Love Letter To My Library

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach is typical of her other books: it’s full of fun, interesting science, and is a little bit of crazy and a lot of hilarity. Having already traveled to the morgue and outer space with Roach, I was more than enthusiastic to follow her into the bedroom.

The book is, obviously, about sex. You will read about genitals and toys and the author having, ahem, relations in an MRI. If that makes you blush, you probably might want to avoid this book. Or, better yet, put another dust jacket on it and read it anyway.

A quick read, Bonk covers a lot of topics but none of them go particularly in-depth. The organisation is more thematic than topic-based, so you might find your anatomy lesson spread out through several chapters rather than all consolidated into a single “About: Genitals” chapter (for my purposes, I’ll cover things more topically). The book doesn’t cover much in the way of sexuality — although it’s obviously relevant and still discussed — it’s more about the act itself.

Being a book focused on the science of sex, the bulk of the book is really about research into the field. We get a lot about the people who really started it all – famous names like the Masters & Johnson partnership and Alfred Kinsey. These researchers not only paved the way for current studies but also provide plenty of weird or amusing anecdotes as a result of being the first to do things in a time when it wasn’t an acceptable area of study.

In addition to learning about research of the past, the studies and tools used now are investigated as well. Roach paints a very enlightening picture of what kind of sex research occurs today and how it’s done. Think internal cameras and imaging machines and all other sorts of awkward means of measurement. Roach interviews people who participant in these studies, as well as taking part in several herself.

Roach of course covers the basic stuff, always clever and peppered with funny stories. The anatomy and the biology behind sex: genitals, hormones, fertility. We get some psychology, gender issues, sexuality as well. She discusses masturbation and sex toys and practices.

Sexual impotence and dysfunction is also a theme within the book. The book also covers sex for people suffering physical handicaps like paralysis. You will read about cutting edge (and eye-widening) surgeries, implants and the doctors that do them, and the doctors who innovate and perform these procedures and the people that get them. You’ll also learn about other wacky ways things things are approached – now and in the past.

The book has plenty of funny, relevant stories, as well. You’ll read about the guy who implanted suckers with goat testicles to increase fertility (the subject of another book I just read, in fact), about pig orgasms, sex monkeys, impotence court trials and porn star crotch licenses. Additionally, Roach uses a ton of footnotes, which are often as good at the text itself – don’t skip them!

While Bonk is not my favourite book of hers — Stiff still holds this title — it is not because this book is lacking so much as the others set a very high bar. It’s a great read and you’ll come away a little more informed and a little more amused.

On Amazon: Paperback and Kindle

Of the dozens of books I’ve read this year, The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean is my easily my favourite. It was very fun to read, accessible, and written with a refreshing cleverness that was just the right balance of information and fun. It would be an understatement to say I learned a lot and not hyperbole to say I had a great time doing it.

At it’s core, The Disappearing Spoon is a science history book about chemistry, the periodic table. It feels terribly unfair to reduce the book to something that sounds so dry, but there it is.

Keans introduces us to every element on the periodic table. The goal is obviously to get us to appreciate every single one, so he emphasises what makes it special or interesting. Sometimes we learn how or where it was discovered or by whom, but sometimes it focuses entirely on why it is unique and what it can do. If that element made an impact on our world, physically, culturally, economically… we learn how and why, and we learn to love it in the same way the author does.

The book is not consistent with what we learn for every element — some things get multiple pages while others just a short blurb — but that’s okay because we’re getting the fascinating stuff. Most of the elements get their own time in the spotlight, while a few are discussed along with their close chemical relatives.

This is a hard book to write about without writing too much or too little. It’s hard to choose a few highlights to share without neglecting things that probably deserve attention. But if you want to learn about Tycho Brahe’s prosthetic nose, or how silicon revolutionised computers, about crazy poisons or wild drugs, explosions, Fauste, weapon technology, black holes, people turning blue, homemade nuclear reactors, why Americans drop the ‘i’ from ‘aluminium’, other bizarre stories, this book will have something for you.

