Comments on: The legend became fact, they printed the legend...but where to find the stories behind the legends?

Question: The legend became fact, they printed the legend...but where to find the stories behind the legends?

weirdoactor — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:00:59 -0800

Watching "Assume The Position, Mr. Wuhl" on HBO made me hungry for more debunking of legends and myths that we often accept as fact and history. My problem is, I'm not sure what to search for in seeking such material.

Please recommend authors, books, websites, movies and TV shows like this one that I might whet my appetite. FYI: I already watch "Penn & Teller's Bullshit" and "Mythbusters". I need more! Books especially. Help? Thanks!

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:11:31 -0800

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

By: apple scruff

apple scruff — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:23:18 -0800

Just some obvious ones: snopes.com, skepdic.com and straightdope.com. All excellent.

By: BitterOldPunk

BitterOldPunk — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:29:25 -0800

Well, there's always this. Arm yourself with a salt shaker, 'cause you'll need more than a grain.

By: weirdoactor

weirdoactor — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:49:28 -0800

Okay; I need to clarify. I'm not looking to have urban legends debunked or to read conspiracy theories about how the fluoride in the water system has nanites in it that make us want to shop...I'm more interested in the debunking of historical legends. Specifically how the pop culture of the day creates the history of tomorrow.

Some examples from the show:

- Columbus did not seek to prove the world was round; he wanted a western route to India. The whole "he wanted to prove the world is round" thing was from a book by Washington Irving; which is sort of like learning about our geopolitical and military history from reading Tom Clancy.

- Paul Revere only rode 19 miles to warn that the British were coming, roughly from Boston to Cambridge; Israel Bissel rode from Boston to Philly, about 350 miles. But Longfellow didn't think that "Israel Bissel" was such a great name to wrap the flag around just before the Civil War, but "Paul Revere" is easier for the propaganda machine, yes?

Here's his quiz for more insight into what I'm looking for. I hope that HBO picks it up as a series.

By: Brian James

Brian James — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:03:59 -0800

One of the items on the quiz, "George Washington was the first president of the United States," isn't really false, but has more to do with when you decide to start counting Presidents--with the Article of Confederation, or with the Constitution in 1789. Most historians go for the latter, and quite sensibly I think.

But anyway, to answer your question, I've heard good things about The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History.

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:08:29 -0800

I think that An Underground Education : The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew ... may be up your alley, although it's a little breezy. A lot of debunking, a lot of neat factoids, but best of all, a lot of explanations of how and why the various legends and myths were propagated in the first place.

By: azuma

azuma — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:24:58 -0800

Bill Bryson's Made in America is about the origins of American English, but also has a lot of historical info you won't find in the average textbook. Many myths debunked.

By: stuart_s

stuart_s — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 23:36:35 -0800

I Love Paul Revere, Whether He Rode or Not and Legends, Lies, and Cherished Myths of American History by Richard Shenkman.

By: provolot

provolot — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 00:39:28 -0800

It's not a source, but a small anecdote..

George Washington's cherry tree story -- that was also made up posthumously by a biographer.

By: TedW

TedW — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 07:07:55 -0800

The author of Lies My Teacher Told Me also has a website.

By: planetkyoto

planetkyoto — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 07:28:31 -0800

I second Straightdope.com and third "Lies My Teacher Told Me."

By: bove

bove — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 08:32:53 -0800

I also love "Lies My Teacher Told Me." It is a great book. Easy to read. One of the things I like about it, is that besides just debunking a lot of common historical "facts" it also goes into some of the structural issues around why these myths and untruths are perpetuated in the educational system.

By: Chrysostom

Chrysostom — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 10:31:59 -0800

I have not read The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History, but it has a rap as being primarily an apologia for the Confederacy.

Here's a very harsh piece from Reason about it.

By: Rash

Rash — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 13:07:24 -0800

Lots of good suggestions in this thread. However, I would suggest not wasting your time on An Underground Education -- "a little breezy" is way too soft a criticism; I thought it was full of sensational misinformation. However, for general knowledge, the similarly-titled An Incomplete Education can't be beat.

By: cenoxo

cenoxo — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 22:13:18 -0800

Seymour Hersh's The Dark Side of Camelot (1997), specifically about the Kennedy family.

Look for a used copy of it—and any other title, FWIW—on ABE.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 12:01:08 -0800

Late to the party here--posts scroll off AskMe so fast!

Avoid like the plague The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History. It is a P.O.S. and should be titled The Factually Incorrect Guide to American History. The Reason piece linked above is spot-on.