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Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Paperback – September 3, 1996

by James W. Loewen (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 571 ratings
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Winner of the 1996 American Book Award and the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship

Americans have lost touch with their history, and in this thought-provoking book, Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying twelve leading high school American history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of making history interesting or memorable. Marred by an embarrassing combination of blind patriotism, mindless optimism, sheer misinformation, and outright lies, these books omit almost all the ambiguity, passion, conflict, and drama from our past. In ten powerful chapters, Loewen reveals that:

  • The United States dropped three times as many tons of explosives in Vietman as it dropped in all theaters of World War II, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  • Ponce de Leon went to Florida mainly to capture Native Americans as slaves for Hispaniola, not to find the mythical fountain of youth
  • Woodrow Wilson, known as a progressive leader, was in fact a white supremacist who personally vetoed a clause on racial equality in the Covenant of the League of Nations
  • The first colony to legalize slavery was not Virginia but Massachusetts

From the truth about Columbus's historic voyages to an honest evaluation of our national leaders, Loewen revives our history, restoring to it the vitality and relevance it truly possesses.

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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Touchstone
  4. Publication date
    September 3, 1996
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0684818868
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0684818863
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
571 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book wonderful, interesting, and well-bound. They also find the information quality very informative, excellent, and real. Readers describe the content as provocative, eye-opening, and full of controversy. Opinions differ on the writing quality, with some finding it exceptionally well-written, while others say it's poorly written.

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ReadabilityInformation qualityEvocative contentTime efficiencyWriting quality
39 customers mention "Readability"39 positive0 negative

Customers find the book wonderful, interesting, and well-bound. They say it's a great history book that is entertaining.

"...Lies My Teacher Told Me educates, enlightens, and entertains...." Read more

"...of history, and Loewen points the way in this provocative, yet entertaining and informative book." Read more

"...me though, in such densely packed nuggets everywhere, were simply amazingly good...." Read more

"...it fell open to 172-173--and stayed open, for it is a surprisingly well-bound book, for a paperback, a book easy to use...." Read more

29 customers mention "Information quality"27 positive2 negative

Customers find the book very informative, interesting, and well-researched. They say it gives real facts and an education about history that is not taught in American classrooms. Readers also mention the book is thought-provoking and enjoyable.

"...Loewen provides an excellent instrument with which to continue our quest for the real truths hidden behind the curtains of an often convoluted and..." Read more

"...Loewen points the way in this provocative, yet entertaining and informative book." Read more

"...It is extremely well researched and supported by facts about which the author explicitly advises for readers to go find out more, from the original..." Read more

"Good read, excellent research. I’d recommend all history teachers at the very least to read it." Read more

6 customers mention "Evocative content"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the content provocative, entertaining, and informative. They say it's an eye-opener, disturbing, and full of controversy. Readers also mention the book is amusing and shocking.

"...will find, Mr. Loewen finds much ammunition for each chapter -- a bit of it amusing, much of it shocking and all of it relevant...." Read more

"...Each of the essays is evocative, informative, and extremely honest, leaving few details to the imagination...." Read more

"...in our portrayal of history, and Loewen points the way in this provocative, yet entertaining and informative book." Read more

"...It is a lively subject full of controversy and ripe for discussion. That is one of the main problems that the author points out in textbooks...." Read more

4 customers mention "Time efficiency"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book refreshing and easy to use. They say it wastes no time getting to the point. Readers also mention that the history texts are timely and disturbing.

"...And I learned a whole lot along the way. The lessons are very, very timely." Read more

"...for it is a surprisingly well-bound book, for a paperback, a book easy to use...." Read more

"...years old, the section on high school history texts is still very timely and disturbing." Read more

"..."alternative fact," this book is refreshing and wastes no time getting to the point." Read more

11 customers mention "Writing quality"6 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book. Some mention it's exceptionally well-written and challenges their thinking about teaching, while others say it's poorly written and unreadable.

"...Furthermore, the author supports his facts thoroughly with references and little or nothing said in there is just to be simply believed and taken..." Read more

"...example as one of many unfortunate results that stem from poorly written textbooks...." Read more

"...The book lays it out rather well how that happened.And it's treatment of the subjects of racism, on historical figures etc...." Read more

"...The information in his text is boring, uninteresting, and (in some cases) downright misleading...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

musiclover
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2024
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Explores history
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T. Roe
5.0 out of 5 stars A Valuable Read on a Very Vexing Problem
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2005
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Much of what a reader gets out of a book depends on what he/she brings to the exercise.

This reviewer came from a blue-collar background, attended public schools through college, eventually received a doctorate in a demanding field requiring scholarship and a grounding in history, and finally retired back to blue-collar pursuits.

One needn't log years in formal education, however, to agree with James Loewen's introduction entitled "Something Has Gone Very Wrong" with the teaching of history in this country.

I will reveal up front that I recommend this book to any open-minded citizen looking for alternative views of the problem and its solution. The stress is on "open-minded."

But first, some comments on the book's weaker points.