I’ve already found myself repeating the amusing anecdotes or information from the book to people. Twice I insisted on reading a passage to someone I know would appreciate a tale within. For a book that is intended to be very limited in scope, you will learn about so much beyond the periodic table. I was just so excited about it that it was impossible not to want to share things; this book will boost your trivia knowledge, but it also might make you the obnoxious know-it-all at parties.

To my chagrin, I was unenthusiastic about reading The Disappearing Spoon initially since a book about the periodic table doesn’t exactly sound like a rip-roaring adventure. Even when I did finally order it, it sat around on my Kindle for six months before I finally gave it a go. It makes me a little sad to admit that if so many people hadn’t raved about it, I never would have read it at all. I am so glad I gave this book a chance, and I hope you will too.

On Amazon: Paperback | Hardback | Kindle

The following are some impressive books on colonial and post-colonial Africa that I want to give a nod to. Eventually, I may reread the books so I can write the full reviews they deserve but in the meantime I will give them a few words here.

I recommend these phenomenal books with caution and a heavy heart. The following is not light reading. Africa under colonial rule was a very brutal place and today many of the nations emerging from under colonial rule are volatile and steeped in tragedy. Entire governments rise and fall, and stories of wars, rebellions and coups litter our world news, and we hear of genoicide, ethnic cleansing, and other government-sanctioned atrocities. It should be obvious that the following books are not cheerful books. They can be difficult to read. However, I believe it’s important to be aware of these horrors and their causes, because these events are not from the distance past, they have occurred in our lifetime and are still happening. Books like these serve a very critical role in our conscience.

With that out of the way:

Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Roméo Dallaire

Lieutenant-General Dallaire wrote this book to record his experiences as head of the UN peacekeeping team sent to Rwanda in 1993/94 following Rwanda’s civil war, during the Rwandan Genocide. On the political front, the book gives an insightful look into the events that caused and contributed to these terrible events, and an informative look at all the major players in the unfolding drama. Dallaire slams the ineffectiveness of the UN in Rwanda and all the nations who turned a blind-eye when they had the power to step in and stop the killing of hundreds of thousands but didn’t. The book chronicles not just the events that occurred, but also his personal emotional difficulties as he stood helpless while surrounded by unimaginable atrocities.

This book on Amazon.com

The Devil Came On Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur by Brian Steidle

This book focuses on the Darfur situation in Sudan, from the perspective of a former Marine working for the African Union. Steidle’s job was to document and monitor conflicts between the warring Sudanese factions and the government (supposedly under a cease fire agreement). He witnessed many horrible events, often with sufficient evidence to suggest they were supported or ordered by the government, but was forbidden to intervene, unable to do anything other than make notes and take pictures. Following his resignation, Steidle made it his mission to spread the word about the situation in Darfur, going before governments, the UN, doing speaking engagements throughout the world and working with several non-government organisations.

This book on Amazon.com

The Graves Are Not Yet Full: Race, Tribe and Power in the Heart of Africa by Bill Berkeley

This book investigates the causes behind why modern Africa has faced so much political and ethnic turmoil through close looks at Liberia, Rwanda, Congo/Zaire, Sudan and South Africa. Berkeley’s hypothesis — that the tragedies that have occurred are fabricated by the people in power as a form of control — has been controversial as simplistic, but the book is worth the well read whether you arrive at the same conclusion or not. The author does very well to support his assertions with detailed examples and persuasive arguments, leaving his premise, at minimum, thought-provoking and worth considering. The book is extremely thorough (although it does not give equal coverage to all the countries addressed), giving the reader a very clear understanding of how the atrocities in these places unfolded and developed.

This book on Amazon.com

King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild

Venturing further into the past, this book is actually about the Congo under colonial rule by King Leopold II of Belgium, beginning with its early exploration until its exploitation under the king’s thumb. The story of the Leopold II and his use of the Congo as a tool for his greed (until it was eventually wrestled from his claws by the Belgian government) is intriguing. The book is a graphic and disturbing look at what life was like under Colonial rule and harshly criticised those who have implied otherwise (both in the past and even today). Not all depressing, the book also talks about the people who brought devoted their lives and called attention to the issues in an effort to end the terrible exploitation.

