false 52447 4 Little seems to delight historian James W. Loewen, author of <I>Lies My Teacher Told Me</I>, more than picking apart the cherished myths of American history. Few Americans study history after high school--instead, Loewen writes, they turn to novels and Oliver Stone movies to learn about the past. And they turn to the landscape, to roadside historical markers, guidebooks, museums, and tours of battlefields, childhood homes, and massacre sites. If you were to trust those sources, Loewen suggests, you would learn, erroneously, that the first airplane flight took place not at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but at Pittsburg, Texas. "It must be true--an impressive-looking Texas state historical marker says so!" Loewen chortles. <p> In these entertaining pages, Loewen takes a region-by-region tour of the United States, pointing out historical oddments as he travels. For example, a massacre of white pioneers by Indians commemorated in Almo, Idaho, never took place, Loewen continues; neither did many other such events. Indeed, he insists, "throughout the entire West between 1842 and 1859, of more than 400,000 pioneers crossing the plains, fewer than 400, or less than .1 percent, were killed by American Indians." And if you were to visit Helen Keller's Georgia birthplace, over which a Confederate flag flies, you would get the impression that Keller had been an unreconstructed daughter of the Old South, whereas she was in fact an early supporter of the NAACP. And so on.<p> After finishing Loewen's alternately angry and bemused exposé, readers will likely never trust a roadside historical marker or tour guide again--which may prompt them to turn to history books to check things out for themselves. As well they should. <I>--Gregory McNamee</I> 2517031 1999 Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong total:280|5:60|4:127|3:75|2:14|1:4| 280 1065 509 38 5 1 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Nov 06 20:21:03 -0800 2007 Wed Nov 07 06:47:10 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 17:32:18 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 19 08:07:55 -0700 2007 Lies My Teacher Told Me. I think I'd like it more as a travel guide to read before I visit any of these places. I enjoyed reading the sections on states I've lived in or know a lot about (and finding out my home state, Oklaho...more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Sep 12 11:47:23 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 13:43:51 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 12 11:46:20 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 2 false false Mon Nov 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 08:04:42 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 08:17:42 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Aug 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 09:46:03 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 14:28:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 07:10:19 -0700 2009 Thu May 07 07:54:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Dec 10 09:11:37 -0800 2008 Fri Jul 24 09:44:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Nov 05 12:21:34 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 02 12:49:11 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sun Jul 06 09:38:03 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 09:41:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon May 28 14:19:17 -0700 2007 Mon May 28 14:19:22 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jul 10 00:02:24 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 17 09:27:16 -0700 2009 Lies my Teacher Told Me", this book exposes half truths and downright lies on our landscape. The book is divided into many short essays, so you can read the whole thing through, or skip to those sites you are most interest...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 05:00:34 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 05:03:16 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu May 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 18:29:24 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 18:30:13 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Nov 20 07:37:50 -0800 2007 Mon Mar 09 05:54:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 1998 Sun Mar 01 07:12:17 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 07:12:57 -0800 2009 1 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sat Jan 31 22:35:34 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 31 22:36:14 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Oct 04 11:17:06 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 04 15:50:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jun 22 10:19:44 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 10:19:44 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 27 04:30:32 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 10:59:00 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Thu May 29 20:32:02 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 20:37:31 -0700 2008 Lies My Teacher Told Me , simply because it points out the various groups and motivations behind some of our most famous historic sites. Often entertaining and always enlightening, read this book before you take your next road trip.more...]]>