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rebus's review
4.25
A mostly fantastic graphic telling of Loewen's masterpiece, replete with updates by the author himself (just before he passed). Loewen tackles many of the same topics with renewed vigor, illustrating how the optimistic approach to history has always ignored the vast majority and blamed the victims in its nationalistic zeal, making taboo important topics like sex, religion, and social class (the latter the only important issue, and still the most marginalized). He points out that Americans tend to unconsciously grant more respect to the upper class--though that should read classes, as the 19% below the 1% are the true evil, the hand maidens for the vastly wealthy mentioned above, and certainly the only people who can afford to buy all of their good, including using over 65% of all energy--though the authors largely ignore class even in this volume, and present grave distortions about class via the wholly corrupt and erroneous 1% versus the 99% trope. The artwork evokes Will Eisner, even if the syntax and grammar are at times horribly wrong.
He also laments that we haven't had a female president, when Hillary would already have us at war with China and Kamala is nearly as demented as her boss, a woman responsible for incarcerating more black men than all other prosecutors in the US combined. Perhaps he's forgotten sociopaths like Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, and Golda Meier. He also refers to the third world states in a neutral manner as "less justly run" nations, when in fact the US has meddled in over 85 elections over the last 125 years, installing permanent dictatorships in those countries we most want to exploit (which sadly makes me believe he bought the Russiagate lies). He even recognizes the evil that the Twin Towers represented, but won't go so far as the accept that 911 WAS a false flag operation run by Bush with the aid of his demolition expert brother (the 3000 also weren't innocent victims, but capitalist tools enacting most of the violence in the world). He'd like us to believe that the 1% (or millionaire/billionaire class) is responsible for all the harm in the world, when the upper middle class is largely to blame.
Of course, Nate Powell, the comic book artist he collaborated with, has credits on CNN, MSNBC, PBS and the Rachel Maddow Show (the latter being one of the dumbest crypto-fascist war mongers on earth), and he lives in Indiana, one of the birthplaces of the Klan. The fact is that PBS has been right wing for 30 years, and the other networks have the exact same 55% accuracy rates as FOX News. They all lie, which is what this book originally exposed. They both have 'hope' that future textbooks will improve, but this is the same sort of chimera of hope engendered by Obama (a wholly fascist fraud who was NOT from working class roots, which they also falsely claim as true for Bill Clinton). Loewen has gone over to the Democrats, the OTHER fascist party, and believes he's still the good guy, failing to realize that the Encyclopedias of his youth and that generation's textbooks were just as much an elitist echo chamber as the internet today (and nearly as far reaching).
They are ultimately statists and Loewen had sold out since his original book was published. Money will do that, and he always had a high upper middle class income as a college professor. It's sad that his education outside of history was so poor that he bought the false science about the COVID (fake) pandemic and the bad science and ideology of the Trans movement. It's also absurd to see them try to 'expose' the lies from the media about the relative sizes of the Obama and Trump inaugurations, when the simple fact is that both presidents were fascist psychopaths who did nothing but harm in the world (I guess Obama doing it with style and covering up the lies is preferred, but the truth is that he's the greatest mass murderer in human history, with an ECONOMIC death toll of nearly 25 million each year of his presidency).
People supposedly get a little soft and more conservative with age. Sadly, Loewen did so, but that doesn't diminish the previous work he did that is contained in the earlier chapters of this book. It's still a mixed bag now, full of the insipid talking points from our fascist media and government. He became the echo chamber he once decried.
He also laments that we haven't had a female president, when Hillary would already have us at war with China and Kamala is nearly as demented as her boss, a woman responsible for incarcerating more black men than all other prosecutors in the US combined. Perhaps he's forgotten sociopaths like Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, and Golda Meier. He also refers to the third world states in a neutral manner as "less justly run" nations, when in fact the US has meddled in over 85 elections over the last 125 years, installing permanent dictatorships in those countries we most want to exploit (which sadly makes me believe he bought the Russiagate lies). He even recognizes the evil that the Twin Towers represented, but won't go so far as the accept that 911 WAS a false flag operation run by Bush with the aid of his demolition expert brother (the 3000 also weren't innocent victims, but capitalist tools enacting most of the violence in the world). He'd like us to believe that the 1% (or millionaire/billionaire class) is responsible for all the harm in the world, when the upper middle class is largely to blame.