For starters, its title is clearly provocative. The word "lie" suggests a deliberate intention to deceive and, as the author himself acknowledges many times, well-meaning teachers dispensing information by rote may not even know the subject matter well enough to "lie" about it. Obviously, the title was chosen to entice people into buying and reading the book. Unfortunately, it may have the opposite effect on some.

Second, the text can only be described as "dense." "Dense," as in long sentences and long paragraphs, which can also intimidate some readers.

And finally, there is something off-putting about a steady litany of what is wrong with the world as opposed to what can be done about it. However, as the reader will find, Mr. Loewen finds much ammunition for each chapter -- a bit of it amusing, much of it shocking and all of it relevant.

Take, for example, the following passage describing something that is surely happening thousands of times a day around the country:

"As we college professors get older, we grow ever more astonished at what our undergraduates don't know about the recent past. I first became aware of this phenomenon as the 1970s inexorably became the 1980s. Lecturing on the Vietnam War, I increasingly got blank looks. ... On the first day of class in 1989, I gave my students a quiz including the open-ended question, `Who fought in the war in Vietnam?' Almost a fourth of my students said the combatants were North and South Korea!"

"Lies My Teacher Told Me" is primarily an expose of the teaching -- or lack thereof -- of high school history and of the caliber of students sent out into the world or up into college-level history classes.

I find Mr. Loewen successfully demonstrates that the bulk of history is taught from bland textbooks written to the safest common denominator. After weeding out most references to anything controversial, and putting in enough chronological items to satisfy a wide constituency, the textbook industry and its academic allies end up with history "without content," often wildly inaccurate and largely without relevance to students' personal lives.

We are all familiar with the poor showing of American high school students vis-à-vis foreign students in, say, mathematics. But at least that failing is in the news and we try to address it. And one has an international yardstick -- mathematics itself -- by which to judge.

There is no comparable yardstick for measuring the teaching of American history. Hence no public spotlight. And too little effort to reform it. Mr. Loewen says that study after study reveals that history and its sister subject in high school, social studies, are considered by students to be the most boring of all their classes.

What does all this matter?

Mr. Loewen makes a convincing case that history -- properly taught -- can excite and stimulate students to engage in critical thinking on subjects they will encounter again and again in their lives. I.e., it can give citizens meaningful ties to the nation's past and equip them with a context for understanding -- and solving -- future problems.

Given the appalling high school drop-out rate, and the number of graduates who will not go on to college, this type of intellectual stimulation may be the last train out for a huge number of young people as they assume their permanent adult roles. What are the consequences for society when critical thinking is in short supply? Individuals are less equipped to resist a host of unsavory options ranging from political demagogues to religious cults. And apart from the stimulation and knowledge, there is something personally satisfying about knowing where we -- individually and collectively -- have come from and where we might be headed.

Does Mr. Loewen have a point of view? An ax to grind? Of course. That is the whole purpose of writing his book.

Given this statement of the obvious, should you read the book? I say "absolutely" -- if you are sincere in finding a solution to a most serious problem. After all, the discerning reader can selectively accept or discard certain of Mr. Loewen's arguments. What will not be easily discarded will be his scholarship on topics that are thematically chosen and extensively documented.

If you reach the end of his book still searching for answers, then seek out an additional point of view and read that. The quite horrendous state of teaching history to American high school students demands a serious overhaul. You will be doing a service to yourself and to the country if you help point all of us toward a solution. Mr. Lowen's book would be an excellent starting point.
23 people found this helpful
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ant
4.0 out of 5 stars Our American History: The Real Story
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2005
Verified Purchase
Lies My Teacher Told Me, written by James Loewen, describes in astonishing detail the numerous ways in which history textbooks have deceived and misled Americans over the years. Loewen explains how the United States educational system avoids bad news, indiscretion, and conflict; and instead chooses to focus on stories of pseudo-patriotism and the beneficial role of white men to our history. As an established historian and professor of sociology at the University of Vermont, Loewen spent two years researching and comparing twelve unique American history textbooks in an attempt to uncover reasons why we have lost touch with our true past. His book discusses famous historical figures, major events, and civil rights issues related to some of the most turbulent and misrepresented periods in our young nation's history. Loewen addresses a multitude of questions surrounding such topics as Columbus' alleged discovery of America in 1492, slavery, war, civil rights, and social class, as well as the impact each had on American society. Each of the essays is evocative, informative, and extremely honest, leaving few details to the imagination. Loewen is successful in every attempt as he guides readers through an unscrupulous history of government, politics, and policy in the United States, and the ways in which each has impacted our feelings, beliefs and ideals. In addition, he clearly defines the manners in which the current educational system is stacked against proper teaching of history - citing everything from poorly written textbooks to biased publishers and, sadly, many under-qualified teachers.

The book opens with an in-depth analysis of "Heroification." Loewen defines this as a process of turning ordinary people into heroes. He discusses the ways in which educational media has transformed white European men such as Christopher Columbus and Andrew Jackson, into American heroes by distorting historical facts and rewriting more amicable and user-friendly versions of each of their lives. The author notes that many of the misrepresentations of America's greatest heroes are mainly the result of the fragility of human nature and an innate fear of controversy. The fact that the truth may hurt our feelings or taint our country's "flawless" image and cause us to reconsider or revise historical information is reason enough for several educators and publishers to conceal many realities of the past.

