History Lessons How Textbooks from Around the World Portray U.S. History

by DANA LINDAMAN: KYLE WARD

History Lessons offers a lighthearted and fascinating challenge to the biases we bring to our understanding of American history. The subject of widespread attention when it was first published in 2004—including a full front-page review in the Washington Post Book World and features on NPR’s Talk of the Nation and the History Channel—this book gives us a glimpse into classrooms across the globe, where opinions about the United States are first formed.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Education, American History, Teaching, Historical, World History

Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating read for anyone who has an interest in understanding the world perspective on the U.S. and it's history. There are so many events in our history that are omitted from our textbooks for whatever the reason, and yet they remain significantly relevant to understanding how opinion of us has shaped abroad.

And it's also great in providing bits of trivia U.S. textbooks forget to mention, such as:

1) Those menacing Hessians always mentioned in middle-school Revolutionary War fiction? Yeah, they were just poor farmers who got shipped out since they couldn't pay their bills. Hardly ruthless soldiers.

2) Canada actually fought in wars. No, really, they did. And not with Mounties.

3) All Americans are illegitimate. Every one of us is a bastard. Ask any North Korean junior high school student.

4) We liked to dick around in other countries. A lot. A lot a lot. Holy shit a lot. And we were assholes even when we barged in to "help". Like when a Filipino-American alliance captured Manila from the Spanish in 1898, American troops entered the city and had a celebration. Except, the Filipinos who fought alongside weren't invited. They sat locked outside the gates. Lovely.

[Dollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a total history nerd, when I saw this book, I had to read it. It covers world history from the Viking explorations to modern times. I was surprised at how much I learned about US history from reading excerpts from textbooks printed in Canada, Great Britain, Cuba, Japan, China and Russia, among others. As an American kid in school, one just takes it for granted that what is printed in a US history textbook is the truth and the whole story. Other countries see things in a different light and it was interesting to learn their perspectives about various world events. Some foreign governments only allow publishers to print one history text, so students only learn what their government wants them to know. The North Korean entries actually made me laugh. When writing about the Korean War, they described American soldiers as being almost demons and they continually called them “those American bastards,” while lavishing praise on their glorious leader. This book was interesting and a real eye-opener. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Americans in general are fairly ignorant of how the world views them. Absent actually living in another country, this might help a few understand.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating look at how the US is seen in other parts of the world. I learned much about history that was not taught me in school (and I liked history and paid attention) and got an interesting look at some of the ideological differences that show up in textbooks. It makes me wonder about some of the things that they surely got right but that read like propaganda because of the view of the US that we have been fed and the many nefarious doings of our political agencies abroad.

The copyright on this book is 2004, but it is very clear that they finished writing it before 9/11/2001, because that would have impacted some of the selections and discussions in the last segment of the book. I learned a lot of things about the Middle East and was reminded that the creation of the nation of Israel was part of a promise made by the British at the end of World War I which, had it been implemented, might well have influenced World War II.

The one thing that I have wished in the last year or so that I knew more about was the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918. In my advanced studies of US history the most I learned was that it killed as many people as World War I and came at the end of World War I which made life really crappy at that time. But it got little attention besides that. The authors did not reference that event, even in the discussion of World War I and the aftermath -- which makes me wonder if they likewise had not considered its import for our understanding or ourselves and our place in the world -- or whether there was so little focus on it even in foreign textbooks that it did not seem worthwhile to include.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its always good to see things from a different perspective and this is what this book tries to do. It uses textbooks from other countries to show how other countries present important world events. Unsurprisingly they reflect the events from that countries nationalistic tendencies. This in and of itself is of value and how they represent it in there textbooks even more so.

My complaint and the reason i gave it 3 stars is that textbooks by their nature are boring. and this while interesting is still snippets of textbooks.

So worth a read for history buffs but this is not a casual read.

[Jeff H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good perspective on how US and world history is portrayed in the rest of the world. In the current political and world climate it was interesting to think of how past events have been portrayed and how the current events may be written in the future.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Was good to read selections not presented in typical US history books. I’m not sure what caused me to pick it up but would certainly recommend to others.

[Margie Kuzminski · Rating 4 out of 5]

History teachers and buffs should absolutely read this, and it could readily be adapted for student use (in part, of course) for POV skills. I also found it a helpful highlight reel in approaching the APUSH exam, in terms of what events, people, and themes have received analysis, what kind of analysis that has been, and what has not.

