Has anyone else read this? This is a fascinating book. It is US history as related by Canadian, British, Caribbean, German, French, and Japanese HS textbooks.
It provides a real window into how other countries teach our history, as well as a larger context to events important to the US (more so than US texts do).
I recommend it to anyone. I’m only up to the Revolutionary War, but I can’t put it down!
Never heard of it, but I love history so it is going to go on my wish list right…now.
It’s a good book. If you liked it, you might want to check out Kyle Ward’s other book, “History in the Making”. which looks at how events in American history are portrayed at different times…so he’ll look at an event like the first Thanksgiving, and then show you a history textbook from 1806, 1860, 1900, 1950, and today.
Captain–that sounds really interesting, too! (too bad they don’t teach history that way in schools…)
I’m up to Manifest Destiny in this book. It is fascinating to read that Mexico calls it economic hegemony, and that Canada was seriously threatened by it. I also did not know that we (US) wanted British Columbia at some point. :eek:
Wait until you get up to the Saudi schoolbooks talking about how the western world is trying to destroy Islam.
It’s always fascinating to me to see just how much the belligerent history between the US and Canada is glossed over in US history. And usually that belligerence was directed from the US (or the rebelling colonies) to Canada. And not simply as an occaisional goal, but for approximately 80 years, it was a continual goal of some segments of US society, to bring Canada into the Union, whether the Canadians wanted to come or not.
I just read some of that! I kept shaking my head and saying we were hostile to Canada? WTH?
It is also illuminating to read the Filipino version of the Spanish-American war. I’m beginning to think I wasn’t taught any history at all!
“Fifty-four forty or fight!” Yep, I remember learning that in my Canadian history classes at school. “Seriously threatened” is an understatement, it was plain that you Americans wanted every part of North America. Especially the part that was ours! 
Naw, just kidding. It’s true that pretty much every bit of US history we studied had something to do with the US threatening us in some way. Understand though, that we do not learn US history as a standalone course; instead, we generally studied it as a part of our own history. Unfortunately, that usually means that we study American ideas about taking over North America (Manifest Destiny, for example) and American attacks upon us (the War of 1812), among other unpleasantness. Like it or not, geography made you folks a part of our history, just not always a nice one.
Seriously, I’m going to look for this book. I like history; this book sounds like it would be interesting.
Or the North Korean textbook talking about the Korean War.