This Book on Amazon.com

We Wish To Tell You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed Along With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch

This book takes a close look at the genocide in Rwanda. It is a different approach than that seen in Dallaire’s book, written by a journalist after the genocide and based heavily on interviews with survivors (both victim and perpetrator). It includes the story of hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina that was later made into the film Hotel Rwanda, but also the previously untold stories of many other Rwandans. It is a gruesome but valuable picture of the events, and the circumstances and political powers that caused and perpetuated such evil.

This book on Amazon.com

In The Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz by Michela Wrong

Although this book begins with coverage of the Congo as early as King Leopold II as it set the stage, the book is about Mobutu Sese Seko’s presidency over Zaire following the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. Mobutu is well known for his corruption and excesses, living in ridiculous palaces and pocketing billions of dollars in foreign money while his country — rich in resources — lived in stunning poverty, death & disease and in terror of its government. The book is an intriguing look at Mobutu as a man and a leader, and how he was able to pull off such shocking things. For all his flaws and evils, Mobutu was charismatic, a keen politician and absolutely fascinating. Wrong attempts to make sense of why such a man was able to utterly destroy his own people and country over the course of decades while simultaneously being much loved (and financed!) by the West.

This book on Amazon.com

The first three books were also made into documentaries. I have seen both Shakes Hands With the Devil and Devil Came on Horseback; both were very good but inferior to their written counterparts. Shake Hands was much more personal, focusing heavily on the psychological impact on Dallaire. Devil Came on Horseback was solid but felt abridged compared to the book. I have not seen the film King Leopold’s Ghost.

* On a final note, I want to add a disclaimer. My use of any positive adjectives to describe these books refers to the writing style, the readability, and the insightfulness of the information contained within. It is dangerous ground to call a book about genocide “wonderful” and I have tried to carefully word my praise for the books to not sound callous.

I’m going to break my standard format here and talk about two books in the same entry: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! and What Do You Care What Other People Think? They are both collections of autobiographical stories and accounts from famed physicist Richard Feynman’s life. I’m combining discussion of these because they are both very similar books and fit well together in a single entry.

Both books attribute Feynman as the author, however, these are not typical memoirs. Both are a collection of miscellaneous stories from Feynman’s life, some long and some short, some of them serious and some of them amusing anecdotes. Much of these were transcribed from verbal stories and interviews he gave with friends that were edited and assembled into book format. Photos, drawings and letters are also included in the latter book. I have seen What Do You Care listed as a sequel to Surely You’re Joking, although the content is not actually sequential. However, both books cover different topics and events, so if you only read one or the other, you’ll miss out.

Rather than give a detailed outline of all the very specific stories told within each book, I think it’s more insightful if I give a general description of the man they’re about.

Most of the world knows of Richard Feynman as a very famous scientist in the 20th century. They might also know of his famed “Feynman Diagrams,” or his general work in quantum physics, or that he won the Nobel Prize, that he worked on the Manhattan Project, that he helped develop the use of IBM punchcards for computers, or that he was part of the team that discovered the cause of the Challenger explosion. However, just being smart or famous or influential doesn’t necessarily make you interesting. I’m sure there are lots of scientists and scholars who have done amazing work and published great things, but are not people you want to read about.

Richard Feynman is not one of those people. He was not only extremely influential but also a completely fascinating and (pardon the lack of eloquence) totally awesome as a man, someone I have admired for a long time. He was far more than just a scientist and to describe him solely as that feels like selling him short. He had eclectic interests in other fields: from biology to bongos. He fixed radios as a very young child and played with chemistry. As an adult, he was a prankster and a playful troublemaker. He did amateur safecracking and lockpicking, he wrote and deciphered codes. He dabbled in art, biology and other fields. He did crazy experiments with ant pheromones and obsessed over puzzles and finding answers. He crept into the desert at night and danced with local American Indians. When he taught in Brazil, he played the frigideira in a samba group. At Caltech, he used to use a strip club as his personal office, and testified on their behalf when the city tried to shut them down. In short, he was not a very typical guy.

