Myth America : historians take on the biggest legends and lies about our past Cover Image

Book

Myth America : historians take on the biggest legends and lies about our past / edited by Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer.

Kruse, Kevin Michael, 1972- (editor.). Zelizer, Julian E., (editor.). Bell, David A. (David Avrom). American exceptionalism. (Added Author). Amar, Akhil Reed. Founding myths. (Added Author). Kelman, Ari, 1968- Vanishing Indians. (Added Author). Lee, Erika. Immigration. (Added Author). Churchwell, Sarah Bartlett, 1970- America first. (Added Author). Immerwahr, Daniel, 1980- United States is an empire. (Added Author). Cadava, Geraldo L., 1977- Border. (Added Author). Kazin, Michael, 1948- American socialism. (Added Author). Oreskes, Naomi. Magic of the marketplace. (Added Author). Rauchway, Eric. New Deal. (Added Author). Cox, Karen L., 1962- Confederate monuments. (Added Author). Kruse, Kevin Michael, 1972- Southern strategy. (Added Author). Gilmore, Glenda Elizabeth. Good protest. (Added Author). Glickman, Lawrence B., 1963- White backlash. (Added Author). Zeitz, Joshua. Great society. (Added Author). Hinton, Elizabeth Kai, 1983- Police violence. (Added Author). Belew, Kathleen, 1981- Insurrection. (Added Author). Petrzela, Natalia Mehlman. Family values feminism. (Added Author). Zelizer, Julian E. Reagan revolution. (Added Author). Anderson, Carol (Carol Elaine). Voter fraud. (Added Author).

Summary:

"The United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Distortions of the past promoted by partisan pundits and politicians have led many Americans to believe in fictions over facts, making constructive dialogue impossible and imperiling our democracy. In recent years, right-wing demagogues have even misused the past to fan the flames of white resetnment and unravel the nation's social safety net. The stakes are high. In Myth America, Kruse and Zelizer assemble an all-star team of their fellow historians to push back against this misinformation by setting the record straight. These contributors debunk narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, the "Reagan Revolution" as a resounding success, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors--among numerous other partisan lies and misconceptions. Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, their work revitalizes our understanding of American history and brings a true picture of the past alive for the present." --from the publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9781541601390
ISBN: 1541601394
Physical Description: viii, 390 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: New York, New York : Basic Books, 2022.
Copyright: ©2022

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 313-367) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction / Kevin Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer -- American exceptionalism / David A. Bell -- Founding myths / Akhil Reed Amar -- Vanishing Indians / Ari Kelman -- Immigration / Erika Lee -- America first / Sarah Churchwell -- The United States is an empire / Daniel Immerwahr -- The border / Geraldo Cadava -- American Socialism / Michael Kazin -- The magic of the marketplace / Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway -- The New Deal / Eric Rauchway -- Confederate monuments / Karen L. Cox -- The Southern strategy / Kevin Kruse -- The good protest / Glenda Gilmore -- White backlash / Lawrence B. Glickman -- The great society / Joshua Zeitz -- Police violence / Elizabeth Hinton -- Insurrection / Kathleen Belew -- Family values feminism / Natalia Mehlman Petrzela -- Reagan revolution / Julian E. Zelizer -- Voter fraud / Carol Anderson.