Rating: 
Summary: America Owes Loewen a Great Debt of Gratitude
Review: LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME should be required reading not only for every high school history class, but for every American concerned about the state of education and citizenship in this country. One may intelligently disagree with some of Loewen's interpretations, though because he quotes from primary sources that their high school textbooks ignored (which by their nature as primary sources are difficult to pass off without some degree of rational thought), many will inevitably lash out with righteous half-blindness against him. The more enlightened will either agree or object, but will in either case certainly thank Loewen for doing all the work of slogging through these monster tomes and sparking a vitally important discussion. Loewen encourages precisely that intelligent exchange of ideas that can most benefit our society.Loewen doesn't want to burn all the textbooks, he wants to show how limited they are by their very nature. What he does want to do, and shouldn't we all, is to correct some of the vast number of errors of both omission and comission these books make--not correct "politically," but correct "factually." This is a very brave book in that it takes on some of the grand myths of our culture, e.g., Columbus, the first Thanksgiving, Woodrow Wilson's idealism, often bursting their fanciful bubbles. It adds to our underfed knowledge and tries to stir up an interest in history that clearly isn't being done in the majority of classrooms in this country. Moreover, LMTM does not claim to be the last word on the topics it investigates. Loewen writes well and sometimes passionately about facts that don't care what we think about them. He is a crusader against ignorance, but he lacks neither a sense of humor nor an appreciation for the many layers of irony that confront us as both individuals and members of society. LMTM can be read straight through, or dipped into--jump around and enjoy. You owe it to yourself (and those to whom you would profess any knowledge of American history) to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: G.N.A
Review: It's a good book you ought to read the book. You find out that these people that we consider good all Americans turn out to be communists. Then you make every one think if they were really a good all-American girl.
Rating:
Summary: No "right-wing conspiracies" here, just good research.
Review: Although, some of the reviews present here point to some sort of analysis of the book which claims that nothing new is offered in this book, or that there is an inherent bias against white americans this isn't further from the truth. The author in the books shows the ways that a distortion of facts will lead to evils on the part of everyone. One example at point is how the author points out the brave and enduring anti-racism on the part of many whites during the lenght of American history. He then brings the point home by arguing that although racism is perhaps *the* most important factor which has regulated white and African American relations, it cannot and should nopt be viewed as the *only* one. What the book does provide is a canvas of ideas on how to improve the history education throught our high schools, it does not offer clear-cut, black and white answers. That is for the reader to conclude for him or herself.
Rating:
Summary: The truth is the truth
Review: The thing that amazes me most about people is how we dig our trenches and refuse to retrench! We assemble our own set of truths and deny any evidence that might suggest that our conclusions are mistaken or just plain wrong. I've found that the negative critiques of Dr. Loewen's book come in two flavors. The first is that he has a hidden liberal, multiculturalist bias. It's obvious he does! I don't think he's ever hidden that position. The second, even more feeble critique is that Dr. Loewen has his facts wrong. I keep asking the question, Where are these errors? I get no real answers. If there are minor errors, I suspect the critics will pull them out of the book like boll weevils from cotton, holding them up as trophies proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the book is just all wrong. In the absence of the Big Error, critics fall back on kneejerk conservative judgements of ideas like multiculturalism. They're welcome to their views, but the Truth still stands.
Rating:
Summary: "Ye shall know the truth . . ."
Review: That's the beginning of the motto on the Main Building at the University of Texas. But it's the remainder of the quote--for all the right-wing critics of this book, from Jesus Himself--that is the power behind Loewen's thesis: ". . . and the truth shall make you free." This is NOT a history book. It is, rather, an expose on how history textbooks--especially those for high school students--have played fast and loose with the truth of American history, mainly by selective omission. One critic asserts that the result is to blame the White (Southern) Male for all our ills. One is tempted to say, "Well, if the shoe fits," but this isn't a book about guilt. I'm a white (southern) male, and I've never sold Indians into slavery; never imported Africans to work on my plantation; never thought women should be denied the right to vote (God forbid! I have three sisters and three daughters); never . . . well, you get the point. I feel no guilt for events I had no control over. And Loewen nowhere seeks to blame any living person for what may or may not have happened in the past. Rather, Loewen's point is very simple and very direct: by choosing to selectively remember only those events from our history that are less disturbing, and whitewashing (if the shoe fits...) those that ARE disturbing, we betray the very nature of the words "truth" and "freedom," and we become incapable of making informed decisions in the here-and-now. This is because a truly free society is one mature enough to know ALL the facts, intelligent enough to critically analyze them, courageous enough to deal with the truths they impart, and finally, good enough to move beyond them to true freedom. The truth is, Loewen's critics don't have the stomach to face the truths of American history, and as a result they're not really free. This book should be read by anyone who values freedom, but at a minimum by all high school students, all parents of high school students, and all school board members. Anyone afraid of reading this book is afraid of being free.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing new from the Left.