If you read accounts from his students, you will hear about what a fabulous teacher he was. Person after person after person says the same things about him: he was so excited about the topic that it made you excited, too. He was inspiring. He made even the most complex things understandable and was well renowned for this ability. He told fabulous stories. He was a great man.

I mention all of these different things because they will give you a better perspective of what these books are about more than anything else I could write. Yes, the critical events of his life are here and yes, you will read about him working on the atomic bomb, about winning the Nobel Prize, about the faulty o-rings on the Challenger shuttle. You will also read many personal stories from his life and about his work, funny and sad and dramatic. But these events are just the backdrop: the more wonderful aspect of these two books is the showcase of the man himself: his personality. The book paints a picture of a man who has a compelling need to solve puzzles, try new things, make discoveries, face challenges, find answers. They portray him doing things with a passionate enthusiasm and charming sense of humour. You understand exactly what those students meant; you become excited about things because he is excited about those things. His drive is contagious.

What ultimately results from all this is an autobiographical account that is far more insightful than a book that simply provides a timeline of events. It might not inspire the same excitement as sitting in on one of his famed “freshman lectures” but I think readers will find Richard Feynman to be as compelling and admirable as he has been described to be.

Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feyman! in paperback / kindle
What Do You Care What Other People Think? in paperback / kindle

I found The Wolf: How One German Raider Terrorized the Allies in the Most Epic Voyage of WWI (by Richard Guilliatt & Peter Hohnen) pretty worthy of the attention it received last year on various book lists.

If you couldn’t figure out from the subheading, The Wolf tells the story of a German Raider during WWI that stayed at sea for over a year consecutively, mining enemy territories, surviving entirely off of ships it took and serving as a prison for those it captured. I found the book to be fascinating and plowed through it in just a couple sittings. This history text could easily be a thrilling novel, but the factual basis just makes it that much better.

The book is a very human respective of the events through the eyes of those on board. We are told the individual stories of quite a few of the passengers, mostly the various prisoners. The authors allow us to live aboard the ship with them; we know their helplessness as they are captured, their dire living situation, their relationships, conflicts & petty dramas with other passengers, their hunger as the ship is low on resources, their hope for returning home, but the bleakness they feel when it seems unlikely. We also have an intimate look at the ship’s Captain and several other crew members. As easy as it would be to paint the captors as evil, brutal men to fit the “bad guys” role for contrast to the prisoners, but the authors take great pains to keep the story intellectually honest and give us insight into their lives as well. We hear the logistical issues they faced carrying so many prisoners, their longing for home, and the relationships they forged with some of the captured. This book is mainly the story of all these people together.

This great insight was achieved through diligent research by the authors. The voyage of the raider is fairly well known historically because many of the passengers — both those taken prisoner and those of the crew — went on to write about their experiences aboard the ship. However, those stories are unsurprisingly heavy with bias depending on the writer (some was used as German propaganda, while the tales from prisoners are understandably less flattering) which made them dubious sources when taken by themselves. For The Wolf, authors Guilliatt and Hohnen have pieced together the story based on not only from these previously published books, but also personal letters, diaries and other evidence, and interviews with the surviving families of passengers. They have made great efforts to make sure that the journey we take into the lives of these people is an accurate one.

However, the book is not just all about the people on board, and it doesn’t just read like a bunch of diaries. It is also about naval warfare and the role of raiders, about wartime propaganda, and the political climate for countries during the first World War.

For those interested in military or navel history, The Wolf describes the technical aspects of the ship in detail. We know how the ship looked, how it was disguised, what guns it carried, and how it functioned. The book has maps and diagrams that show us the path the ship traveled, where it overtook other ships, and the places it mined. On the political front, The Wolf also talks quite a bit about the political scenarios going on simultaneously to the raider’s path of destruction. It focuses in detail on the propaganda and censure-ship that allowed this voyage to continue unnoticed for so long, as countries blamed the disappearing ships and known sinkings to natural causes and internal sabotage. It also addressed the witch hunts for these supposed saboteurs that resulted in the internment of men and women of German origin or descent, particular in Australia.

