Thread: And the Worst Book of History Is …

Now don't go and get on your conservative high horse just because a "star" of conservative 'history' has provided the worst history book - 2nd place was taken by Howard Zinn's book, People’s History of the United States

And the Worst Book of History Is …

... the right has scored an interim victory — if that’s the word — in a weeklong contest to determine “the least credible history book in print” just concluded by the History News Network. After a week of voting by readers, David Barton’s “The Jefferson Lies” won with some 650 votes, narrowly edging the left-wing historian Howard Zinn’s “People’s History of the United States,” which received 641 votes.

I do love me some academic commentary

“I don’t really enjoy defending Zinn, but the other four are clearly on another level of awful,” wrote another commenter. “Zinn is tendentious and strident and polemical and oversimplifies everything, the others are obviously all worse.”

from the History News Network site comes this little comment about Mr Barton's pseudo-history

-- in an email to HNN, Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter, professors at Grove City College and authors of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims about Our Third President, wrote that "Barton misrepresents and distorts a host of Jefferson's ideas and actions, particularly his views and practices regarding religion, slavery and church-state relations." A commenter on HNN's boards noted that the book "looks like an intentional attempt to mislead and decieve(sic) in the guise of history. "

and further commentary

As Jefferson did with the Gospels, Barton chooses what he likes about Jefferson and leaves out the rest to create a result more in line with his ideology. In fact, there were so many problems with his book that we wrote an entire book in response.

--Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter, authors of: Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims about Our Third President

No surprise, it's written by the founder of WallBuilders.

There's plenty of bad history. Being self-taught isn't always bad (like we can trash the great names of ancient historians), but you need training in the field. Most incoming undergraduates in history know that you can't get away with what Herodotus and Thucydides did, even though those were masterpieces.

Nobody has caused more damage than Zinn. I've never even heard of Barton, he's probably no more a historian than O'Reilly. Top 5 best historians.

Eugen Weber
Victor Davis Hanson
Daniel J. Boorstin
Donald Kagan
John Keegan

I don't really see how Zinn's book is all that terrible.

Originally Posted by Khayembii Communique

I don't really see how Zinn's book is all that terrible.

Its on my to read list, anything that should put me off?

I don't know, it's polemical and IIRC it isn't sourced. It's a casual read. It's not an academic work and therefore not "balanced" but that doesn't make it necessarily bad. All historians are ideological to a greater or lesser extent; at least with Zinn you know exactly what you're getting into.

Complaints from actual historians have caused the publisher of Barton's Jefferson book to request the return of all books sent out to seller

Publisher Pulls Controversial Thomas Jefferson Book, Citing Loss Of Confidence

Citing a loss of confidence in the book's details, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson is ending the publication and distribution of the bestseller, The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You've Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson

Since its initial publication, historians have debunked and raised concerns about numerous claims in Barton's book. In it, Barton calls Jefferson a "conventional Christian," claims the founding father started church services at the Capitol, and even though he owned more than 200 slaves, says Jefferson was a civil rights visionary.

"Mr. Barton is presenting a Jefferson that modern-day evangelicals could love and identify with," Warren Throckmorton, a professor at the evangelical Grove City College, told Hagerty. "The problem with that is, it's not a whole Jefferson; it's not getting him right."

The book's publisher came to the same conclusion.

Unfortunately, Barton remains a highly influential figure in the drive by some on the right to create a Christian nation. He will be on the Platform Committee at the Republican convention in Tampa

Originally Posted by Red_Dave

Its on my to read list, anything that should put me off?

If you want a comforting affirmation of your liberal world view, nope, nothing at all.

Originally Posted by Red_Dave

Its on my to read list, anything that should put me off?

You shouldn't be put off at all, unless you don't want to be on the same level as your average 12th grader, when it comes to historical knowledge.