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Title: Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History by Richard Shenkman ISBN: 0-06-097261-0 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 03 August, 1992 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.44 (16 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A good compliment to the "Myth America" TV series.
Comment: As with most TV series you get statements with out support. So I tracked down the Richard Shenkiman book to get some background to the statements about American myths. I was not disappointed. It is as if he was reading this book on the TV with more graphic representations for the different media.
The book is worth reading. However the format may not be to some peoples liking as it is short choppy statements and the chapters are divided into subjects as, Discoverers and Inventors, Presidents, Sex, and Art.
There is a fair set of footnotes to lead you to further reading. You may need this as he sometimes stretches a point.
Final analysis, you are better off reading this to give a better perspective on reality. Read it to your kids and save them a lifetime of "Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of American History".
Rating: 2
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: The premise is good, but the book simply moves from topic to topic too quickly. The author seems to delight in pointing out these untrue myths and legends, and he is able to document these claims via footnotes and bibliography, but there is no in depth discussion of these myths. Instead the book is full of disjointed sentences which form very short chapters and then your on to the next topic. For a more scholarly approach to the same topic, try "Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James Loewen
Rating: 4
Summary: A Part of the Problem
Comment: This book provides the real truth about many of the myths and legends that get passed around as history. Since dramatizations are always more popular that dull reality, this work is never ending. The author says that Americans know plenty of history, but little of it is true. No facts are cited, so page 11 serves as an ironic introduction. Seventeen chapters group historical topics. They make entertaining reading, and are informative. But are they all 100% correct? Note how many of his notes reference a sole source. Page 22 questions Eli Whitney's use of interchangeable parts from inspecting surviving examples. But after decades of wear wouldn't the original parts have been replaced? The Ford assembly line (p.25) came from Chicago slaughterhouses.
The "Founding Fathers" chapter teaches you what is censored from the schoolbooks. Page 31 tells of the Yazoo land swindle in Georgia, and the part played by the US Supreme Court after the fact. Neither Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, or Hamilton went to church regularly (p.35). "Presidents" says that Warren Harding was selected after many ballots. His Cabinet included some of the best minds in the country (p.50). If not the brightest, he made it up by often working from 8am to midnight until he died of a heart attack. Eisenhower's "fuzzy locutions" were just a way to give evasive answers (p.54). Reagan was a liberal Democrat from the 1930s to the early 1950s (pp.56-57). Most Presidents had a middle-class to rich background, except Andrew Johnson [and Bill Clinton?] (pp.58-59). Shenkman contradicts de Tocqueville on the "equality of conditions" in America. But de Tocqueville was right; lavish living was politically incorrect, and considered immoral. De Tocqueville also commented on America's fascination with money.
"Sex" suggest the only diference from 200 years ago is more publicity. The sermons against vice in the late 19th century may have been against the industrialized version (p.71). Big cities had guidebooks so "the reader may know how to avoid them" (p.72)! "The Family" notes the high rate of divorce in America started in the 1880s (p.80). Divorce seems to follow the economy (p.81). In past centuries early death was so common that single parent families were prevalent (p.82). "War" suggestss a censored reign of terror during the Revolution; a higher proportion of Loyalists fled than Royalists from Revolutionary France (p.84), where more died. Shenkman says the Mexican War was for territory, as if this was unusual (p.91)! Like most historical arguments, one man's truth is another man's myth. Page 103 says the Japanese emperor and the Supreme Council decided to end the war on June 20, 1945 weeks before the A-bombs were dropped. No one expected deaths from the radiation!
The popular image of "The Frontier" as a place of violence is due to Hollywood movies and dime novels, rather than historical fact (p.112). The Kansan cow towns which saw more violence were those with a large transient male population looking for fun. Davy Crocket's legend came from his political biographies (p.114). "Education" notes the failures in schooling goes way back; it is not a current phenomenon (p.13). College rebellions were common in the early 19th century (pp.135-6). "The Good Old Days" refer to the times where problems were forgotten and good memories retained (pp.159-160). Drug abuse was widespread in the late 19th century, not counting alcohol (p.164). "Folklore" says many famous figures believed to be mythical were based on real people, like Johnny Appleseed (p.166). The "Famous Quotes" chapter explains why some are "famous misquotes:. You can not fool all of the people all of the time after they read this book.
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