Someone already familiar with military history might not find any of this information to be new, but for someone who has only heard of it in passing (or not at all), these things paint a very vivid image of the raider and the events along its voyage and the impact it had on the world at war. However, even if you have heard this story before — and especially if you haven’t — I highly recommend this book as a valuable and exciting piece of history.

Buy the book on Amazon – Hardback / Kindle

My latest read was Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. This is a short book, written for the layman, about the anti-vaccination movement that has seen growing media attention in recent years. The book is written by a Dr. Paul Offit, a well-known pediatrician who specialises in infectious diseases and has worked heavily in virology and vaccine development. As such, it is no surprise that the author is strongly in favour of vaccination, and that is the angle taken by the book. Although his opponents argue that his credentials make him a biased source, they also make him an expert in the field.

Offit walks us through the history of vaccination up to the outspoken celebrity opponents of childhood vaccinations we see in the news today. Although the book is not completely linear in chronology, it covers all the major issues surrounding the vaccinations beginning with smallpox, through polio, to pertussis, hib, chickenpox, and measles-mumps-rubella, and other lesser-discussed vaccines.

The book is not just limited to coverage of the vaccines themselves and their opposition, but also covers the topic of vaccine scheduling in children, the history and function of the vaccination courts, relevant studies, the major players and events in the modern movement, and provides information on the diseases themselves.

As he moves through history, Offit presents the anti-vaccination position and reasoning and then proceeds to dismantle it. Although Offit fiercely opposes the movement, he makes effort to fairly represent the perspective he is arguing against. He then explains very clearly why that position is wrong or why the reasoning is flawed or why their evidence is questionable. He points out logical fallacies and the frequent confusion of correlation and causation. He uses rational explanations in clear terms with ample scientific evidence as support. You will not find appeals to emotion here, confusing science buzzwords or attempts to obfuscate the information.

Offit also analyses the studies that the anti-vaccination movement use to support their position. Although there have been numerous studies done discounting a link between vaccines and particular injuries like brain damage or autism, the few that have suggested a link have been very high profile and gotten a large amount of media attention. Deadly Choices discusses these study in depth and is not shy about critiquing them to explain why they (falsely) resulted in the data they did. Offit does not just dismiss them because he disagrees; we are told explicitly why they are faulty and should not be considered valid sources.

Offit puts considerable time into dispelling the common arguments presented by the anti-vaccine movement, many of which are false or misleading. For example, the claim is often made that vaccines contain toxic ingredients. Offit goes through each of the commonly named “toxins” and discusses them. Some haven’t been included in vaccines for years, some never were, some are included in amounts less than already exists naturally in a baby’s body or in their food, some are exaggerated or skewed to sound like something they aren’t. To the claims vaccines overload the system, Offit explains how vaccines interact with our immune system and offers compelling evidence that even with the number of vaccines increasing, we’re actually putting in less now than a single vaccine of old. To the anecdotal evidence, Offit explains why we might see illness timing that makes coincidences seem causal when they are not. To the conspiracy theories that Big Pharma intentionally poisons children to make money, Deadly Choices shows us that vaccines have not been historically profitable and even with government subsidies, still make very little comparatively.

Offit also goes into great depth on the topic of herd immunity. He explains why these diseases we are trying to protect against are so dangerous, complete with real figures of both infection, injury and death. He explains why we need to maintain a certain level of vaccination in the population to prevent outbreaks from devastating the population. Although people like to think of themselves as protected because they live in a developed nation with many vaccinated people, Offit makes it clear it only takes one foreign traveler to spread the disease, where it can explode through an undervaccinated population (and this has already been demonstrated). Diseases that today are mostly forgotten because of vaccines are now requiring us to return to the days of fear and quarantines as outbreaks occur in pockets of unvaccinated children and schools. He makes a case for children who cannot be vaccinated due to their age or medical condition, and how their very lives depend on our responsibility.

