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4.0 von 5 Sternen
A good compliment to the "Myth America" TV series., 18. April 2005
Rezension bezieht sich auf: Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of World History (Gebundene Ausgabe)
As with most TV series you get statements with out support. So I tracked down the Richard Shenkiman book to get some background to the statements about American myths. I was not disappointed. It is as if he was reading this book on the TV with more graphic representations for the different media. The book is worth reading. However the format may not be to some peoples liking as it is short choppy statements and the chapters are divided into subjects as, Discoverers and Inventors, Presidents, Sex, and Art. There is a fair set of footnotes to lead you to further reading. You may need this as he sometimes stretches a point. Final analysis, you are better off reading this to give a better perspective on reality. Read it to your kids and save them a lifetime of "Legends, Lies & Cherished Myths of American History".
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3.0 von 5 Sternen
Please, sir, can I have some more?, 18. Juli 2000
All in all, it's a pleasant read. The problem is that Shenkman seems to get carried away with the sound of his own voice, forgetting to fill in little things like details, attributions, etc. And sometimes, his "debunking" is unnecessary. For example, Shenkman spares great pains to tell us that works of fiction (Shakespeare, Hans Brinker, etc.) aren't true at all - they're fiction! (Perhaps in the sequal he can inform us that Harry Potter isn't a real person). Although he admits his biases up front, this doesn't give him carte blanche to revel in them. Shenkman is unabashedly Ameri-centric, and his prejudice against other nations is sometimes appalling. For example, he denigrates the British for not being completely stoic during the Battle of Britain in WWII. His evidence? One person's diary shows that he (gasp) went to two luncheon parties during one week! Horrors! He denigrates heroes of France, England and India because, basically, they were human. God forbid! The book isn't all bad. Shenkman (when he actually quotes his sources and doesn't prattle on about minutia) does a great service by asking us to examine our history instead of getting it spoon-fed to us. As such, this book makes a nice starting point for the re-exploration of history. If only he'd given us more to chew on, instead of a thin, sarcastic gruel.
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4.0 von 5 Sternen
Good Historical Resource, but..., 2. Dezember 1999
Von Ein Kunde
I found this a great book for the most part. Many of these "truths" of our beliefs I had never heard were false. He presents a good load of information, correcting many mistakes from the last few thousand years. Surprisingly, we learn that the story of Newton and the apple *was* true. A couple of problems. For example, we can't really know what Cleopatra looked like in person. On coins, she is portrayed very stately, as all rulers of the time were. Second, the author attacks Christianity, Judaism, and the Bible using beliefs only held by uncompromising liberals. Textual criticism does not hold up when it is viewed in light of unbiased research. His "Bible contradictions" are shown to be non-contradictory if studied in-depth. His scathing attacks on the basic beliefs of Jews and Christians brings into question: what about other religions? He never mentions Islam, Hinduism, etc. I'm sure Muslims and Hindus would refute what he says about them, just as his attacks on the Bible have been refuted by many Christians and Jews. Why he has such a bias against Judeo-Christianity is beyond me. Overall, though, this is a well written research tool which I would recommend to students of history, as well as those who are just curious.
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