Two Columbus Day Discoveries
This past Monday brought the somewhat awkward celebration of Columbus Day. In our News To Make You Furious this month we talked about a push to sanitize history and leave a panoply of heroes without flaw, at the cost of the warts-and-all truth and what it might teach us. 
Our Book Spotlight this month falls on two books by the same author, both of which shed their own light on exactly this strange tendency of modern history textbooks. Just click the link to be taken to the Powell’s website for each book…
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
by James W Loewen
(from Amazon.com…) This updated and revised edition of the American Book Award-winner and national bestseller revitalizes the truth of America’s history, explores how myths continue to be perpetrated, and includes a new chapter on 9/11 and the Iraq War.
Americans have lost touch with their history, and in Lies My Teacher Told Me Professor James Loewen shows why. After surveying eighteen 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 this revised edition, packed with updated material, Loewen explores how historical myths continue to be perpetuated in today’s climate and adds an eye-opening chapter on the lies surrounding 9/11 and the Iraq War. From the truth about Columbus’s historic voyages to an honest evaluation of our national leaders, Loewen revives our history, restoring the vitality and relevance it truly possesses.
Thought provoking, nonpartisan, and often shocking, Loewen unveils the real America in this iconoclastic classic beloved by high school teachers, history buffs, and enlightened citizens across the country.
Lies My Teacher Told Me about Christopher Columbus: What Your History Books Got Wrong
by James W Loewen
Some myths dont die, and lies are still being told about Christopher Columbus: that he “discovered” the Americas (not only was the land familiar to native inhabitants, but it had also been visited before by Europeans), that the land was sparsely populated by native people (there were fourteen million inhabitants in 1492), that those people were primitive (Europeans learned a lot and gained technology and agricultural skill from Native Americans), and that they submitted to Columbus’ “God-like” authority (they submitted to the deadly smallpox and bubonic plague that Columbus’ crew imported from Europe).
“Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus” disproves the myths about Columbus still enshrined in American textbooks with quotations from primary source material that sets the record straight. The poster and accompanying 48-page paperback book sum up the mistellings and reveal the real story in a graphically appealing and accessible format that shows the degree to which textbooks have “lied” by knowingly substituting crowd-pleasing myths for grim and gruesome historical evidence.