Although no person who vehemently opposed childhood vaccination would call this a balanced book, as an outsider without an emotional investment in the issue, I felt that Offit was very fair in his coverage of the issues. He does not just dismiss his opponents as simply crazy or stupid without evidence. He obviously sympathises with how emotionally charged the issue can be for parents with sick children who want to understand. He was also direct and honest about the instances in history when vaccines did prove to be dangerous, and also suggests ways that particular vaccines could be improved for safety. He did not have to include that kind of information and could have chosen not to mention it to make his position seem stronger. His choice to include these instances and examples earns him credibility in my eyes.

Finally, the book is so overstuffed with sources and citations that I find it hard to believe anyone who makes the claim that Offit is inventing information. Literally half of this book is bibliography, and Offit is very thorough and aggressive throughout Deadly Choices with providing the sources of all the information he gives.

I found the book to be both educational and a little scary, but I would recommend it to anyone who is curious about the debate, is unsure whether to vaccinate their children, or those who simply want to know more about the movement. The book is not going to convince anyone who has their mind thoroughly made up that vaccines are unsafe but for the rest of us, it’s a very good read.

Buy the book on Amazon: Hardcover

I just finished the book Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen. This book is a bit of a “cult classic.” Although this was the first time I’d read it, I had heard it mentioned and cited numerous times over the years and have crossed it on feature tables and end caps in bookstores. I saw it for only $5 on the Kindle store and figured it was time to read it.

The base premise of the book is a scathing critique on modern high school American History textbooks. The author combs over the most popular and common text books (I believe 18 of them) used today and addresses all the things they say and don’t say that are incorrect, incomplete, or dramatically skewed. The overall premise is that this inaccurate and abridged version of history is contributing to a sea of ignorant citizens who know only a limited amount of history and are incapable of asking questions, making insightful sociological observations, or displaying critical thinking skills.

Although I was more than willing to accept the theoretical premise that the history we’re taught is biased and sometimes wrong, I also admit that I was a little nervous going in. There are two fatal directions a book like this can take: either being politically correct to the extreme of being inaccurate in the opposite way, or to be overly picky and so focused on minor details that the big picture becomes cloudy or forgotten. However, the book impressed me because it falls victim to neither of these, and the point it drives home is a serious one.

The book doesn’t simply create a shopping list of “facts that textbooks get wrong.” It walks us through a brief American history, stopping at points to focus on common misunderstandings and misrepresentations. Loewen points out what textbooks say by quoting them directly, discusses how and why they are wrong in those instances, and then makes best efforts to present the correct information. Lies never forgets to clarify why the truth is important and how students might benefit from knowing it is relevant to that particular topic, lest the reader lose sight of the “big picture.”

While Loewen does address many specific facts that are inaccurate or conflicting, what was more profound was the attitude more so than the information itself. The skew of much of the information is not a subtle slant; loaded adjectives, heavy with connotation, were more common than I expected. The things that are ignored, omitted and minimised are not minor issues — in some cases they are far more relevant to today’s students than some of the things covered in-depth which may hold only a minor importance but are “safer” topics.

Race and gender issues are rarely presented in high school history books, or addressed in the past tense as if they have been solved. Economic class and social stratification coverage was almost entirely missing from all the books, despite the fact that this is one of these most influential factors in political history and in modern society. Causes of these issues are simplified to the point of inaccuracy, if mentioned at all. History is a social science — to omit the critical role of these things in educational books is unforgivable. Not only was it not explained and the various causes or consequences not addressed, most of the books did not even reference their existence in their indexes and glossaries.

Historical events, particularly in foreign policy, that might make our country appear in a negative light are usually left out completely. Most modern text books rarely address the times our country has aided or initiated coups or political assassinations, fixed foreign elections or covertly intervened in the affairs of other nations. The very rare times these types of things are mentioned, it is under the paintbrush of anti-communism or even altruism — even if, in reality, those factors had absolutely nothing to do with the reason for such interventions (to be fair: anti-communism was a motivator many times). Even if one believes all America’s interventions were ultimately the right things to do, it’s still shocking that we’re not even teaching students about them. And to omit these events entirely because they may be interpreted negatively is certainly not good education. For a country as active in foreign affairs as ours, this is a dangerous approach.

