I enjoyed this book but I work in a middle school so I do not see Middle School age readers picking this book up on their own. I will recommend it to students interested in History. I do think they teachers I work with do a great job covering the facts.

I am a teacher, so I do feel I have to start by pointing out that the title is a bit misleading. The author evens admits this in the introduction. Textbooks don't give all of the information. As a result, most teachers can't give students all of the information. This book, and its predecessor, changes that game.

The information revealed in this book adds so much depth to history. I have found myself including little tidbits in my own lessons, and I'm an English teacher! I think high school students, but really students of any age, would benefit from reading this book. It not only proves itself to be a fountain of information, but it also creates a great lesson in itself for comparison to history textbooks. I definitely plan to introduce this book in my own classroom. And while the year is almost over at this point, I plan to encourage my own students to check it out for some summer reading.

I read the original Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong when it came out years and years ago — one of the best books I’ve ever read. I bought at least two (but probably more) as gifts. Needless to say, I was gratified to see that book adapted for middle- and high-schoolers to read and enjoy.

Christopher Columbus has been exposed for his cruelty to the Native Peoples he encountered. (The Spanish wiped out every Indian in my parents’ native Cuba by the middle of the 18th century.) But Loewen goes further, providing a true look at the First Thanksgiving, Helen Keller’s entire history, Woodrow Wilson’s limited vision of who did — and did not — deserve to be covered by the U.S. Constitution, and lots more. And unlike your standard American history course, which never seems to make it past World War I or the Great Depression, author James Loewen delves into the Vietnam and Iraq Wars, the Central American and Mexican invasions, and 9/11.

How I wish this book had existed when my own children were 12 or so!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and The New Press in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! When you think you know everything but end up knowing nothing. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Young Readers’ Edition shook me. As an adult it's clear that growing up I was lied too. I know this is the young reader edition, but my goodness so many adults can benefit from this book. I am definitely passing this on to my daughter as her summer reading. Thank you The New Press & Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

An extremely valuable book especially in these troubled times! Exceedingly well-written and researched, this is the history book which our young readers didn't know they wanted but it is what they need.

My rating - 4/5

I immediately started using this book in my lessons and shared it with my students (the third graders). They were intrigued by the title and I was able to share with them why the book is named “lies my teacher told me.” I also pulled out my “adult” version of the book to show them. This started a beautiful discussion about truth telling and I felt like I could actually see my students’ critical consciousness growing! This book is an excellent book to share with young learners and I hope many classrooms adopt this as one of their history books (alongside Zinn’s and Takaki’s young readers).

The author explains how several textbooks for American history have some very large gaps in them. It discusses and explains what the author sees as problems that need correction. Too often a historical person or event isn’t fully explained. It is “whitewash” in a sense. As this is a time where Americans are often given wrong or misleading news, it is important to learn to critically understand how to look and learn objective our past and current history. The author gives excellent examples of this. It’s definitely a read for anyone to learn from.

Definitely a worthy read. Not exactly what I expected and may not be the exact kind of book I would put in the hands of my students, although the ideas are sound and worthy of thought and research. Full review on Goodreads!

Though dated, even I didn't read or hear some of this stuff by the time I was in school in the 70s and 80s and I definitely don't teach them now, still a fun collection of stories that many people must still believe. I would use this in my classroom more as an example of how you need to research what you read and what you see. It's an especially important message in this day of instant access to information. It also shows that misinformation is not a new phenomena and that people have been misrepresenting events to add their own spin for as long as history has been recorded.

Informative. Fun to read. I enjoyed it. So many things in school are incorrect or taught wrong. I'm glad I read it.

I found this information to be very interesting. The book was easy to read and understand. A copy of this should accompany History text books since so much of our country’s actual history has been removed from our actual text books and our children’s educations.
This is for sure a book I will purchase and share with my grandchildren.
Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was an easy read for most students with eye-opening information. I found myself having conversations about parts of the book with my husband and children over dinner. My children have asked to read the book History is my husband's favorite subject and he wants to find the original book by Loewen. I did find my engagement wane a time or two, but overall, this book is worth the read. I think all students should have "the other perspective" to American history. It sure changes how we view "heroes".