Review: I was hoping that a College Professor would present some new information. Instead what I received was information that anyone with half a brain already knew. What I did find in this book is more "vast right wing conspiracy theories". I was very displeased that I wasted my money on this book. Loewen gave us the same Liberal speel that the Education system from kindergarten through College gives us. I cannot endorse this book as a guide for anyone wishing to learn anything new. Columbus didn't discover America and brutalized the people of the West Indies...we all already knew. Wilson intervened in Central America because of personal reasons...common knowledge. Loewen attempts to pin the faults of the Education system on a right wing conspiracy but in the last part of the book where he analyzes the problem he describes the liberal mantra as the cause without even knowing it.
Rating:
Summary: A rare challenge to the status quo
Review: I actually read the book over a year ago and just happened to be looking over the reviews while on line. I find it very interesting that the folks who are made most uncomfortable by the questions the book raises seem to take offence at the notion that a "liberal" would dare to challenge the beliefs/myths that we are expected to believe. While short on factual challenges of the book's information the conservative critics seem to be most offended by the fact that exposing the lies and bias inherent in American History lessons eventually leads one to a more liberal viewpoint. It goes to show how thouroughly indoctrinated we are when any intellectual challenge to our common beliefs make us bristle this much.
Rating: 
Summary: read the first half, forget the second half
Review: the first half of the book is a riveting account of Columbus, Native Americans, and pre-1900 African Americans. Loewen combines his criticism of current history pedagogy with details that few Americans know about the above topics. Unfortunately, the second half of the book departs from that writing style. Loewen concentrates on topics such as approval of books by local school boards while very briefly discussing the controversial issues of 20th century American history.
Rating:
Summary: Swapping one scapegoat for another
Review: Throughout history, humans have shown a bad habit of picking scapegoats to blame for everything. In this book, Loewen unwittingly picks another scapegoat -- the white (perhaps Southern) man. Loewen grinds a rather large axe throughout this book, and it makes for dreary reading. For some reason, Loewen isn't content to present a thoughtful, well-researched (and well-deserved) critique of American history texts. He takes the people usually presented as uniformly good and presents them as uniformly bad instead, though the truth is, of course, somewhere in between. He presents documentation for much of his work before making outlandish, unattributed assertions (example: p. 230 in the paperback labels all FBI agents in the South in the 1960s as Southern racists). Why three stars instead of one? Because Loewen's basic points are too important to ignore. Current history texts are written from a narrow point of view that minimizes the harm of many American actions (though I have to point out that getting my education in the Deep South didn't stop me from seeing slavery as anything other than an abomination). And yes, the history classroom is too bland -- we would indeed be better off with an honest treatment of Vietnam instead of a profile of Millard Filmore. But when these new texts are written, please don't let Loewen anywhere near them. He's blinded by his vitriol, and that doesn't help.
Rating:
Summary: Lies My Teacher Told Me: More Lies?
Review: I found some value to this book, but greater flaws, and I was offended by its' dishonesty. I will admit that the book forced me to confront some of my own biases, and I agree with Dr. Loewen that students should learn a more truthful account of American history, but his book fails to accomplish that purpose. My main argument with Dr. Loewen is that he claims that he wants student to learn the truth about American history when he really wants students to be indoctrinated to be politically correct liberals - and the two are not synonymous. The book is very one-sided and distorted - I found many half-truths and some outright lies in the book, all of them serving the liberal agenda. In short, the book is not a more truthful account of American history, it is simply a replacement of conservative lies with liberal lies. Dr. Loewen claims that American history textbooks are bland and avoid controversy - which is true - but he himself avoids any counterevidence to his arguments and simply presents his political point of view as an objective analysis - which it is not. He also claims that the textbooks present a blind faith in progress, thus serving the interests of the upper classes by justifying the status quo. This may be true, but he seems to be assuming that liberalism is a progressive philosophy, thus contradicting his own argument. He is also ignoring or unaware of the fact that the same critique has been made of his own position - that multiculturalism and political correctness are upper class philosophies which serve the interests of the upper classes by suppressing class consciousness among the lower classes. Dr. Loewen is correct about the need to teach students a more truthful version of American history Unfortunately, his book fails to meet that need.
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