Everyone knows that history is written by the victors, so we expect it to be biased. Most of our history-book heroes are white and middle-to-upper-class, all the stories are spun with a European bias, and the contributions from other cultures and class is minimised, if mentioned at all. Well, you might say, that’s who founded our country and influenced our government the most. But if we think about it for more than five seconds, this is absurd, especially in a country as diverse as this one. If it’s not adequately covering the history of blacks, American Indians, and other ethnic groups, and if its not addressing our working poor as well as the powerful upper class, it’s not really American history. And what does it say, subconsciously or blatantly, to those students who aren’t affluent WASPs when their history is unrepresented, inaccurate or absent entirely? How does that colour our perspective and mental framework for viewing social issues in the world today?

Lies makes the point that much of what our history books present are not so much real history but American cultural myth meant not to educate but instill patriotism. We exalt historical figures to hero status and exclude all mention of their flaws and mistakes. We whitewash, misrepresent and ignore critical events in our past regardless of their educational value and this often means neglecting very important information that would be both enlightening and relevant to modern students. These exaggerated, abstract figures and stories lose value to us. This makes history bland, uninteresting, and teaches students nothing of value in the real world. The constantly positive spin on things is inappropriate and unnecessary. Why can’t we be affirmative about our government and history by appreciating its strengths and its beauty while still acknowledging the mistakes we’ve made in the past and the changes we need to make in the future?

When American history is presented as a simple list of facts and dates and places to memorise, no discussion needed, it doesn’t teach the readers any critical thinking, to ask questions, to evaluate consequences and implications. Students do not gain an insightful understanding of the past and don’t develop the skills to accurately view today’s world as a result. No one enjoys this kind of sterile approach, not historians and certainly not students. Every high schooler knows they’re supposed to learn something from history to help them be better people, but most probably wonder how that occurs by knowing the dates of Revolutionary battles or who our 25th president was. These are not the things that encourage character growth or wisdom. Students know that, but they don’t know how it could be different.

All of these are the issues Lies seeks to address. Loewen is not saying we should revise history to be politically correct. He’s saying we should recognise the issues relevant to the American people today whether they are positive or negative, that we should get our facts right, and books should address critical issues of race, gender, and class. The goal is to end the whitewashed, one-dimensional, cultural fairytale and tell the real story of the issues, events and people that shaped our history. History is never black and white, so why do we make it that way? Not only does it become extremely boring, but it also becomes something we can no longer identify with, and hardly something we can learn from.

Despite what it sounds like by the critiques of missing information, Loewen’s critique of history books is not that they are too short. In fact, Lies argues that the average history book is too long and filled with too many unimportant dates, people and details. He argues that books need to be pared down the events, issues, people and topics that had a significant influence on history. However, this must be paired with a thorough effort to teach students how to think critically, ask questions, and do their own research. Students should learn to identify and discern between valid evidence and arguments and to formulate their own ideas. If we can teach students to do this, it won’t really matter if their books are imperfect, because students will know how to judge them critically. What’s more, this kind of approach makes history exciting and dynamic and has the seeds to make students actually passionate about events and issues that are important, influencing them to be thinking citizens who control their own education. In other words, it is more important to teach our students how to learn then to try to teach them all the millions of things they should learn.

I want to end this by pointing out that although the book is written as a critique of those high school history books, it doesn’t just beat you up with all the things you were taught that were wrong. It is not an ad nauseum attack on your education, as I might have lead you to believe. Well, okay, it is that, too. It is also a very fascinating look at the real history of America. As Lies retells our past, many people and events come alive. You learn new things, build new appreciations and shape your own judgments. The book is interesting and reading it is a positive — not punishing — experience. You will feel a better person for reading it, not worse.

Buy the book on Amazon – Paperback / Kindle

“Bonk”

“The Disappearing Spoon”

Good Books: Africa

Good Books: on Richard Feynman

“The Wolf”

“Deadly Choices”

“Lies My Teacher Told Me”