"Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James W. Loewen
So, one faithful afternoon, I was reading the honors chapter for US History, when I came across one of the "Top 20 Facts to Know" about the Aztec civilization, where the SAT prep book stated that Moctezuma II was killed by his own people. I emailed Dr. P informing him that this statement was incorrect (and made it very clear that it pissed me off), and the next day, Dr. P handed me a book and told me to read it. "Lies My Teacher Told Me," the book Dr. P recommended to me, was freaking awesome. It is straightforward, factual and honest about a large array of historical issues, and gives enough background information on the subjects it discusses to engage any reader regardless of historical knowledge background. The goal of the book is to point out "Everything Your American History Textbook got Wrong," and in doing so forces the reader to think. To anyone that loves to question what they are being told, and who truly wants to know all the sides to every story, this is a fantastic book. Personally, I love history, and am one of the few people that gets excited to read about past events and indulge in discussions regarding the past, so I loved reading this book. Additionally, I felt a connection with the text, because it spent a good amount of time criticizing the current American education system, and many of the ideological reforms it suggested are strongly reflected in the HTH system, teachers and teaching style.
All that being stated, this is not a book for everyone. If you don't like history, don't bother reading this book. It will be painful and torturous. If you like books that simply present the storyline, and all you have to do is follow along, this is not a good book for you. The book is very densely written, it is much thicker than meets the eye. In fact, it is only 383 pages long, but it requires your complete and undivided attention for all of those pages. It's one of those books that leaves you feeling tired after you've finished reading them. Dr. P described it perfectly: "It's one of those books that a lot of people read the first chapter and say "Wow this is an amazing book," but then put it down and never really finish reading it."
I would definitely recommend this book; I loved how it was written, how honest it was, and how much the text just grabbed me. But at the same time, I understand why some people would get through the first 20 pages and say, "I hate this book."
Golden Line: "Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat the eleventh grade."
All that being stated, this is not a book for everyone. If you don't like history, don't bother reading this book. It will be painful and torturous. If you like books that simply present the storyline, and all you have to do is follow along, this is not a good book for you. The book is very densely written, it is much thicker than meets the eye. In fact, it is only 383 pages long, but it requires your complete and undivided attention for all of those pages. It's one of those books that leaves you feeling tired after you've finished reading them. Dr. P described it perfectly: "It's one of those books that a lot of people read the first chapter and say "Wow this is an amazing book," but then put it down and never really finish reading it."
I would definitely recommend this book; I loved how it was written, how honest it was, and how much the text just grabbed me. But at the same time, I understand why some people would get through the first 20 pages and say, "I hate this book."
Golden Line: "Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat the eleventh grade."