posted by John @ 5:11 PM 
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