What I've found most vexing is that I've reached a point in my reading where I've started being comparative. I've read more than one text on the same moment in history and the same person, and I've noticed that they don't always agree on the details or even the broader themes. I've learned that politics plays a part in the reporting of history, something I believed before reading it firsthand. But I've also gotten a sense of another more frightening reality. We just don't do our homework. Most readers don't know enough background to say if we're being fed the truth or the justification for some convoluted rant laden with misinformation and distortion. The same applies with some historians. They spend so much time gathering material, they ignore the more important analysis and verification of what they write. When I read something that I find interesting or surprising in a history text anymore, all I want to know is where and how the writer found that out. I guess that is me growing into a better reader, but I do miss reading with a profound trust and astonishment at every page turn.
Here are some of the texts that gave me the goosebumps that I was talking about.
Lies My Teacher Told MeThis was the original or grandfather text of a lot of my history reading. I read this and scoffed and was intrigued and grew addicted. I think I even mentioned it in an earlier post on this blog. The pages on Helen Keller and Woodrow Wilson were especially fascinating. I have to admit, when I read the title, I was not that impressed. I thought, "Great, another attack on the public school system. Just what we need." Then, I read about it in Chris Crutcher's book, Deadline, and I picked it up right away.
This seems to follow the same theme as the one above it, but equally interesting. I'm not sure about how credible it is all the time since I have read some dissenting reactions in reviews, but I tend to believe it is credible most of the time and if not, there are at least a few other books I've read that corroborate the stories that the author told. Of course, there are also a few books I've read that contradict details, but oh well. I liked the book. I annoyed my wife with at least a few different stories I've read in here. Sorry, dear, if you read this. I didn't mean to annoy you. I just don't comprehend that everyone else isn't fascinated by this too.
Kenneth Davis has written more of these Don't Know Much books that than I thought could be created. Just how many things can any one person not know much about? However, these are the sort of books that intrigue the newfound history buff in me. I read these and learn so much and compare what I've read here to what I learned there and before I know it, I'm the fly in the ear of that lovely woman, my wife, once again. Mr. Davis begins many of this books the same way: with some introduction that speaks briefly to the negative experience he had in history class. Seems kind of ironic to read that in the beginning of a book by a bestselling historian, but I have to say that I get what he describes and I like where he's gone with his own books. I hope that by reading them, I've prepared myself to avoid the pitfalls his teachers went through.
This one is simple and to the point, though not completely focused on history. Still, every page is a new supposed truth overturned by a very concise explanation and citation of facts. I like the book, though it leaves me with more of an appetite for more books like it than a satisfied feeling at the end. I guess that works for the author, but it's certainly a departure from the other books I've mentioned. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes their reading to be broken into small doses that don't require a significant devotion of time or a strong commitment to reading in order since the book is not arranged in a particular order chronological or otherwise.
This one has the wildest stories I've ever read. And it's completely fun. I'd recommend this one to anyone. You don't have to like history to like this book. I think I picked it up on clearance in a warehouse-style bookstore. I never expect much from the books I get in those places, but I really loved this one. It was so well put together. Easily a favorite. I love any story that is full of oddities and this one is built on them.
So this is just a nice starter list. It's not the end-all-be-all list by any stretch of the imagination. There's so many more books that I could and probably should mention, but there's only so long that a person can stare at the same screen and tap, tap away at a keyboard. If you know a better book and you want to mention it, feel free to comment. Until next time, happy reading.
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