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You Are Here: Home > History Books > American History > Item 15
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The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to American History (Politically Incorrect Guides)
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by Thomas E. Woods Jr.
Sales Rank: 2624
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List Price: $19.95
$13.57
At Amazon
on 11-28-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 270 pages
Published by: Regnery Publishing, Inc. December 2004
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0895260476
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0895260475
Book Dimensions:
9 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
Weighs: 1.1 pounds
Product Review
Claiming that most textbooks and popular history books were written by biased left-wing writers and scholars, historian Thomas Woods offers this guide as an alternative to "the stale and predictable platitudes of mainstream texts." Covering the colonial era through the Clinton administration, Woods seeks to debunk some persistent myths about American history. For instance, he writes, the Puritans were not racists intent on stealing the Indians' lands, the Founding Fathers were not revolutionaries but conservatives in the true sense of the word, the American War Between the States (to even call it a civil war is inaccurate, Woods says) was not principally about slavery, Abraham Lincoln was no friend to the slaves, and FDR's New Deal policies actually made the Depression worse. He also covers a wide range of constitutional interpretations over the years, particularly regarding the First, Second, Ninth, and Tenth amendments, and continually makes the point that states' rights have been unlawfully trampled upon by the federal government since the early days of the republic. Though its title is more deliberately provocative than accurate, Woods' attack on what he sees as rampant liberal revisionism over the past 25 years proves to be an interesting platform for a book. He's as biased as those he rails against, of course, but he does provoke thought in an entertaining way even if he sometimes tries to pass off opinion as hard facts.
This quick and enjoyable read is packed with unfamiliar quotes, informative sidebars, iconoclastic viewpoints, and a list of books "you're not supposed to read." It is not a comprehensive or detailed study, but that is not its aim; instead, it offers ideas for further research and a challenge to readers to dig deeper and analyze some basic assumptions about American history--a worthy goal that Woods manages to reach. --Shawn Carkonen
From Publishers Weekly
This book is not so much politically incorrect as it is contrarian, as well as utterly contemptuous of anything supported by Liberals or "Intellectuals." At every opportunity, Woods quotes government leaders, media sources and "distinguished" academics who have said something that he feels backs up his view. That view is, by and large, classically conservative, with a focus on states’ rights and small government. Any flaws in or missteps by politicians become instant basis for rejecting them wholesale (i.e., Lincoln’s racial views; the fact that JFK’s two major books were ghostwritten), as Woods dredges up accusations both familiar and long-forgotten. The historical coverage is hardly comprehensive, since Woods focuses on telling the "truth" about issues Liberals have allegedly distorted, like the New Deal and the Civil Rights movement. Some ideas that he claims are controversial are anything but: most people know the Civil War was not fought primarily to abolish slavery, and it’s no secret that Stalin starved his people. Woods writes with zeal, and speckles his narrative with suggestions for further reading labeled "Books You’re Not Supposed to Read" (which are mostly Right-wing revisionist histories) and "PC Today" boxes containing a grab-bag of conservative gripes and assertions (i.e. "It is not true, as most people believe, that the Indians had no conception of land ownership and did not understand what they were doing when they sold their land to the Puritans"). Diehard Republicans may find this book an inspiring corrective to supposedly Liberal-biased history texts, but others will be put off by Woods’s cherry-picking approach and supercilious tone.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Reader Reviews
As an historian, I can truly inform the reader that "history"--like every other discipline--is highly interpretive and personal. And, like nearly all other professions, if one wishes to rise to a position of prominence and respect, it is wise not to challenge long-held, cherished ideas. Since the New Deal, the history profession, like most others, has been dominated by the secular left. That's just the fact of the matter, although, again, those of that persuasion are not going to like that truth being exposed. It doesn't make them wrong or bad historians; many of them are very GOOD historians. But, at least in popular convention, the slant is there and historians (and others) have the right, yea, the duty, to challenge it lest man, as a species, forgets how to think and reason logically. Thomas Woods simply brings forth some historical data that clearly challenges conventional historical interpretations. This is good academic exercise; it SHOULD be done, in the name of academic freedom and intellectual development and honesty. If his reasoning is faulty, it will clearly be exposed by others. But, simply repeating time-worn mantras about the Civil War being fought over slavery, the New Deal ending the Great Depression, etc. etc. is not answering the information that Woods brings forth in this book. And to denounce the book without even reading it--which obviously most negative reviewers on Amazon have done--is to intellectually close one's mind to new ideas lest one's myopic world-view be disturbed. A person has that right, of course; no one is forcing anyone to believe anything. But it is refreshing that Thomas Woods has the professional honesty to bring out some historical information that is nearly always overlooked in textbooks. I personally know that most of Woods information is omitted from textbooks because I teach history at the college level and have many, many different textbooks. They don't dare do what Woods does. Was the Civil War not fought over slavery? Did the Founding Fathers actually mean something, in the Constitution, other than what the recent Supreme Courts have told us? Did the New Deal not get America out of the Depression? Why don't you read Woods book and see what he says. Get some information you haven't gotten before. You have every right to disagree with Thomas Woods' conclusion. But you do NOT have the right to draw conclusions based on insufficient evidence, not if you claim to be intellectually honest, and not if you are going to denounce Woods as a fool and a ranter. I say it's high time this book was written. Let the debate begin.
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The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to American History (Politically Incorrect Guides)
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