Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong is a 1995 book by sociologist James Loewen

James Loewen

James W. Loewen is a sociologist, historian, and author whose best-known work is Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong .-Early life and career:...

. It critically examines twelve American history

History of the United States

The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...

 textbooks and concludes that textbook authors propagate factually false, Eurocentric, and mythologized

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

 views of history. In addition to critiquing the dominant historical themes presented in textbooks, Loewen presents a number of his own historical themes that he says are ignored by traditional history textbooks. A newly revised and updated hardcover edition was released on April 1, 2008.

Loewen's ideas

Loewen criticizes modern American history textbooks for containing inaccurate depictions of historical figures and events such as Christopher Columbus and slavery. He further criticizes the texts for a tendency to avoid controversy and for their "bland" and simplistic style. He proposes that when American history textbooks elevate American historical figures to the status of hero

Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...

es, they unintentionally give students the impression that these figures are part of an unattainable past. In other words, the history-as-myth method teaches students that America's greatest days have already passed. Loewen asserts that the muting of past clashes and tragedies makes history boring to students, especially groups excluded from the positive histories.

Sources

The twelve textbooks Loewen examined for the first edition are:

• The American Adventure (1975)
• American Adventures (1987)
• American History (1982)
• The American Pageant
  The American Pageant
  The American Pageant, initially written by Thomas A. Bailey, is an American high school history textbook often used for AP United States History, AICE American History as well as IB History of the Americas courses. Since Bailey's death in 1983, the book has been updated by historians David M...
  
  (1991)
• The American Tradition (1984)
• The American Way (1979)
• The Challenge of Freedom (1990)
• Discovering American History (1974)
• Land of Promise (1983)
• Life and Liberty (1984)
• Triumph of the American Nation (1986)
• The United States: A History of the Republic (1991)

In the second edition, Loewen added six more books, including a newer edition of The American Pageant:

• The American Journey (2000)
• The American Pageant (2006)
• The Americans (2007)
• America: Pathways to the Present (2005)
• A History of the United States (2005)
• Holt American Nation (2003)

Awards

Lies my Teacher Told Me is the winner of the 1996 American Book Award

American Book Award

The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...

, the Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship, and the Critics Choice Award of the American Educational Studies Association. Sundown Towns was named one of ten Distinguished Books of 2005 by the Gustavus Myers Foundation.

Trivia

The book is mentioned in the novel "Deadline (novel)

Deadline (novel)

Deadline is a 2007, young adult novel by young adult writer Chris Crutcher. The story follows 18-year-old Ben Wolf who has been diagnosed with a rare, incurable blood disease. Instead of receiving treatment Ben decides to pack a lifetime of living in one year. Ben Wolf has big things planned for...

" by Chris Crutcher

Chris Crutcher

-Biography:Crutcher was born to a World War II bomber pilot and a homemaker on July 17, 1946, in Dayton, Ohio. They later moved to Cascade, Idaho, where Crutcher grew up....

The book is mentioned in the liner notes of the Rise Against

Rise Against

Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...

 album, The Sufferer & the Witness

The Sufferer & the Witness

-Personnel:Rise Against* Tim McIlrath – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar solo on "Prayer of the Refugee"* Joe Principe – Bass guitar, backing vocals* Chris Chasse – Lead guitar, backing vocals* Brandon Barnes – Drums, percussion...

.

External links

• "Lies my Teacher Told Me" Official Website by James Loewen
  James Loewen
  James W. Loewen is a sociologist, historian, and author whose best-known work is Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong .-Early life and career:...
  
  Official Website
• Booknotes interview with Loewen on Lies, March 26, 1995.