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

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Well researched, undermines right-wing fables

If you are anyone outside the right-wing echo chamber you probably already know most of what is in this book.

Still, it has some useful insights, such as how in the 1700s, German immigrants were considered the ‘other’, but are now considered as mainstream founding stock compared to the immigrants who would come later.

Granted, it does get a bit jargon-laden in places, and it will probably be labeled as ‘woke’ propaganda, whatever that means,

A must listen

Outstanding scholarly work. This is a great testimony to America’s history and how we can better understand ourselves.

Should be mandatory in every history class

Although not perfect, this collection of essays showcases so much of what really needs to be taught in our schools’ history classes.