Americas
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Myth America: Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past
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
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
Editorial Reviews
"[Myth America] 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. Moreover, these essays treat readers to wonderfully accessible, jargon-free historical writing."―Lizabeth Cohen, Washington Post
"An authoritative and fitting contribution to the myth-busting genre."
―Carlos Lozada, New York Times
"Myth America's contributors take direct aim at the lies that are the lifeblood of the myths that grip American culture and politics today. This book is a collective work of courage in a time when ‘truth' and ‘fact' have never been so widely abused; if we believe in our craft as public historians and journalists, Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer show us the way."
―David W. Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Frederick Douglass
"An extraordinary essay collection by an extraordinary group of historians-each determined to make our national history usable in all the best ways. The truth does exist, and they tell it well. Together, they make an indispensable intervention for our troubled times."―Beverly Gage, author of G-Man
"Punching through the information overload with clear-eyed analysis, research rigor, and stylistic verve, this collection reveals the real history behind today's headlines and upends long-enduring myths. Powerful, timely, and essential."―Margaret O'Mara, author of The Code
"If you want to cling to your most cherished myths about history, this is a dangerous book. But at a time when both truth and history are under siege, Myth America has given us a blunt fact-check of many of the fictions that have come to dominate our political and cultural debates. An immensely important contribution and indispensable reference tool for confronting both the wish-casting and the disinformation about our past."―Charlie Sykes, editor in chief, The Bulwark
"An authoritative and fitting contribution to the myth-busting genre."
―Carlos Lozada, New York Times
"Myth America's contributors take direct aim at the lies that are the lifeblood of the myths that grip American culture and politics today. This book is a collective work of courage in a time when ‘truth' and ‘fact' have never been so widely abused; if we believe in our craft as public historians and journalists, Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer show us the way."
―David W. Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Frederick Douglass
"An extraordinary essay collection by an extraordinary group of historians-each determined to make our national history usable in all the best ways. The truth does exist, and they tell it well. Together, they make an indispensable intervention for our troubled times."―Beverly Gage, author of G-Man
"Punching through the information overload with clear-eyed analysis, research rigor, and stylistic verve, this collection reveals the real history behind today's headlines and upends long-enduring myths. Powerful, timely, and essential."―Margaret O'Mara, author of The Code
"If you want to cling to your most cherished myths about history, this is a dangerous book. But at a time when both truth and history are under siege, Myth America has given us a blunt fact-check of many of the fictions that have come to dominate our political and cultural debates. An immensely important contribution and indispensable reference tool for confronting both the wish-casting and the disinformation about our past."―Charlie Sykes, editor in chief, The Bulwark
Readers Top Reviews
Gordon C. MorseLynda
I worried about this book, but wished for the best. How many pages would you have to turn on a book taking on myths and lies before you ran headlong into more myths and lies? Answer: Not many. The editors of this project have a liberal track record, which was okay by me. I'm a liberal, too -- and a lifelong Democrat. But give me a break. The utter and complete lack of self-awareness in this tract is stunning. They want to get credit, at the threshold, for assembling "experts" and some of these writers qualify, at least on an academic basis. But Trump has clearly made them all a bit crazed. Too much of this is street-level -- or perhaps, more likely, bar-level -- presentations of political opinion. Too many of these historians yearn to claim "authority" -- and surely achieve such deference on campus -- but then abuse whatever expertise they bring to the table over and over again. I'm glad I bought this book, if only because it's such a sterling example of educated, bordline creepy self-regard and fraudulence.
Shawn dAnunciacao
As both a student and educator of history, I appreciated how well these well researched and presented vignettes use truth to debunk American mythology. Approachable excerpts from a wide range of topics. Will be using excerpts in my classes for years to come.
Susan M. Lewis
Kevin Kruse has pushed back against a lot of disinformation about American history, especially about racial issues. His careful scholarship deserves to be read closely. His research, explanations, and conclusions are easy to read and so important in the political chaos of the 2020’s.