Of course, Nate Powell, the comic book artist he collaborated with, has credits on CNN, MSNBC, PBS and the Rachel Maddow Show (the latter being one of the dumbest crypto-fascist war mongers on earth), and he lives in Indiana, one of the birthplaces of the Klan. The fact is that PBS has been right wing for 30 years, and the other networks have the exact same 55% accuracy rates as FOX News. They all lie, which is what this book originally exposed. They both have 'hope' that future textbooks will improve, but this is the same sort of chimera of hope engendered by Obama (a wholly fascist fraud who was NOT from working class roots, which they also falsely claim as true for Bill Clinton). Loewen has gone over to the Democrats, the OTHER fascist party, and believes he's still the good guy, failing to realize that the Encyclopedias of his youth and that generation's textbooks were just as much an elitist echo chamber as the internet today (and nearly as far reaching).
They are ultimately statists and Loewen had sold out since his original book was published. Money will do that, and he always had a high upper middle class income as a college professor. It's sad that his education outside of history was so poor that he bought the false science about the COVID (fake) pandemic and the bad science and ideology of the Trans movement. It's also absurd to see them try to 'expose' the lies from the media about the relative sizes of the Obama and Trump inaugurations, when the simple fact is that both presidents were fascist psychopaths who did nothing but harm in the world (I guess Obama doing it with style and covering up the lies is preferred, but the truth is that he's the greatest mass murderer in human history, with an ECONOMIC death toll of nearly 25 million each year of his presidency).
People supposedly get a little soft and more conservative with age. Sadly, Loewen did so, but that doesn't diminish the previous work he did that is contained in the earlier chapters of this book. It's still a mixed bag now, full of the insipid talking points from our fascist media and government. He became the echo chamber he once decried.
andiesmith's review
5.0
We would be better off if even half of this book were in our schools’ history textbooks. Lies My Teacher Told Me shows how our history books continue various unfair beliefs or judgments about different cultures. But nationalism will not allow that.
Artist Nate Powell (the first cartoonist to win a National Book Award!) adapts the late James W. Loewen’s work into a graphic novel. I love an excellent graphic novel adaptation, and this one is excellent!
Thank you, NetGalley and The New Press, for this ebook!
quirkycatsfatstacks's review
4.5
Summary:
As adults, many of us have learned that the facts taught to us by our history books aren't always so accurate. Not only is there an inherent bias in the writing (history is told by the winners, and all that), but there's a lack of checking and a focus on heroification.
Lies My Teacher Told Me aims to delve into American history books, examining what they do – and don't cover. Likewise, it's meant to help open our eyes. History should be making us ask questions – not shut down.
Review:
I'm SO excited that Lies My Teacher Told Me is getting a graphic novel adaptation! I hope this makes it even more approachable to a larger audience. That said, I sat down and read the original novel in preparation for the graphic novel. Yes, I wanted to read and compare the book that compares history books. It seemed appropriate.
I was not disappointed. Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Novel Adaptation does a great job of focusing on the central points and concerns. It doesn't feel like it's heavily summarized or cut down. Additionally, the graphics and illustrations help to drive home many of the points.
I was hoping that some of the statistics would be updated for the graphic novel (since we all know things change so quickly), but I also understand why this may not have been feasible. I still hope that this adaptation helps put an informative and interesting book into more hands.
Highlights:
Graphic Novel Adaptation
American History
Analysis of American History Textbooks
Thanks to The New Press and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy
As adults, many of us have learned that the facts taught to us by our history books aren't always so accurate. Not only is there an inherent bias in the writing (history is told by the winners, and all that), but there's a lack of checking and a focus on heroification.
Lies My Teacher Told Me aims to delve into American history books, examining what they do – and don't cover. Likewise, it's meant to help open our eyes. History should be making us ask questions – not shut down.
Review:
I'm SO excited that Lies My Teacher Told Me is getting a graphic novel adaptation! I hope this makes it even more approachable to a larger audience. That said, I sat down and read the original novel in preparation for the graphic novel. Yes, I wanted to read and compare the book that compares history books. It seemed appropriate.
I was not disappointed. Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Novel Adaptation does a great job of focusing on the central points and concerns. It doesn't feel like it's heavily summarized or cut down. Additionally, the graphics and illustrations help to drive home many of the points.
I was hoping that some of the statistics would be updated for the graphic novel (since we all know things change so quickly), but I also understand why this may not have been feasible. I still hope that this adaptation helps put an informative and interesting book into more hands.
Highlights:
Graphic Novel Adaptation
American History
Analysis of American History Textbooks
Thanks to The New Press and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
You Can Also Find Me On:
Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat's Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy
thenextgenlibrarian's review
informative
fast-paced
5.0
The perfect book for every school library to get the truth into the hands' of students since we can't get rid of textbooks.
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