Rating: 
Summary: Yes!, it's a polemic, not history, but a good one
Review: This book is not a history textbook and I do not think that was the author's intention. The book, or pamphlet if you like, is an argument meant to clue everyone in of the clear bias in U.S. history textbooks that teach high school students tripe (in the words of Lisa Simpson). The examples are few but well argued and it is slanted to the left and deals a lot with race and class relations. It is meant for the layman and does a good job arguing part of what is wrong with U.S. History textbooks. You will find theories on why the textbooks all seem to say the same, un-thought-provoking things, included in many of the examples.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, thought-provoking but very tedious to finish
Review: Although points were made in this book that were eye-opening it was a hard book to finish. James Loewen is clearly not a history professor, he is a professor of sociology. So the book is basically about race & class relations and how they are misrepresented in American History books. This is interesting & made me change my vocabulary to some degree. However he drones on about 2-3 points in the whole book, so it begins to get tiring. Also, I was expecting a more broad discussion of 'Lies my Teachers Told Me' rather than just one on Race relations. I did find the book interesting, I'm glad I read it. I would recommend it to someone who wants to know more about race & class (sociology) rather than history.
Rating: 
Summary: a tedious read
Review: The author's premise is that American History textbooks try to present our past as heroic and mythic; omitting the bad and mischaracterizing the evil done in our past. To show this, the author states that he has surveyed 12 textbooks and interprets their contents.I would not recommend this book for various reasons. The author's style makes for a rather tedious read. His constant repetition and rephrasing of material accounts for much of the book's contents. The book is actually a pamphlet that has been bloated through the use of needlessly restating already presented material. Another problem is that the author holds that the omission of any material at all from the textbooks is a deliberate act of biased editorialising. So, for instance, if President Woodrow Wilson is not painted as racist as he should be in Textbook "A", it is not as a result of space or time limitations of High School curriculum, but rather "agenda." Something else that bothered be was that fact that Loewen couldn't let his quotations speak for themselves. For instance, when quoting a passage from one of the Puritans speaking of God, "...we thank Him [sic]..." Loewen inserts the [sic] to demonstrate that he is not capitalizing the Divine Pronoun, but thus it was found in the unenlightened original. Also, when one of the European invaders of the Americas refers to the natives as "...Savages [sic]..." Loewen has to insert the [sic] to show that the ignorant Europeans didn't realize the correct posit, as Loewen does, that
one should speak of the Native Americans as civilized and the European invaders as savages.
Rating: 
Summary: good to better understand history
Review: Lies my teacher told me is good because it helps to show how history can be manipulated by people and how certain groups of people can be left out. Lies also deals with how ineffecitely how history is being taught to our children. It seems more and more of our students are graduating high school withoug knowing anything about major historial events of american history. However, Loewan does go into his personal views of society which undermines the book because the book starts off well by showing our history and then turnds into loewan's crusade, but the book is still something good to read.
Rating:
Summary: Prompting the Intellect
Review: So you thought you know your history? Loewen offers a provocative perspective of American history by questioning European
heroification oriented history through the retelling American history from the perspective(s) the
Native and African Americans. Challenging the European dominated American myth, Loewen
questions the basis for much of America's storied history providing ample support for his
position.
One historical reckoning does not provide complete accuracy. Yet, societies' educational
systems attempt to instill their own societal ideas and methods to preserve the societies' identity
and integrity. As Loewen accurately states, American social studies textbooks omit or downplay
our nation's shortcomings. Our society promotes a positive self-image to motivate patriotic and
loyalty. It's not surprising that historical figures are made mythological for this purpose. Ancient
Egypt created gods from tale tails of early kings; the Old Testament draws from Babylonian myths
to explain creation; America glorifies the stories of Columbus and the Pilgrims to explain our
presence in the country.
In an informational age the American story needs to suit its cultural kaleidoscope
however. Loewen whets the appetite for historic cultural reconciliation. America is not solely the
Eurocentric melding pot. It never was. Such an image presents a shallow attempt to understand a
multi-dimensional past.
To properly understand a concept, one must understand both its positive and negative
elements. Loewen teaches us the America story is not an exception. Be teaching negative
perspectives of American history, Loewen challenges us to critically consider what we teach. By
understanding our society as viewed by all its parts, we can fully comprehend our stories and
consciously strive for ongoing betterment.
The book does have some weak elements. While Loewen appears at times overzealous in
his efforts, oversupporting his viewpoints with a plethora of support documentation. His support
and conclusions about some historical figures create some concern. Yet, the nature of Loewen's
subject matter requires this degree of support to overcome the storied past. More examples are
needed to overcome deep-rooted perceptions than are required to create initial impressions. His
discussion of John Brown raises some concern about advocacy of vigilante murder methods.
For all his criticism, Loewen appears vague and short on solutions. This shortcoming
results from the nature of the subject matter. In discovering historical half-truths have systemic
causes, Loewen appears to lack a definate method to address the need for systemic change. He
reasons this method must occur through the classroom, however. The chapter on governmentally
tainted information questions the accuracy of accounts of nonconforming social movements.
Thus a direct challenge to the system does not appear feasible. Just as a steamship can't pivot
suddenly, so much systemic change evolve.
