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iamkati's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Written by a history teacher, he provided facts and it was enlightening. Truth should always be taught.
drunkbotany's review
informative
medium-paced
4.5
The book seems one sided compared to todays political debates on history, however it appears honest because history does not seem nearly as light or good as we were taught growing up, which is pretty much the point of the book. I wish there was a way for it to portray history in a way that would not put those who hero-fy the US on the defensive, but to be fair, there may not be a way cause like all nations, we’re not the good guy.
puddleblossom's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
If you don't know where to start with learning history after leaving compulsory education, this is an amazing starting point. Really filled me in on things I had never learned about, and let me know what my education got right and what it got wrong.
stevia333k's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
4.25
First of all, as i write this, I'm in my late-20's, and as a survivor of the school-to-prison pipeline (because i outlived the time I was required to go to school), this book's discussions on the power structures on censorship describe with even more detail the ones i observed when i was getting bullied from middle school onwards. so for my praxis, this was healing. That being said, I got this book thru my area's local library, (not a school library) and the one I consider to have used is the audiobook, and so the main review is about that. However i was also able to check out from the library a couple text copies of this book, and so I hope to put together what was said in various prefaces/introductions, especially since one of the text copies had one titled something with the terms "trump" & "post-truth era", which if you missed it refers to how appealing to facts/reality started to undermine the dictatorship of the white bourgeois patriarchy too much & so now we're seeing fascist "might makes right" logic & further fascism is capitalism in decay, the capitalism is now worldwide & the ecosystems are dying from climate change (even tho there's still a lot of climate denialism & even pandemic denialism circulating in the media).
So I read the audiobook version of this book, and since the book the presentation from 2017-2021 was adapted from was in turn adapted from a 2007 book, I'm not sure what or how that process went down.
Overall it's very helpful because it gives information about the power structures involves in schoolbook censorship, as well as how the publishing industry uses ghost writers who are on tight deadlines instead of ones that allow for thorough research.
That being said, during the presentation of how civilians largely lost faith in the inevitability of progress narratives the nationalist textbooks use, the presentation of "the tragedy of the commons" was atrocious. elinor ostrom debunked that shit, and the man who wrote that in the 1960s was doing it as a propaganda piece for promoting genocide/ethnic cleansing against black people (as part of white separatism). further it ignores that environmental regulations can be done via communication & so can the management of the commons. this could've then been connected to escalating racism in the era he was talking about with things like white flight, "great replacement" narratives, nationalist xenophobia against other countries & non-WASP ethnicities.
So while the book explains the tools to debunk this sort of shit, in addition to giving an example of self-censorship (that the young readers' edition removed an infamous photo of brutality against civilian kids during the vietnam war, which to be fair, systemically the white bourgeois patriarchal dictatorship prefers child abuse), climate change as of 2018 feels to high stakes to be giving an opener that then has to be walked back from, especially when there's nationalist encirclement.
Also this book said that a policy of restricting immigration from Saudi Arabia would've been wise, and since I believe nationality is a bullshit lens, I also think that supported the cops too much, (which is especially dangerous considering the school to prison pipeline).
Also the book sticks to like mainstream USA history, it explicitly said this at the beginning of the book, but for the mentions of racism & classism, there weren't many discussions of how capitalism & enclosurement work, and there weren't many discussions about sexism. (racism, classism, sexism, are the 3 pillars of triple jeopardy.)
So yeah, it's a good anti-nationalism book, but if talking with someone 1-on-1 I would point out both the things left unsaid, as well as say we need to include people's histories.
also that progress narrative by the way is preferred by professions that heavily rely on legalism being a signifier of reality, such as real estate & the sorts of execs that sign off on accounting reports.
---
[place holder for any thoughts about aforementioned prefaces in text copies i've gotten & maybe some thoughts about sources cited if i have the energy]
So I read the audiobook version of this book, and since the book the presentation from 2017-2021 was adapted from was in turn adapted from a 2007 book, I'm not sure what or how that process went down.
Overall it's very helpful because it gives information about the power structures involves in schoolbook censorship, as well as how the publishing industry uses ghost writers who are on tight deadlines instead of ones that allow for thorough research.
That being said, during the presentation of how civilians largely lost faith in the inevitability of progress narratives the nationalist textbooks use, the presentation of "the tragedy of the commons" was atrocious. elinor ostrom debunked that shit, and the man who wrote that in the 1960s was doing it as a propaganda piece for promoting genocide/ethnic cleansing against black people (as part of white separatism). further it ignores that environmental regulations can be done via communication & so can the management of the commons. this could've then been connected to escalating racism in the era he was talking about with things like white flight, "great replacement" narratives, nationalist xenophobia against other countries & non-WASP ethnicities.
