"Lies My Teacher Told Me" is an eye-opening exploration of American history that challenges conventional narratives. The author delves into the myths taught in classrooms, unveiling the complexities and biases often overlooked. With meticulous research and a critical lens, the book prompts readers to reevaluate their understanding of the past. It's a great read for anyone looking for the bigger picture of their history education. Plus, this graphic novel version is more effectively for those who prefer to learn through visuals rather than lengthy texts.

I am not American and didn’t know the book this graphic novel is based on but it was a very interesting read!

I was surprised by how detailed it was actually. (It makes some pages appeared too full of info at times, especially in B&W but overall it’s fine)

It treats of several subjects like (of course) all the misinformations about Columbus (there are way more than I thought!), the real origins of Thanksgiving, Jefferson and his hypocrisy regarding slavery (it was even worse than I knew!) etc….

But it all also talks about modern history and about its absence from those school books.
One of the saddest things is the idea that those school books are careful about what they write in order not to …upset the parents! What a crazy world we live in…

If you’re interested in American history I recommend this book for adult or younger readers who want to learn how to see outside of what school teach them.

I knew of the original book, but when it was published, I was close to graduating and could not have cared less about reading it. It’s pretty neat that I get to review its graphic novel adaptation almost thirty years later.

Don’t be fooled (like I was) into thinking that because this is a graphic novel, it will be an easy, quick read. There’s a TON of information packed into each page, and the subject matter is so heavy that you really need to give it more than your regular attention span.

You’ll learn a lot in here. Some of the revelations are more widely known now than back in 1995, like the mass genocide perpetrated by Columbus, how Native Americans helped early European immigrants to not starve to death (not the other way around) and that Washington and Jefferson both owned slaves. There’s still more that I didn’t know. I wasn’t aware that a lot of early immigrants actively wanted to assimilate into Native American culture, which others tried to stop by banning long hair among men. I didn’t know more intimate details about Sutter’s Fort or the Alamo. I also didn’t know that Woodrow Wilson was so racist that he and his administration set back civil rights for literally decades. Seriously, what a bleeping bleep bleep!!! Ugh.

This book is important. Adults should read it. Kids should read it.

No nation is perfect…not even ours.

Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for a complimentary eARC. All opinions are my own.

The original Lies My Teacher Told Me is one of my favorite non-fiction books of all time (I own two copies – one 1995 first edition and one later revision), so I was super excited to see a graphic novel adaptation pop up on NetGalley. I don't read a whole lot of graphic novels in general, so I'm a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. It stays true to Loewen's original text and manages to convey his message and ideas while using only a fraction of the words. That's not to say that this graphic novel is a replacement for the original – the traditional book format is obviously able to go into more detail than can be fit into some small text bubbles – but it's a fantastic summary of the original. I can also see it being much more accessible for someone who might be daunted at the thought of reading a more conventional non-fiction book.

And, like the original, this is such an important book. American history textbooks whitewash our history (and in some cases outright lie about it) and Lies My Teacher Told Me attempts to shed some light on these mistruths. Loewen studied various American history textbooks and addresses several important questions about their content in this book: What are the common failures of American history textbooks? Who are the textbook authors attempting to pacify? Why is this whitewashing of history bad? How does the teaching of history need to change? As a huge lover of history, it was absolutely eye-opening when I first read his book as a teenager, and it's slightly infuriating that nothing much has changed regarding American history textbooks since its publication almost thirty years ago.

The drawings themselves are well done and add a new dimension to the text. While some of the data in the text is a little outdated, the pictures often show more current events – Trump's “bone spurs” and Black Lives Matter protests both make an appearance, for example.

Which, I suppose, leads me to my one minor complaint about this book. While it's a great resource for individuals looking to learn more about the true history of the United States, some of the statistics really need to be updated. For example, it's mentioned at one point that a survey of “high school seniors in 1999 found that almost half believed that the 'best years of the United States are behind us.'” This is important to know, of course, but 1999 was twenty-five years ago (as someone who graduated in 1997, this pains me to think about!). It would be really nice to know how high school seniors today feel about the country's prospects, too. Since the original book was published in the mid-90s (and I think its last major revision was in 2007?) it's not surprising that the data reflects this, but I'd really love to see a completely updated edition someday.

But, still, this is a fantastic book for anyone who's interested in American history (and it's perhaps even more important for those who aren't, especially anyone who found it “boring” in school). 4.75 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and The New Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

This is a graphic adaptation of Lies my teacher told me, an important book that helps explain what we're taught, how that's wrong, and why things are taught so badly. History is written by the winners, for sure, but as this book points out, a lot of it doesn't make sense without context.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

In this captivating book, the quote "these books don't invite us to think" highlights the author's disappointment with typical Social Studies books lacking intellectual stimulation. However, this book does just that and even includes notes, questions, and follow-up pages.This particular book offers a fresh perspective and challenges conventional thinking, specifically in relation to redefining our educational system.