Loewen stimulates an interest in knowing our historic truths. He provides a springboard for more
investigation into our past. The classroom is an excellent place to start this process
systematically.
Rating:
Summary: A Matter of Perception
Review: So you thought you knew your history? In this book, James Loewen performs a masterful job of challenging how we perceive historical events and how they are taught to us. In the process, he draws our awareness to the cultural and therefore political wrongs of our past and prompts us to consider our future in a new light. Columbus, the Pilgrims, Wilson, and other historical key figures will not be considered the same after reading this book. It's a shame more authors don't pursue similar establishment challenging book content
Rating:
Summary: my second favorite history book...
Review: upon reading this book i learned : columbus killed and enslaved scores of arwaks and indians, and did not die poor and obscure, but quite well off the pilgrims did not intend to go to plymouth rock initially and the first thanxgiving day dinner was a hoax that millions of indians were killed and conned out of thousands of acres of land because they wouldn't adapt to the white way of life... that lincoln was a better friend to blacks and slaves than i thought that negros played organized baseball in the late 19th century
jackie robinson was not the first that black jockeys won 15 of 28 kentucky dirty and were forbidden to compete woodrow wilson was a savage racist who segregated the federal government helen keller was a socialist john f. kennedy did not initially support support civil rights and why the media lied about the vietnam war i can see why history books lie about history and make people heroes when they clearly don't deserve to be...after all, it's HIS story... thank you mr. lowen for writing a history book that will awaken many people's interest in the subject. it has renewed my faith in the power of honest scholarship....you will never take history lightly after reading this book..
Rating:
Summary: Content worth consideration and reflection.
Review: I first read this book when I was attending Honolulu Community College, in Hawaii. While attending HCC I took a class in Asian Civilization. Because of Hawaii's Pacific Rim location, it straddles an interesting position both geographically and culturally. Things never addressed on the mainland are available to the inquisitive mind. How many people know of the Native Hawaiian Sovereignty movement? How many people know that American troops surrounded and confined Queen Lilioukalani to her house until she abdicated her throne? Lowewen addresses the omissions and restructuring of history to satisfy the tastes of a few individuals, those with something to gain personally and often financially. He may not offer the widest expose on the issues involved, he may well choose sources with a decidedly liberal bent, however he makes a compelling point -- what is your head being filled with and should you believe it? This isn't just a question one should find out by reading a book, it's a question one ought to ask one's self every day. Loewen's book is of considerable value in encouraging people to stop and think about things. It is not the only book one ought to read on the subject. For anyone to assume that this is the treatise to end all treatises, I ask you to think again. It is merely one way in which to ask yourself what goes on outside your normally accepted sphere of existence. It offers food for thought and does so in a manner that is easy to read. The information is easy to absorb and well researched within the sphere Loewen chose to research it in.
Rating:
Summary: A noble attempt, but just more bias from a postmodern angle
Review: As a historian, I found Lies My Teacher told me an informative and fascinating book. However, I do have problems with a number of things. On the one hand, it is comendable of Loewen that he brings to light many of the actual situations and circumstances of American history. Teaching the beauty and the horror of American history is a necessity. However, my problems with the book are more with Loewen's objectivity and research methodology. Loewen is pushing for a more objective, truthful teaching of American History, yet it seems very difficult for him to remain objective in the the presentation of the facts. He uses polemical and inflamatory remarks as in stating that George Bush was born with a silver senate seat in his mouth. Or the use of the word persecute in regards to Wilson's relationship with the IWW. A person who is pushing for a more truthful, objective teaching of history should work a bit harder to not let his own left leaning bias enter his work. Another problem is with his research methodology. He commits a fairly large blunder in the very begining of the book in stating that many of the early settlers of New Mexico were Jews from Spain trying to escape the inquisition. Unfortunately the historical facts regarding Jews hiding from the inquisition in New Mexico have turned out to by largely myth and hoax. Yet Loewen presents it as fact. Along with this and a number of other places, Loewen cites magazine interviews and articles among other more respectable citations as the basis for historical fact. My contention is that if you are going to make a historical assertion in a book about history, you need to back it up with more than a magazine article. An example of this is the statement that the Reagan/Bush administration attempted to reprise the racial policies of the Wilson administration. This is an extremely provocative assertion and the work Loewen cites to back this up is an interview in Modern Maturity magazine with Studs Terkel. So in reality there is no historical basis for the statement. It is simply Loewen's opinion. As much as I liked the book and many of the sources Loewen cites for the basis of the book, I am disappointed with Loewen's inability to remain objective in preventing his own bias from influencing the facts he is presenting. The list of works cited in creating the book read as a who's who of historians and authors who basically hold to the same social and political agenda as Mr. Loewen. There is a desperate need to dismantle the heroic mythology of American history and present reality and fact. However, the sad irony is that in attempting to dismatle the heroic/traditionalist bias of much of American history, Loewen commits the same errores in bias, but from the opposite end of the political arena.
Rating:
Summary: I learned a lot
Review: This book was required reading for a college teacher preparation program. I was stunned at what I read in this book. As the title implies, this book does expose the lies that your teachers have told you regarding American history.
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