Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-364) and index.

An entertaining, informative, and sometimes shocking expose of the way history is taught to American students

Something has gone very wrong -- Handicapped by history: the process of hero-making -- 1493: the true importance of Christopher Columbus -- Truth about the First Thanksgiving -- Red eyes -- "Gone with the wind": the invisibility of racism in American history textbooks -- John Brown and Abraham Lincoln: the invisibility of antiracism in American history textbooks -- Land of opportunity -- Watching big brother: what textbooks teach about the federal government -- Down the memory hole: the disappearance of the recent past -- Progress is our most important product -- Why is history taught like this? -- What is the result of teaching history like this? -- Afterword: the future lies ahead-and what to do about them.