Over the course of the past three-hundred years, many individuals have often been taught vast amounts of erroneous information from textbooks, newspapers, the government, and many other so-called reliable sources. In the specific cases where textbooks are concerned, many frequently fail to clearly site significant events or people within the proper context. A prime example of this can be seen through the story of Helen Keller. Helen Keller remains an icon in American history; however, to this day, many students and adults are only able to recall the courage and perseverance she demonstrated throughout her life in overcoming disability. They fail to mention that she was an outspoken advocate for the poor and working class, a supporter of the NAACP in the 1920's, as well as a radical feminist. Loewen offers this example as one of many unfortunate results that stem from poorly written textbooks. Although recording every minute detail of history into a single textbook is an impossible feat, publishers and authors should consider including essential information that accurately depicts or portrays people, events, and issues. Loewen's book does a remarkable job at clearing up many of these misconceptions.

As he continues to analyze and discuss the many inaccuracies present within each of the twelve history texts, Loewen reveals even more disturbing discoveries to his readers; each book in the group is guilty of egregious errors. Many perpetuate myths and lies, and provide false impressions about the ways in which wars were fought and laws were passed, e.g. the Civil Rights Act of 1965 and the Vietnam War. Loewen's central point is that many of the most important aspects and events of our history are either completely left out of texts or are skewed in such a ridiculous fashion that they fail to impact students in even the slightest of ways. Lies My Teacher Told Me promotes questioning textbooks and information, and opening our eyes to a whole new view of history. We are taught to closely examine what we read, compare it to previous knowledge, and make up our own minds regarding the information presented; following this process will lead people to become more educated and informed citizens.

In order for times to change, history instructors and textbook authors alike need to develop techniques for critical and investigative thinking. People need to learn to value history as the very backbone of our democratic society and students should be taught an appreciation for our past. Controversy should be discussed, and issues should be debated from both sides. History cannot possibly address inequality in the world today if people believe it to be irrelevant, extraneous, and boring, or if textbook publishers continue to amend everything and anything that may taint the majestic images of our country and our alleged "founding fathers."

According to Loewen, most publishers are focused on creating bestsellers; these books usually require acceptance by textbook advisory boards that often have patriotic and conservative agendas. Additionally, textbook authors are typically college professors who have little to no interaction with their readers; this results in obvious flaws within the texts themselves. Successful writers, like successful teachers, must know and understand their audiences.

Loewen may seem cynical and subjective at times, but this is short-lived; he uses this technique to provide readers with both sides of the story. Each of his arguments is fully supported with legitimate facts and definitive sources. He successfully turns skeptics into true believers by presenting valid arguments for change and restructuring of the way history is taught in our schools. Lies My Teacher Told Me educates, enlightens, and entertains. Loewen provides an excellent instrument with which to continue our quest for the real truths hidden behind the curtains of an often convoluted and deceitful past.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Theodore H
5.0 out of 5 stars This book makes you question everything
Reviewed in Canada on June 28, 2019
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I liked that matter of fact manner in which it is written.
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Elizabeth A. Davies
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating !
Reviewed in Australia on June 25, 2024
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I read "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn - and loved that book, then came across this one. This book covers some of the same ground - but there's a lot of other newer (to me) material. It's well written and is a fascinating read.
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D. Lu
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2012
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A thoroughly compelling read, I think Loewen criticism of history textbooks can be summed up in three points:

- That textbooks authors and editors are so involved in deep trench warfares with each other that they no longer pay attention to the quality content of their books, but are more concerned with the quantity of information in their books. This means that there is very little motivation for textbooks to be anything other than just a loose collection of dates and facts tied together by an overarching narrative.

- That textbooks are trending towards a more authoritarian attitude towards history (seeing history as a "done deal" and therefore simply facts to be taught) whilst the opposite is true (there is still a lot of events which are controversial in their causes) and history classes should encourage students to intellectually debate and explore possible reasons/alternative. Loewen also argues that history is more about learning cause and effect principles and how certain historical events still impact social attitudes around the world today.

- That textbooks will often deify national heroes and selectively omit "black marks" in historical events to promote a more benign character of America in the interests of patriotism, causing generations of "collective amnesia" where the real reason behind certain events are forgotten entirely. Sometimes history textbook authors will go as far as making up narrative in order to bridge events in history because the more plausible connection will actively damage the image of America.

Loewen issues a warning that the combination of these three factors above is highly damaging to children's development as they not only lose an interest in examining history (because it was presented to them as boring), but aso leaving them unable to reconcile current world problems with their historical origins (as they have not been taught these). After finishing this book I am more inclined to think skeptically and critically when articles or textbooks present history as fact without citing sources or invoking discussions, and it makes me wonder how much of what we learnt in school was true and how much was nonsense.
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John
4.0 out of 5 stars Thank you
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2014
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I received the book in the required time and am happy with it thank you but I haven't read it yet to see the context
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Cilmara
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2016
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good insight as to how History is thought in USA.
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