Myth America

Historians Take On the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past

By: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer

Narrated by: Allan Aquino, Maleah Woodley, Todd Menesses, Sasha LaPointe

America’s top historians set the record straight on the most pernicious myths about our nation’s past.

The United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Distortions of the past promoted in the conservative media have led large numbers of Americans to believe in fictions over facts, making constructive dialogue impossible and imperiling our democracy.

In Myth America, Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer have assembled an all-star team of fellow historians to push back against this misinformation. The contributors debunk narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors—among numerous other partisan lies. Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, their findings revitalize our understanding of American history.

Replacing myths with research and reality,  Myth America is essential listening amid today’s heated debates about our nation’s past.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer (P)2022 Basic Books

Fantastic

This book is so well-written by the many historians that took part. All of the essays are well-researched by experts on the subjects they tackled and I can’t wait to buy their individual books!

Clearly addresses many common myths

Covers most of the most common myths that appear in the news almost daily. I doubt it will stop the majority of believers from believing the myths (facts seldom do) but it's worth knowing the truth anyhow

Essential reading

This is an essential read/listen for all who desire to stay abreast of the true history of 20 of some of the most consequential myths in our country today - myths skillfully crafted by those who seek to distort our understanding of history and social, political & economic reality to maintain inequity division and fear. Should be in all high school and college history programs not only for the myth-busting but also to expose the manner in which these myths are created and absorbed by so many.

Mostly factual but biased overall

White sprinkled with interesting facts the overall left winged bias is obvious as little controversy over the findings is presented.

Great Book

This is an excellent book I would highly recommend to read this book it tells you the true face of America.

Non Fiction = not the best audio format.

Reading it would have been better than the audio. not being able to see the data and stats impaired my ability to absorb those detail, as I am a very visual learner. The narrators did not make it easier with their monotone.

Outstanding Literary Work - with Uninspired Audio

Sometimes the person reading didn't seem to understand what they were reading, as if this was their first read and they were on autopilot. This made it tough to follow at times. Otherwise, this is an impressive, iff disturbing, history lesson which all serious Americans should consume.

Informative, enlightening

The essays are a mixed bag however. Some are quite informative, such as Chapter 1: American Exceptionalism, and the various connotations which that term has carried over the years, and by whom. Some are a bit wishy-washy, like Chapter 2: Vanishing Indians. There's a perverse re-revisionism for Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Personally I never viewed it as being dismissive of Native peoples in modernity, though I'm sure there were some blind spots by the author. I think the enormous benefit it provided (ultimately acknowledged by the essayist) in bringing the treatment of indigenous people to fore, far outweighs any shortcomings. It didn't need this kind of rebuke. And some are just wishful thinking, like Chapter 19: Reagan Revolution. All the statistics in the world, demonstrating how uniquely unsuccessful and unpopular his policies were (all true), does not change the fact that it was Reaganomic supply side rubbish still vexes the nation up this this very day, virtually destroying the middle class by creating the greatest wealth redistribution in history.... upwards. We always knew he was a useful idiot figurehead for conservatives and libertarian economists (yes, really Milton Friedman is to blame), so quibbling over his supposed legacy is just a waste of time.

But most of the essays are quite enlightening, with some well understood information, and some new, to me at least. It was interesting hearing about the history of socialism in America. To think when all the MAGAs drone on about the Pledge of Allegiance, do they know a socialist wrote it? A Christian Socialist in the 19th century, but if a clergyman declares Jesus was a Socialist, then I think he's on the correct side of the 21st century divide. Also the semantics of "White Backlash" was interesting as it did a good job of demonstrating that such a situation is asymmetrical, and the fault is not shared. If one group is pushing for human and civil rights for one and all, they are not to blame for the racist and violent response. Words matter. Similarly, it was quite compelling to hear the complicated history of feminism, and its difficult alliances and exclusions. Nothing particularly new here, but relevant to the resurgent occurrence of "misogynoir" displayed by Republicans in particular these days.

But the single best, most enlightening essay would have to be the Southern Strategy. Under attack these days, again by Republicans who refuse to acknowledge ugly history, particularly theirs, I learned just how long this scheme was in the works. Not merely a Nixonian move, but one where the groundwork had been laid from the end of WWII. Fascinating stuff, with copious documentation, and (best of all) first hand admissions (bragging really) of the ascending conservative wing of Republican and their co-hort Dixiecrats, of a systemic effort to disenfranchise Black voters and instill a perpetual feeling of "white victimhood", which again, still exists today.

As mentioned earlier, a bit uneven essay to essay, but the high points are high enough to mitigate the pettier parts. And the negative reviews are a better testament for getting this book than I could ever write. Just read those, and recognize these authors have found all the right enemies!

History everyone should know

This book shows why knowledge of history is so important in understanding what is happening now.
Music was unnecessary.

Excellent collection of essays

Imagine that you're an historian - not a fake Dinesh D'Souza type historian - but a real one that actually does research.
You collect your quotes and your statistics from primary sources, contemporary documents, artifacts, and direct or indirect quotes from the people involved. You put all this together into an essay of a few thousand words, paring it all down so it's easily accessible to the general public.
And, what kind of criticism do you get? Basically, "nu uhn". Well, Skippy, with that well reasoned and researched response, how can I not be swayed?
You may not like the book, you may not believe the book, but until you can disprove the book, it's probably better to not post your "it's all lefty propaganda" opinion.
I found these essays fascinating - some more than others admittedly. I'll never forget that the writer of the pledge of allegiance was a member of the socialist party. Of course, the original version didn't have "under God" in it - on the story behind that, I'd highly recommend Kruse's book named "One Nation Under God". It tells the history of how religion has become such an integral part of our politics.
I also think that this should be used to teach students critical thinking. On one side, we have a Praeger U video claiming there was never a "Southern Strategy". On the other side, we have people in the Republican party talking explicitly about the Southern Strategy. A teacher could show the video, have the students read the essay and write their own papers about it - proving one side or the other. But, responses like "nu unh" are not going to be acceptable in high school, and they shouldn't be in reviews, either.