"There must be some bits here somewhere."
The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History
Posted by Mike on January 27, 2008
I just finished reading Thomas Woods’ book “The Politically Incorrect Guide to History“, part of the PIG series of books. You may also want to read a review of “PIG Science” by a friend of mine. Both are available in our local library, and may be available in yours, too.
This book by Dr. Woods is interesting reading, highlighting events and facts about American History that you probably didn’t read in school or in the usual books on American History. Much of this amounts to what you’ve heard and read in the media isn’t really the whole story! Now, that may be a surprise to you, in which case you might want to read this book even more.
The book discusses events from the colonial origins of the U.S., through the Clinton presidential years. What you thought was true might need some revision.
I’d encourage you to visit the link above, which has extracts from the book, then read the whole book for yourself, and make your own conclusions.
There are at least 2 criticisms that can be made of a book like this. One, it “cherry picks” some of the more sensational events, rather than presenting a systematic look at American History (the book is too short for that). Two, a lot of the book is the visual equivalent of the sound byte. Some information is given, but you’d have to check the references to get a better picture.
On the other hand, it does have lots of interesting quotes to think about, and many references are given if you want to follow-up any given topic.
Maybe this will change your view of some events in American History, but even if it doesn’t, it does present some information that should be included in a fuller picture of the usual history we think we know.
“[It is] working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the states, and the government of all be consolidated into one.” – Thomas Jefferson, on the federal judiciary