[Amy Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned about history from other countries perspective. The United States has really messed with other countries and things we have been taught were good we’re not so good for the other players.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure that this quite measured up to my expectations, but it is really hard to pin down any specific reasons for that. Perhaps I was expecting more of the accounts in here to show a stronger bias, but since the Introduction makes it clear that the point of this collection is to fill in areas in which a typical US textbook might largely omit, or to provide a broader perspective than is typically represented in our textbooks, I guess that specifically highlighting overly biased accounts wouldn't really serve those goals. Even so, there are some texts in here that are pretty clearly more propaganda than history (those from North Korea come to mind, among others). As someone who developed a deep interest in history after leaving school, a fair bit of this book really didn't really provide me with a great deal of new information. However, there were sections that did broaden my historical knowledge and understanding, especially the sections on Texas and the Mexican-American war. I was also fascinated by the Canadian perspective on the US Civil War. And I now feel much better informed about the causes of the first World War.

Published in 2004, it understandably does not address the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the events of which were still unfolding as the editors put this together. Now, twenty years later, it would be interesting to see this book updated, with passages from textbooks addressing the intervening events: The "war on terror", including the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq; The ongoing racial strife in the US; and the global Covid pandemic.

However, even within the parameters that this book does address, I thought there was an important topic that was not addressed, namely the space race. I would be very interested in reading other perspectives on this particular component of the Cold War because it looms so large in my psyche, and I really have only been exposed to the standard US perspective on the events that lead to the moon landings.

All-in-all, this was an interesting and informative read, and it certainly should help others better understand our history as well as our role in the world, as seen by those impacted by the actions of our nation.

[Lily P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle

I enjoy history and the premise of this book captured my interest: How do different nations teach our "common" world history to their children?

I wasn't surprised to learn the U.S. waters down history to the blandest version possible. Our country doesn't value history (or necessarily education either) and presents a "don't rock the boat" vague trip through the past. If it doesn't jive with American Exceptionalism, it's kind of glossed over.

I learned more about the English language by studying a foreign language, than I ever did in a U.S. classroom.

I learned more about history by reading how other countries talk about and teach history. It would be interesting to see a shift change in how the U.S teaches the complexities of history. Instead of focusing on the timeline of wars, perhaps recontextualize history in terms of economic history; population migrations; points of view (indigenous peoples, people of color; women).

We (the U.S.) do not understand--or even know--our history. Is it any surprise we are functionally illiterate when it comes to understanding current events?

RECOMMEND

[Tim Wojcik · Rating 5 out of 5]

History Lessons gives a chronological collection of USA history reporting from non-USA perspectives. Most of the voices come from Europe: France and the UK in particular. However, some sections include perspectives from the nations adversarial to USA objectives such as the Philippians, Cuba, North Korea.

Lindaman gives the introduction to each chapter, ie the Cuban Missile Crisis, the War of 1812, etc. English translations of the various histories follow.

Canadian perspective is frequent. While they have differed with their neighbor to the south, their dissent was often muted considering the power that their #1 trading partner held. Events given small paragraphs in USA history books, such as the 1956 Suez Crisis, come alive with the different perspectives: French, British, Israeli, and the Saudis.

Contributions include content from Syria, Nicaragua, Brazil, and a source called "Caribbean". Both Nigeria and Zimbabwe contributed to the section on Slavery. Content from Russia is post-Soviet era.

[Maria Eduarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative work. Us History of the first 50 years is fun to read, is heroic in many aspects and British play the bad guy which is kind of queer given that US people like British people. It was a bit like watching a piece of England take form in a far off place from England.
The black struggle of the 50's and 60's is under represented while the slave issues emerging of the birth of the country are better documented. Does that mean that the History of Black American is missing in the European History text books?
Countries that were not parts on the wars I II and modern wars could have offer different perspectives on the subject. The same goes for the nuclear issues that haunt every conscious mind in the world. American industrial revolution is not documented in European History text books? What about the environmental issues? Another two aspects not documented. The idea of scrutinizing other history text books looking for different perspectives on US History was great!

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was disappointing. The concept is smart...let's see how other countries teach the role of the United States in the world. Unfortunately, there is one common factor that unites all textbooks...they are universally dry. This book will offer a small amount of context and then reprint pages of textbooks from other countries, which makes for a rather boring book, even if some of the ideas presented by the textbook excerpts are fascinating. It might have been more interesting if the authors had done more analysis and used less of the actual text from other countries, although one could argue that then they would have been accused of adding their own bias and this way the textbooks can speak for themselves. Its a dilemma, but this just doesn't quite work.

