Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong [Paperback]

James W. Loewen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 16, 2007

In Lies Across America, James W. Loewen continues his mission, begun in the award-winning Lies My Teacher Told Me, of overturning the myths and misinformation that too often pass for American history. This is a one-of-a-kind examination of sites all over the country where history is literally written on the landscape, including historical markers, monuments, historic houses, forts, and ships. With entries drawn from each of the fifty states, Loewen reveals that:

• The USS Intrepid, the "feel-good" war museum, celebrates its glorious service in World War II but nowhere mentions the three tours it served in Vietnam.
• The Jefferson Memorial misquotes from the Declaration of Independence and skews Jefferson's writings to present this conflicted slave owner as a near abolitionist.
• Abraham Lincoln had been dead for thirty years when his birthplace cabin was built.

Lies Across America is a realty check for anyone who has ever sought to learn about America through the nation's public sites and markers. Entertaining and enlightening, it is destined to change the way American readers see their country.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jim-dandy pop history...This is one work of history no one will call boring." - Jim O'Brien, USA Today

"Loewen is a one-man historical truth squad....He has written a devastating portrait of how American history is commemorated." - The Nation

"Brims with fascinating history." - Los Angeles Times

"A winner by any criteria: informative, stimulating, and challenging. Loewen's wry wit is a welcome bonus." - Edwin C. Bearss, former chief historian, National Park Service

About the Author

James W. Loewen is the bestselling author of Lies My Teacher Told Me and Lies Across America. He is a regular contributor to the History Channel's History magazine and is a professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Vermont. He resides in Washington, D.C.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Reprint edition (October 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 074329629X
• ISBN-13: 978-0743296298
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #72 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources > Historiography
  • #87 in Books > Education & Reference > Schools & Teaching > Education Theory > History

More About the Author

James W. Loewen is the bestselling author of Lies My Teacher Told Me and Lies Across America. He is a regular contributor to the History Channel's History magazine and is a professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Vermont. He resides in Washington, D.C.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#62 in Books > History

#97 in Kindle eBooks > History

#62 in Books > History

#97 in Kindle eBooks > History

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 64 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Very valuable and interesting book October 10, 2009

By EJon

Format:Paperback

For all the shrill complaints, you'll notice no one points out any errors in this book. Indeed, most of the factual history in the book is solid and not even seriously debated by historians. For example - numerous memorials notwithstanding - all serious historians agree that the Confederates, not the Union, burned Richmond and many other Southern cities as they abandoned them. I learned a lot from this book, and I haven't found any serious problems with his facts for for the items I've looked into - although I don't think *everyone* would agree that President Buchanan was gay.

Like his earlier book, one of his central points is that accurate and complete history - with all its controversy and complexity - is simply more interesting than the sanitized (and sometimes just plain wrong) version we get in school or from historical monuments. I strongly agree, but some people are very uncomfortable with this view, as is clear from the other comments. He doesn't say our Founding Fathers were "despicable", merely that they were human beings with human flaws - some of them large. For example, he has a lot of good things to say about Thomas Jefferson, but it's a pretty serious omission to sweep the fact that he owned slaves under the rug. If you want to hear only good things about our major historical figures, do yourself a favor and *do not read this book*.

He does have a serious axe to grind with the South, but remember he's competing with books like "Slavery: as it was", which is still trying to paint an idyllic picture of black simpletons who really preferred being slaves (read some of the glowing reviews *that* book gets). We would probably complain if Germany still had monuments to Nazis, yet the South has many monuments vicious and outspoken racists.

That said, the book does have a few flaws. First of all, he really beats some things to death. For example, he objects to the use of the term "discover" for anyplace where Indians were already living. Fair enough, but he devotes quite a bit of the book to going through these on a case by case basis, and it just gets repetitive. I would have been happy for him to have simply made his case and then given a short list of examples.

Second, like his first book, he does interject a bit too much of his personal politics. Usually, this is in the form of explaining how certain monuments came to be, but sometimes it's about monuments that aren't necessarily inaccurate, but just "incomplete" in his view. While I don't think his views are necessarily wrong, these observations give the book a biased tone that it doesn't need to have. The book would still have plenty to say if it stuck strictly to facts and avoided analysis.

So, definitely read the book. Check the facts yourself if you don't believe them, and take the politics with a grain of salt.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It's fun, but... August 3, 2010

By Arthur Digbee VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

There are a lot of strange markers in this country, including one that commemorates an Indian "massacre" of a wagon train that never occurred. In "Lies Across America," James Loewen tells us the story of dozens of these, organized by region and state. The book is also framed with five essays on various topics related to historical sites and markers.

The five essays are nothing special. "The sociology of historic sites" delves into the reasons why some topics are better represented than others, but you can probably figure that out for yourself. "Historic sites are always a tale of two eras" also discusses an issue that you can figure out from the title.

In contrast, the stories of historical markers make for fun reading. They whitewash so much history, exclude so much more, and tell such biased stories that you can only laugh. Of course, these errant markers triumphalize elites and downplay the stories of historically-disadvantaged groups (who might not think them quite so funny). Some of these markers are slated for replacement with more appropriate memorials and texts, and one can only hope that this happens quickly.

Unfortunately, reading about one outrageous historical site after another can get to be pretty tedious. It's a pretty long book, and I found that there was only so much I could take at once.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Take with you on next vacation September 21, 2008

By Uriah E. Hilton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is a eye opener. It can get a bit boring just reading straight through. My recommendation is take it with you the next time you go on vacation and try to find some of these sites listed in the book.