The Politically Incorrect Guide To American History

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Skyhorse Publishing, Nov 1, 2004 - History - 270 pages
Claiming that most textbooks and popular history books were written by biased left-wing writers and scholars, historian Thomas Woods offers this guide as an alternative to "the stale and predictable platitudes of mainstream texts." Covering the colonial era through the Clinton administration, Woods seeks to debunk some persistent myths about American history. For instance, he writes, the Puritans were not racists intent on stealing the Indians' lands, the Founding Fathers were not revolutionaries but conservatives in the true sense of the word, the American War Between the States (to even call it a civil war is inaccurate, Woods says) was not principally about slavery, Abraham Lincoln was no friend to the slaves, and FDR's New Deal policies actually made the Depression worse. He also covers a wide range of constitutional interpretations over the years, particularly regarding the First, Second, Ninth, and Tenth amendments, and continually makes the point that states' rights have been unlawfully trampled upon by the federal government since the early days of the republic. Though its title is more deliberately provocative than accurate, Woods' attack on what he sees as rampant liberal revisionism over the past 25 years proves to be an interesting platform for a book. He's as biased as those he rails against, of course, but he does provoke thought in an entertaining way even if he sometimes tries to pass off opinion as hard facts.
This quick and enjoyable read is packed with unfamiliar quotes, informative sidebars, iconoclastic viewpoints, and a list of books "you're not supposed to read." It is not a comprehensive or detailed study, but that is not its aim; instead, it offers ideas for further research and a challenge to readers to dig deeper and analyze some basic assumptions about American history--a worthy goal that Woods manages to reach. -

About the author (2004)

Thomas E. Woods Jr. was born on August 1, 1972. He holds a BA degree in history from Harvard and his masters and PhD from Columbia University. He served as a history department faculty member at Suffolk County Community College in N.Y. until 2006 then moved on to resident scholar and senior faculty member of Ludwig Von Misses Institute in Alabama. He is a N.Y. Times bestselling author of 10 books such as Meltdown: A Free Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, The Economy Tanked and Government Bailout Will Make Things Worse and Nullification: How to resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century. He has also written for several scholarly periodicals such as Historical Review and Investors Daily. He won the $50, 000 first prize in the Templeton Enterprise Awards for 2006 for his book The Church and The Market. He has been the associate editor for the Latin Mass magazine for 11 years. He has also appeared on MSNBC's Scarborough County and Bloomberg Television.

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