Lies my Teacher Told Me is an informative book about what high school textbook authors have left out, lied about, or distorted when describing our nation's past. James Loewen spent 11 years researching this book that “Every teacher, every student of history, every citizen should read,” according to Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States. Loewen covers a wide range of topics, from the truth about Christopher Columbus to racism in our country.

U.S. history has been distorted until the real stories are almost unrecognizable. Textbook authors want students to respect the past and learn from it, so they write about the good things that have happened. However, humans learn from mistakes, so it is helpful to learn what mistakes not to make, but that is exactly what authors usually leave out.

They don't write about Thomas Jefferson and George Washington being slave owners because that's not what anybody wants to hear about our founding fathers. These authors turn history into boring facts and dates that students must memorize. They fail to engage students' interest or encourage them to ask powerful questions like “Why?”

This is exactly what Loewen wants the world to learn. History textbooks have left out many facts that give insight into our past. Some of these authors even make up stories and rarely write about the recent past. They depict heroes as people who never did a single bad thing. This is not real history! According to writer Mary Mackey, this book is “An extremely convincing plea for truth in education.”

The last two chapters, “Why is History Taught like This?” and “What is the Result of Teaching History Like This?” debate why nobody has changed the textbooks. “Could it be that they just don't know the truth?” Loewen asks. As a result, students are not engaged in history; they just study for tests and soon forget the information. “Students will start learning history when they see the point of doing so, when it seems interesting and important to them, and when they believe history might relate to their lives and futures,” he writes.

This book is for all of us who want to know the truth about America's past and uncover what our high school textbooks lied about. It contains a lot of information, and you will learn much that is contrary to what you were taught in school.