Lies Across America: What American Historic Sites Get Wrong

James W. Loewen

Simon & Schuster, Oct 16, 2007 - Education - 464 pages

In Lies Across America, James W. Loewen continues his mission, begun in the award-winning Lies My Teacher Told Me, of overturning the myths and misinformation that too often pass for American history. This is a one-of-a-kind examination of sites all over the country where history is literally written on the landscape, including historical markers, monuments, historic houses, forts, and ships. With entries drawn from each of the fifty states, Loewen reveals that:

• The USS Intrepid, the "feel-good" war museum, celebrates its glorious service in World War II but nowhere mentions the three tours it served in Vietnam.
• The Jefferson Memorial misquotes from the Declaration of Independence and skews Jefferson's writings to present this conflicted slave owner as a near abolitionist.
• Abraham Lincoln had been dead for thirty years when his birthplace cabin was built.

Lies Across America is a realty check for anyone who has ever sought to learn about America through the nation's public sites and markers. Entertaining and enlightening, it is destined to change the way American readers see their country.

What people are saying

Review: Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong

User Review  - Nathaniel - Goodreads

Pretty much the same as Loewen's more famous Lies My Teacher Told Me , only focused on public history instead of classroom history. And just like the first Lies , this is a book with a great premise ...

Review: Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong

User Review  - Chris Demer - Goodreads

This was an excellent book and I found out about a lot of history I was vague about, or had never heard of. Among the interesting facts I recall: Many American places, rivers, mountains, lakes, etc ...

About the author

James W. Loewen is the bestselling author of Lies My Teacher Told Me and Lies Across America. He is a regular contributor to the History Channel's History magazine and is a professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Vermont. He resides in Washington, D.C.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Lies Across America: What American Historic Sites Get Wrong
• Author: James W. Loewen
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2007
• ISBN: 074329629X, 9780743296298
• Length: 464 pages
• Subjects: Education / Educational Policy & Reform / General; Education / History; History / Historiography; History / United States / General