I didn’t know how much I didn’t know! I can’t wait to buy copies of this book for all if my history teachers (including the one I am married to!) and our school libraries.....and then challenge my student and teachers to out smart, out study, and out think each other.

Lies My Teacher Told Me gives the reader permission to question everything. For the past school year, I’ve ditched the U. S. history textbooks as an authority entirely. Instead, I ask students to read small sections and then analyze who tells the story (usually older white men), what perspective they want readers to believe (the supremacy of white men), and how they think (or know) that a white man’s perspective is faulty.

This leads to conversations and research about deep topics such as the markers of civilization—not something that any history textbook I’ve taught from has ever covered. As Native Americans, my students have learned how to question the narrative told by white, male historians. Their questions push them to find answers, which leads them to research and read primary sources for themselves.

When we teach history from the perspective of only one race and sex, we diminish the accomplishments of roughly 65% of the population—the non-white and non-males. While we criticize communist countries for revisionist history, we should take a closer look at our own history. What have we left out? Who have we marginalized? What lies or half-truths do students find within the pages of U. S. History textbooks? Would we get along better if we had a clear picture of the real history of the United States?

Loewen contends that rather than inspire optimism and hope (textbook publishers’ grandiose ideal for textbooks), students feel less optimistic when they read the bland version of history found in the typical textbook.

If the purpose of studying history is to prevent ourselves from repeating the mistakes of the past, we should actually study the past—not just the conquering white male perspective. Lies My Teacher Told Me is a must-have for every history teacher and homeschooling parent in the United States.

This book was well written, but I felt as if most of the facts would not be new information to anyone reading it. There were only a few facts that I was unfamiliar with and they seemed somewhat insignificant. However, I did think the author did a good job of stating factual evidence.

I thought it was an interesting read and some high school students might enjoy reading it. I'm not sure I agree with everything the author wrote but the perspective was worth seeing. I think this would be great to use in a debate class and would encourage students to do deeper research and explore other perspectives. Students might also enjoy the process of how history has been taught has changed over time.

Loewen has updated and slightly simplified his original work for young readers. Much of the same content is here as in his original book, but he has added content about the fall of the Soviet Union and 9/11. The text is easy to read and understand, but has a definite slant that some might find offensive.

In Loewen's effort to analyze history textbooks for errors and/or bias, he has clarified many misconceptions, but he sometimes takes an accusatory tone. He claims that by sanitizing history for students we create a nationalistic bias and even racist attitudes in those students. I found his corrections to the errors in the textbooks enlightening, but sometimes his constant criticism is tiresome. I don't remember feeling this way when I read the original book.

Finally! Lies My Teacher Told Me has now been adapted for middle school to high school age students. This would make a great supplement for students to learn to critically read their history and other textbooks. I have read the original and this is a good abridgement. Some adults may prefer to read this version as well.
Thanks to NetGalley, The New Press, and the author James W. Loewen for an advanced digital review copy. This book will be published April 23, 2019.

I read the original ( I guess the Old Reader's Edition??) years ago, and as a Social Studies major I loved it.  I read this version, and still love it.

Having a way to effectively communicate history to children will help those children understand the world they'll inherit sooner than they wish to.

One of the things I loved about the first book was how approachable the content was.  Anyone who could read would understand the points of history that led us to now.  I didn't consider how to address these points to a younger student that didn't have the real-world context I did.

The Young Reader's edition establishes the cause and effect that resulted from misunderstanding and active lying about history.  This means, for a student, having real-world experience isn't as important, they can still follow the chain of events that happened after lies were established.

I recommend this book to anyone working with students.  If you teach or homeschool or just want to know why our world is the way it is, this book is a great place to start.

**I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book is incredible! I consider myself a HUGE history buff. It was my favorite subject in school. Funny, considering the author surveyed readers about the interest that had in history in school as a favorite subject, and non picked history. I am the exception as I watch documentaries, read history books, and I even attend lectures regularly. I was blown away with some of the facts that were laid out in the book as I did not realize how biased our textbooks were when we were growing up. Sure, I knew they left out details, but the book really blew the lid off how dishonest the assigned textbooks were to us. Every student should be given this book for free when they start middle school to accompany the assigned curriculum text books because it would help balance things out as the book is very well researched and laid out. I cannot recommend it enough!

Note: A complimentary copy of the book was provided to me for review.