Lies my teacher told me : a graphic adaptation

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Title:

Author:

Loewen, James W., author.

Powell, Nate, illustrator.

New Press, publisher.

Summary:

Nate Powell has adapted James W. Loewen’s classic work into a graphic edition that perfectly captures both Loewen’s text and the irreverent spirit of his work. Eye-popping illustrations bring to life the true history chronicled in Lies My Teacher Told Me, and ample text boxes and callouts ensure nothing is lost in translation. The book is perfect for those making their first foray past the shroud of history textbooks, and it will also be beloved by those who had their worldviews changed by the original.-- Amazon

Audience:

Grades 7-9 The New Press.

General Note:

"Adapted and illustrated by Nate Powell"--front cover.

Contents:

Introduction: Something has gone very wrong -- Handicapped by history: The process of hero making -- 1493: The true importance of Christopher Columbus -- The first Thanksgiving -- Red eyes -- Gone with the wind: The invisibility of racism in American history textbooks -- John Brown and Abraham Lincoln: The invisibility of antiracism in American history textbooks -- The land of opportunity -- Watching big brother: What textbooks teach about the Federal government -- See no evil: Choosing not to look at the war in Vietnam -- Down the memory hole: The disappearance of the recent past -- History and the future -- Does this way of teaching history work?

Physical Description:

264 pages : chiefly illustrations ; 24 cm

Genre:

Graphic novels.

Comics (Graphic works)

Nonfiction comics.

Educational comics.

Subject Term:

Indians of North America -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Thanksgiving Day -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Racism -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Comic books strips, etc.

Author(s):

Powell, Nate,

Added Corporate Author:

New Press,

Publisher:

The New Press,

Publication Date:

2024

ISBN:

9781620977033

Publication Information:

New York : The New Press, 2024.

Call Number:

YA LOEWEN

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003751081	New Young Adult Graphic Novels	LOEWEN	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

At last! The long-awaited graphic version of the multi-million copy bestselling corrective to American history myths--adapted by the famed National Book Award-winning artist behind John Lewis's March trilogy

Named one of the Best Art Books of the Year by Hyperallergic

Since its first publication in the 1990s, Lies My Teacher Told Me has become one of the most important and successful--and beloved--history books of our time. As the late Howard Zinn said, "Every teacher, every student of history, every citizen should read this book." Having sold well over 2 million copies, the book also won an American Book Award and numerous other commendations and prizes and was even heralded on the front page of the New York Times long after its first publication.

Now, the brilliant and award-winning artist Nate Powell--the first cartoonist ever to win a National Book Award--has adapted Loewen's classic work into a graphic edition that perfectly captures both Loewen's text and the irreverent spirit of his work. Eye-popping illustrations bring to life the true history chronicled in Lies My Teacher Told Me, and ample text boxes and callouts ensure nothing is lost in translation. The book is perfect for those making their first foray past the shroud of history textbooks, and it will also be beloved by those who had their worldviews changed by the original.

Author Notes

Social scientist and professor James Loewen is an outspoken critic of "feel-good" history. In his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American Textbook Got Wrong" (1996) he debunks the myths and exposes the omissions he feels are taught in the nation's high schools.

Disturbed by his college students' lack of knowledge of history and concerned about minority misconceptions, Loewen spent two years at the Smithsonian analyzing 12 leading history texts and 11 years writing this best-selling indictment of history teaching. Loewen believes that controversy has been removed from classrooms in favor of blind patriotism. "Any history book that celebrates, rather than examines, our heritage has the by-product, intended or not, of alienating all those in the 'out group', those who have not become affluent, and denies them a tool for understanding their own group's lack of success."

Loewen's other books include ""Mississippi: Conflict and Change" (1974, rev. 1980), a revisionist history of the state written with a coalition of students and faculty at Tougaloo College, Mississippi; "Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White" (1971), a study of this minority's role in society; "Social Science in the Courtroom" (1983), based on the author's experiences as an expert witness in civil rights cases and "The Truth About Columbus: A Subversively True Poster Book For A Dubiously Celebratory Occasion" (1992). In addition, the author is a frequent contributor to professional publications, sometimes under the pseudonym James Lyons.

James W. Loewen was born February 6, 1942 in Decatur, Illinois and was educated at Carleton College (B.A., 1964) and Harvard University (M.A, 1967; Ph.D., 1968). He was a sociologist and teacher specializing in race relations at Tougaloo College, Mississippi from 1968 to 1974.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

"History is the only field in which the MORE courses students take, the STUPIDER they become," according to this striking graphic adaptation by cartoonist Powell (the March series) of sociologist Loewen's groundbreaking 1995 study, which challenged the prevailing version of American history taught in public schools. From elementary school mythology surrounding Christopher Columbus through the falsehoods, half-truths, and purposeful omissions that inform a typical student's understanding of slavery, the Civil War, Vietnam, and post-9/11 political discourse, Loewen and Powell's insightful and often irreverent approach upends standard narratives. They examine the underlying motivations and trends that informed and bolstered a Eurocentric and often idealized version of history--which never let the truth get in the way of a good story in favor of nationalism. Powell's characteristically fluid art lends new depth to revisited figures including Helen Keller, known by most Americans solely for her disabilities and not for her radical activism, and abolitionist John Brown, condemned by U.S. history books as a mentally disturbed violent extremist rather than a dedicated social progressive. Long a favorite of radical educators, Loewen's original text receives the vital and accessible adaptation it deserves. (Apr.)