Lies My Teacher Told Me

July 31, 1995
Loewen's politically correct critique of 12 American history textbooks-including The American Pageant by Thomas A. Bailey and David M. Kennedy; and Triumph of the American Nation by Paul Lewis Todd and Merle Curti-is sure to please liberals and infuriate conservatives. In condemning the way history is taught, he indicts everyone involved in the enterprise: authors, publishers, adoption committees, parents and teachers. Loewen (Mississippi: Conflict and Change) argues that the bland, Eurocentric treatment of history bores most elementary and high school students, who also find it irrelevant to their lives. To make learning more compelling, Loewen urges authors, publishers and teachers to highlight the drama inherent in history by presenting students with different viewpoints and stressing that history is an ongoing process, not merely a collection of-often misleading-factoids. Readers interested in history, whether liberal or conservative, professional or layperson, will find food for thought here. Illustrated.

September 2, 1996
Sociology professor Loewen lambastes history textbooks as both too inaccurate and too bland to engage students.

Starred review from April 1, 2024
“History is the only field in which the MORE courses students take, the STUPIDER they become,” according to this striking graphic adaptation by cartoonist Powell (the March series) of sociologist Loewen’s groundbreaking 1995 study, which challenged the prevailing version of American history taught in public schools. From elementary school mythology surrounding Christopher Columbus through the falsehoods, half-truths, and purposeful omissions that inform a typical student’s understanding of slavery, the Civil War, Vietnam, and post-9/11 political discourse, Loewen and Powell’s insightful and often irreverent approach upends standard narratives. They examine the underlying motivations and trends that informed and bolstered a Eurocentric and often idealized version of history—which never let the truth get in the way of a good story in favor of nationalism. Powell’s characteristically fluid art lends new depth to revisited figures including Helen Keller, known by most Americans solely for her disabilities and not for her radical activism, and abolitionist John Brown, condemned by U.S. history books as a mentally disturbed violent extremist rather than a dedicated social progressive. Long a favorite of radical educators, Loewen’s original text receives the vital and accessible adaptation it deserves.