American History Revised: 200 Startling Facts That Never Made It into the Textbooks [Paperback]

Sunday, March 18, 2012

American History Revised: 200 Startling Facts That Never Made It into the Textbooks [Paperback]

Product Details

Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (April 6, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307587606
ISBN-13: 978-0307587602
Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Seymour Morris Jr.
List Price : ~~$16.99~~
Price : $13.98
You Save : $3.01 (18%)

Customer Reviews

American History Revised-200 Startling Facts That Never Made It Into the Textbooks- is an interesting read that shows much promise but unfortunately suffers from a combination of poor research and poor editing. To be fair, the author is not a professional historian (nor is this reviewer) but when writing a book purporting to tell stories that "did not make it into the textbooks" it is to be expected that one should get one's facts straight. A few examples:
In discussing Pearl Harbor, the author refers to "one such officer-Corporal George Mooney". Is the author unaware that a corporal is not an officer, or was Mooney in fact a Captain or other rank?
The author refers to "an American Admiral" in 1813, although there were no Admirals in the U.S. until the 1860's.
The author refers to JFK winning the Pulitzer Prize for "Why England Slept". In fact he won for "Profiles in Courage".
Twice he confuses the battle of Antietam with Gettysburg-referring to the "three day battle" of Antietam and claiming R. E. Lee would "never again launch a sustained offensive" after Antietam. What then was the Gettysburg campaign?
In similar vein, he cites as R. E. Lee's "one brilliant victory"-Chancellorsville. What about the Seven Days, Second Manassas, Fredericksburg?
He claims both George Washington and Ulysses Grant were 5-star generals. In fact, all holders of that rank were from the 1940's.
He sometimes seems not to have read his own stories. Once he informs the reader that the British losing the Revolutionary War was a surprise since they had only lost one significant battle-Yorktown. Several pages later, he refers to the American victory at Saratoga as "the turning point" of the war.
In sum, the book is worth the read, but the reader is well advised to check out any of the 200 stores elsewhere before repeating them. In general they may be correct but the details are often wrong and the subject of sloppy research and editing.

This book really is a set of "fun facts" about American history that is very easy to read in short bits and is likely to leave you wanting to learn more about different topics. It really is not a systematic overview of American history and does not try to present a "viewpoint" other than "did you know this?" My favorite teacher ever was an AP history teacher back in high school who really kept the interest of the class (to the extent that he presented additional classes at the request of students after school during the final week of senior year). His technique was to tell us a lot of fun facts and unusual "stories" around key figures in history that made history live in a way that usual recitations of events did not. This book is written very much in the "bet you didn't know" style and does make for a good and interesting read. The approach really kept me interested in history many years later and this book could well have the same effect on others.
Very good for what it is! You will enjoy it! Four stars!