So while the book explains the tools to debunk this sort of shit, in addition to giving an example of self-censorship (that the young readers' edition removed an infamous photo of brutality against civilian kids during the vietnam war, which to be fair, systemically the white bourgeois patriarchal dictatorship prefers child abuse), climate change as of 2018 feels to high stakes to be giving an opener that then has to be walked back from, especially when there's nationalist encirclement.
Also this book said that a policy of restricting immigration from Saudi Arabia would've been wise, and since I believe nationality is a bullshit lens, I also think that supported the cops too much, (which is especially dangerous considering the school to prison pipeline).
Also the book sticks to like mainstream USA history, it explicitly said this at the beginning of the book, but for the mentions of racism & classism, there weren't many discussions of how capitalism & enclosurement work, and there weren't many discussions about sexism. (racism, classism, sexism, are the 3 pillars of triple jeopardy.)
So yeah, it's a good anti-nationalism book, but if talking with someone 1-on-1 I would point out both the things left unsaid, as well as say we need to include people's histories.
also that progress narrative by the way is preferred by professions that heavily rely on legalism being a signifier of reality, such as real estate & the sorts of execs that sign off on accounting reports.
---
[place holder for any thoughts about aforementioned prefaces in text copies i've gotten & maybe some thoughts about sources cited if i have the energy]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Slavery, Deportation, Racism, War, Police brutality, Violence, and Islamophobia
philomath_in_phila's review
4.0
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Everyone has most likely heard the quote, "History is written by the victors." Although the quote is often attributed to Winston Churchill, it is not known who originally said it. However, the author does not matter, only the truth of the quote.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers’ Edition Everything American History Textbooks Get Wrong by James W. Loewen is part of his campaign to correct mistakes that have been taught in schools for years. His most famous work, Lies My Teacher Told Me, was originally published in 1995.
This history book is geared toward "young readers". I, as an adult, found the information interesting and some was outright surprising to me. However, I think young readers would find it wordy. This was not a book to sit and read cover to cover. I needed time to reflect, discuss, and to research sections for more information.
Adding it to an advanced or higher level history course to complement a traditional history textbook would be an asset to the student's education. Allowing both books to be read at the same time would probably help encourage the reader's curiosity to not just accept what the textbooks offers as history as fact.
Everyone has most likely heard the quote, "History is written by the victors." Although the quote is often attributed to Winston Churchill, it is not known who originally said it. However, the author does not matter, only the truth of the quote.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers’ Edition Everything American History Textbooks Get Wrong by James W. Loewen is part of his campaign to correct mistakes that have been taught in schools for years. His most famous work, Lies My Teacher Told Me, was originally published in 1995.
This history book is geared toward "young readers". I, as an adult, found the information interesting and some was outright surprising to me. However, I think young readers would find it wordy. This was not a book to sit and read cover to cover. I needed time to reflect, discuss, and to research sections for more information.
Adding it to an advanced or higher level history course to complement a traditional history textbook would be an asset to the student's education. Allowing both books to be read at the same time would probably help encourage the reader's curiosity to not just accept what the textbooks offers as history as fact.
raciethereader's review
5.0
My 11 year old read this book as part of his history homeschool curriculum. He was fascinated by it and often read parts out loud to me because he wanted to make sure I learned everything he was learning. He loved it so much he is recommending it to his best friend so he can question his teachers at school more than he already does. He especially loved the title and hopes history books include more of the facts he learned.
reviewsbylola's review
2.0
I've always been interested in the original version of Lies My Teacher Told Me, but I hadn't gotten a chance to read it yet. When I saw this title available on Netgalley, I couldn't request it fast enough. I started it as soon as I was able, putting all my other ebooks aside.
Unfortunately, this book was not a good fit for me. I cant say whether I would have disliked the original book as much--was this the fault of the adapter? I can't be sure. What I will say is I would have rather read a history textbook. I thought there were some fascinating tidbits and this book did give me some issues to mull over that I thought were extremely relevant. I especially liked the last chapter. But I honestly can't imagine a young reader wanting to read this. I'm not sure how I would change the book, but it felt so dry.
I really wanted to love this one. I think it would be a good read for history teachers, It was inspiring in that regard--history classes are in need of passionate teachers that can show learners how to apply critical thinking skills to the history texts. But sadly I don't see many kids wanting to read this book.
Unfortunately, this book was not a good fit for me. I cant say whether I would have disliked the original book as much--was this the fault of the adapter? I can't be sure. What I will say is I would have rather read a history textbook. I thought there were some fascinating tidbits and this book did give me some issues to mull over that I thought were extremely relevant. I especially liked the last chapter. But I honestly can't imagine a young reader wanting to read this. I'm not sure how I would change the book, but it felt so dry.
I really wanted to love this one. I think it would be a good read for history teachers, It was inspiring in that regard--history classes are in need of passionate teachers that can show learners how to apply critical thinking skills to the history texts. But sadly I don't see many kids wanting to read this book.