Customer Reviews

I Love Paul Revere, Whether He Rode or Not

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Shenkman seems to be a little too excited to rebute everything and much too eager to base his pronouncements on questionable or no documentation. Healthy scepticism is good, but being just as willing to believe nothing good and only the bad is irresponsible. Often he has a whole page to explain the "truth" without a single footnote as to where the information is backed up by documentation. Or else the documentation is questionable--one example--in stating that Eli Whitney did not invent the cotton gin he cites a book and an author neither of which comes up on an Amazon or Google search. Shenkman's information on Davey Crockett is downright laughable. Sure he was a blowhard, but his frontiersman and shooting skills are unquestionable and I feel the one source he quotes which says otherwise has to be considered suspect at best. And he did die fighting for his country.
His take on Civil War info is obviously biased and slanted. I feel that his superior attitude that freedom is not worth fighting for is the result of naively taking for granted what America is all about. Some of his information is correct, much is questionable, and some is downright wrong. Don't automatically believe any account of history including this one.

Richard Shenkman reviews the facts behind the legends of American History. He researched various books to present a new look at old history. Where could these mistakes come from? Perhaps it comes from the official history books selected by the Boards of Education. Some from entertainments passed off as history. There is always the need to present old history to "prove" the correctness of current politics. If reading opposing viewpoints educates you, read this entertaining book and become a little wiser.

Chapter 1 is on 'Patriotism'. Our national flag was rarely in use until after the War for the Union. Troops used regimental colors or state flags. The Pledge of Allegiance was created in 1892. Shenkman seems to not understand the phrase "our flag was still there" (p.8). The meaning to me is whether Fort McHenry was captured. Using lyrics from a song about drinking and loving would not be objectionable to 19th century military (p.9). Chapter 2 is on 'Religion'. Shenkman corrects the misinformation spread by corporate advertising. The fact that church membership (and the right to vote - p.25) was limited suggests churches operated as a ruling class and limited its membership by choice (p.23). Page 29 tells how Madison and Jefferson refused public prayers. Lincoln was the first president to affirm the usefulness of religion in politics. Lincoln was never baptized and never a member of any church; he used religion as per Machiavelli's advice. Chapter 3 is on 'Work and Play'. Shenkman doesn't note that as workers became wage-earners instead of self-employed in the 19th century, there was a new need for leisure time activities. Almost all entertainment or sports were invented in the Victorian era (p.35). Show business is the true opiate of the people. The work ethic was replaced by the consumer ethic in the 1920s (p.45). Could scrimping and saving ruin the American economy (p.46)?

Chapter 4 is on 'Business'. Business has a long history of getting help from the government: special franchises, bounties, grants, immunities, protective tariffs, and land grants. Originally, corporations could not be created unless it performed a public service: canals, railroads, water supplies (p.53). Page 58 gives an example of censored history which made this book necessary. Shenkman identifies Marriner Eccles as the prophet of deficit spending (p.61). Page 63 notes how military spending supports business. The statistic about cotton production "not until fifteen years after" is misleading; 1860 produced a huge crop. The statistic about railroad trackage is also suspect (p.65). "War is the continuation of [business rivalry] through non-diplomatic means" said Clausewitz. The post war period of "laissez faire" resulted in more economic depressions than any time in history. The output of commodities increased at a slower rate than before the Civil War (p.69)!

The book concludes with Chapter 12 'So Many Myths'. Page 193 tells of praise for Mayes' book; does this result from advertising and pay-offs to sell books? Could it explain the other myths and legends? As long as they can be sold, stories will be created. Look at TV. Just as America devised its own spelling ("jail" for "gaol"), so too they created new national myths (p.197). Are we that different from other peoples? Myths serve as symbols of cultural unity since the days of Remus and Romulus.

As Forrest Gump would say, "I Love Paul Revere, Whether He Rode or Not" is like a box of chocolates. You just don't know what you're going to get.

Author Richard Shenkman has filled this book with bucketfuls of interesting and often surprising historical tidbits. But in reaching for the good stuff he sometimes overreaches, including items that are questionable or just dull.

Shenkman is at his best when he picks a specific and well-known historical "fact" -- and then carefully debunks it. For example: The Pilgrims didn't land at Plymouth Rock, Prohibition wasn't the flop many believe and Betsy Ross did not sew the first American flag.

At other times, Shenkman's assumptions about what Americans believe are dubious. He says the anti-slavery radical John Brown really wasn't a hero -- but I never considered him one. He says that "it is often thought" that Franklin Roosevelt got his inspiration for the New Deal from John Maynard Keynes (and then disproves it). Huh? I've never heard that one.

Shenkman even tries to debunk the phrase "History repeats itself" by showing that historical events always have different circumstances. C'mon. No one thinks the phrase means history repeats itself *exactly*.

Don't get me wrong. There's a lot in this book that's thought-provoking, just not all of it. For the most part, Shenkman is fastidious in providing examples to illustrate his points. Curiously, though, he occasionally throws out a debatable statement without any support, as when he says, "It is now conceded that the weakness of the politcal parties is disastrous."

I'd suggest this book might be best used like a reference book. Keep it on your shelf, and when you're curious about an episode in American history, use the index to see what Shenkman has to say about it. There's a good chance he'll have something to say that surprises you.

I found this to be a pretty good book. It provides fun information about history that you can use to impress your friends. Pick it up.

Everyone should read this book. It puts away alot of those myths about how things got started in this great country of ours.