Not So!: Popular Myths About America From Columbus to Clinton

By Paul F. Boller Jr.

Book Overview

In sailing westward in 1492, did Columbus defy the prevailing belief that the Earth was flat? Was Thomas Paine an atheist? Was Truman plucked from obscurity to be FDR's running mate in 1944? Are presidential campaigns nowadays far dirtier than they were in the past? Is Hillary Clinton the most active or influential First Lady ever? Not so, says Paul Boller, in this delightfully informative look at some of the most common myths and misconceptions about the American past.
As he did in his bestselling They Never Said It, Boller provides us with a cornucopia of historical correction, debunking myths that range from the trivial--for instance, George Washington did not have false teeth made of wood (they were made of ivory)--to the pernicious (FDR did not know in advance that the Japanese planned to bomb Pearl Harbor). We learn that most educated people in Columbus's day knew the world was round (it was Washington Irving who first portrayed Columbus as defying a coterie of flat-earthers); that Washington's famous Farewell Address was mostly written by Alexander Hamilton; that the Pledge of Allegiance was penned by Francis Bellamy, a devout socialist, in 1892 (and it was intended as a paean to big government); that Thomas Paine was not an atheist, but a deist (as were Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin), and his Age of Reason attacked both organized religion and atheism; that Truman was far from an obscure politician in 1944 (he had been on the cover of Time in 1943 for his Senate work uncovering waste and fraud in the war industries, and a Look magazine poll placed Truman among the ten figures who had contributed the most to the war effort); that presidential campaigns in the old days were more vituperative than recent ones; and that several First Ladies were more influential than Hillary Clinton, most notably Eleanor Roosevelt and Edith Wilson (the latter played a crucial role in her husband's administration from 1919 to 1921, after he suffered a massive stroke). Boller doesn't simply debunk each myth, but instead provides us with much fascinating history surrounding each case, so that the reader is treated to intriguing discussions of many singular episodes in American history, including the Kennedy assassination, the McCarthy hearings, the events leading up to Pearl Harbor, and Watergate. And finally, if the book provides many eye-opening surprises and amusing passages, there is also a serious side of Boller's exploration of American myth. As he shows, much misinformation has been cooked up for political or ideological reasons. By debunking these tales, Boller warns us to question what we hear and what we think we know about America and about our leaders, past and present.
The chronicles of American history are strewn with legends, fables, folklore, misconceptions, and outright lies. Patriotism has set many a tall tale in motion, but so have political partisanship and ideological zeal. For everyone who loves history--or the truth--Paul Boller has given us a candid and absorbing look at the American past that helps us get a good sense of where we have been and who we are as a people.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195091868
• ISBN13: 9780195091861
• Release Date: October 1995
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 8.6" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Excellent layman's book

This may not be a "scholarly" tome, that just makes it readable. In the various chapters he relates on what is commonly believed is false. The Jefferson/Hemmings controversy will never being agreed upon by all. Some reviewers have claimed there was a right-wing biased, but if he was right-winged biased, then why did he defend Elanor Roosevelt from charges of infidelity. If he was so conservative, then how come he did not write so fondly of Joseph McCarthy as Ann Coulter has done? Written by a Emiritus Professor of History, you can rest assured of this book's accuracy. I highly recommend. Even as a professional historian, I find this a delightful break from harsh "scholarly" tomes.

Excellent

More people need to read books like this. It is short sweet and full of interesting little known facts about US(North American) history.

Interesting, eye-opening

This is an entertaining and eye-opening book. Although it wasn't written for scholars, it is well-written and anyone who wishes to go beyond the many myths that are taught to most of us in grade school should read it. It is as interesting as Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me.

Interesting, eye-opening book

This is a well-written book that should be read by anyone with a desire to go beyond the many myths Americans learn while in grade school. I particularly found interesting chapters 1, 28, and 39, although all of the chapters are enlightening. This book is just as interesting as Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me.

Wonderfully Written. Entertaining and Informative.

It is said that you learn something new every day. Indeed. Today I learned about forty new facts. I didn't realize that I had been the "victim" of modern myths. You probably have too! The author does a wonderful job of revealing a few of our most "cherished" myths in an intriguing and often entertaining manner. Definitely a must read for every American.