[Bruno Di Giandomenico · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has high ambitions, but it is not as good as it should have been.
Wanting to examine how (mostly) US history and other world's events have been portrayed is only starting in this book, and should perhaps have deserved a longer book. Lacking that maybe it should have tackled just a few arguments and not hundreds of years of history which were dealt with superficially.
Having said that, it is a nice primer, but no more than that. It gives a good impression of what other people thought about US efforts, often portraying US as a subtle (sometime not so much subtle) influencer of policies and politics.
The range of translations from foreign books is nice, but maybe a bit limited.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, every American should read this book at some point.

I found this book fascinating. In junior high, high school, and even college, I had given little thought to how American History might be told from another country's perspective. Each nation has their own histories, right?

Throughout its history, America has helped shape world events, just as world events have shaped America.

This book is a reminder that our stories are intertwined, and that other perspectives differ from the American national perspective. For those who have read the Spoon River Anthology, this is the history textbook version with a similar approach.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

An understanding of how other countries see the world.

This is an original topic that has never been explored before. Using foreign school textbooks, this study presents the reader with a new understanding on how other countries view history. It includes their own histories and how they view the actions of other countries. A must read for anyone interested in world history.

[Shane Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry and not particularly complicated, but that is to be expected in what is essentially a collection of excerpts from textbooks intended for children.

Seeing the choices of focus and style from nation to nation was really interesting. My biggest take-away though is that American textbooks are neutral mush that doesn't give as interesting a perspective on our own history as it could.

[Carrie A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad that I read this but not sure whether it changes my feelings about the USA or the other countries. All seem to be busy proselytizing their own slant on history. To be fair all have some degree of truth.

[John Maag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light easy read. Interesting to get a take on history from other countries' perspectives. You can see how biased we are as well as see certain biases from certain other takes, as well as some actual truths. A nice general overview of the big hits of history, nothing in depth.

[Pat Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read - seeing events from another point of view.

[Lori McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I didn't REALLY finish, I read bits and pieces that interested me. Some things surprised me, like Canada's perspective of us during one war, others, like Cuba on America, not so much.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

S1V1L1

[Robert Cuddeback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read for history teachers around the world. Provides other countries perspectives on events in the past. Shows how these perspectives have changed over time.

[Stephen Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun, but a little gimmicking. It looks at foreign textbooks portrayal of American history and was sometimes very interesting. More often, it was just cute, but rarely illuminating. It is worth a read if you like American history and like alternate points of view. I could see myself using excerpts in class to illustrate POY in a source, but it didn't exactly blow me away.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes enlightening and sometimes ridiculous, this book definitely reinforced my opinion that every community and individual is egocentric in their historical perspectives. From reading the excerpts from multiple countries, I saw reflected each nation or culture's character...the variety of voices very fascinating. Overall, the portrayal of history (whether in the U.S. or elsewhere) proves to be very subjective, protraying its perspectives based on contemporary political or cultural movements.

[Kelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not what I expected. I was hoping for a sort of companion book to read along with A People's History of the U.S. I wanted to get an understanding of what took place from the U.S. historical and personal records, then also see how the stories are presented or interpreted in other countries or what insight they had from an outside position.

History buffs or those interested in International Relations might find this book interesting. I wouldn't recommend or suggest it for the casual reader though.

[Logophile (Heather) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a review of this book in which someone complained that History Lessons was much too dry and textbook like. I was puzzled by that because pretty much the title informs you that you will be reading translated TEXTBOOKS!
It's not suspenseful, or filled with moments of high drama but I thought this book was fascinating, a way to gain insight into how various events in US history are portrayed in school around the world.

[Sutherland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this book expecting more domestic U.S. history but it focuses on international events that the U.S. happened to be involved in. I was also expecting the book little bit less dry. Aside from the North Korean entry on the Korean war, which is both absurd and frighting, the book reads like a straight forward text book. It might be a decent alternative to a U.S. published text book on world history but it doesn't make for great casual reading.

[mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book better, or to learn more from it. I think I was looking for a smoking gun, some nugget of world history that we'd been taught "wrong" in the U.S.

There was none. Just a lot of dryish history-text prose, translated, from around the world. Books in translation are never as good as the originals, and history textbooks aren't the most engaging reads even in English.