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Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past

Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past

by Kevin M. Kruse; Julian E. Zelizer; Akhil Reed Amar; Kathleen Belew; Carol Anderson; Erika Lee; Daniel Immerwahr; Elizabeth Hinton; Naomi Oreskes; Erik M. Conway; Ari Kelman; Geraldo Cadava; David A. Bell; Joshua Zeitz; Sarah Churchwell; Michael Kazin; Karen L. Cox; Eric Rauchway; Glenda Gilmore; Natalia Mehlman Petrzela; Lawrence B. Glickman

Basic Books ·2023 ·400 pages
Maybe Someday
Maybe Someday
I Index
43/99
Bottom of the Pile

8/99

Critics' Rating Index

Maybe Someday

36/99

Readers' Rating Index

Top of the Pile

84/99

Scholars' Citation Index

66/99

Volume of Reviews

74/99

Volume of Reader Ratings

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About This Book

In this instant New York Times bestseller, America's top historians set the record straight on the most pernicious myths about our nation's past. The United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Distortions of the past promoted in the conservative media have led large numbers of Americans to believe in fictions over facts, making constructive dialogue impossible and imperiling our democracy. In Myth America, Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer have assembled an all-star team of fellow historians to push back against this misinformation. The contributors debunk narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors—among numerous other partisan lies. Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, their findings revitalize our understanding of American history. Replacing myths with research and reality, Myth America is essential reading amid today's heated debates about our nation's past. With Essays By Akhil Reed Amar • Kathleen Belew • Carol Anderson • Kevin Kruse • Erika Lee • Daniel Immerwahr • Elizabeth Hinton • Naomi Oreskes • Erik M. Conway • Ari Kelman • Geraldo Cadava • David A. Bell • Joshua Zeitz • Sarah Churchwell • Michael Kazin • Karen L. Cox • Eric Rauchway • Glenda Gilmore • Natalia Mehlman Petrzela • Lawrence B. Glickman • Julian E. Zelizer


Reviews

"By implying that misinformation is the principal cause of the partisan rancor, violence, and general dysfunction that mark our current political moment, the collection obscures our much bigger problems."

Paul M. Renfro and Matthew E. Stanley· Slate Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"The book brings together outstanding historians who draw on rich, often surprising recent research by themselves and others to present a much more complicated and less congratulatory picture of many of the most contentious issues in the nation's history."

Lizabeth Cohen· The Washington Post Read review ↗ Near the Top

"Distinguished by its impressive roster of contributors and lucid arguments, this ought to be required reading."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"While any refutation of a myth needs to name some myth spreaders, the book's best essays operate on their own terms ..."

Kevin Canfield· San Francisco Chronicle Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"However, too many of the essays are slapdash, and the text has no center."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Maybe Someday

"history, but these essays still succeed in bringing important facts to our current historical debates."

Roger Bishop· BookPage Read review ↗ Near the Top

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