"The United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Inaccurate interpretations and outright misrepresentations of the past--cultivated within and promoted by the conservative movement and right-wing media over the last several decades--hold sway among large numbers of Americans, damaging our public discourse. In Myth America, historians Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer have assembled an all-star team of historians to provide textured analysis that explains what we get wrong about the past. Drawing on their immense knowledge of scholarship and their own primary research, these contributors provide correctives to the ways conservatives distort history to serve the needs of their anti-democratic agenda. For instance: Erika Lee shows how, far from posing a relentless threat to America, immigrants have long been recruited and even coerced to come to the United States. Joshua Zeitz traces how the welfare programs of the Great Society, criticized by the right as wasteful failures, have provided millionsof Americans with food security, health care, and education. Carol Anderson uncovers how racism and anxiety over the nation's changing demographics, not voter fraud, are motivating Republicans' assault on voting rights. Elizabeth Hinton reveals that, rather than curbing crime, patrolling low-income communities with outside police forces has historically intensified violence and made everyone less safe. Taken together, the essays unveil how corporate interests and right-wing politicians use bad history tofan the flames of white resentment and unravel America's social safety net. Replacing myths with research and reality, Myth America is essential reading amid today's heated debates about our nation's past"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, America’s top historians replace myths with research and reality, debunking narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders and feminists as anti-family warriors, among other partisan lies. 20,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

In this instant New York Times bestseller, America’s top historians set the record straight on the most pernicious myths about our nation’s past.
 
The United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Distortions of the past promoted in the conservative media have led large numbers of Americans to believe in fictions over facts, making constructive dialogue impossible and imperiling our democracy.  
 
In Myth America, Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer have assembled an all-star team of fellow historians to push back against this misinformation. The contributors debunk narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors—among numerous other partisan lies. Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, their findings revitalize our understanding of American history. 
 
Replacing myths with research and reality, Myth America is essential reading amid today’s heated debates about our nation’s past. 

With Essays By

Akhil Reed Amar • Kathleen Belew • Carol Anderson • Kevin Kruse • Erika Lee • Daniel Immerwahr • Elizabeth Hinton • Naomi Oreskes • Erik M. Conway • Ari Kelman • Geraldo Cadava • David A. Bell • Joshua Zeitz • Sarah Churchwell • Michael Kazin • Karen L. Cox • Eric Rauchway • Glenda Gilmore • Natalia Mehlman Petrzela • Lawrence B. Glickman • Julian E. Zelizer - (Grand Central Pub)

America’s top historians set the record straight on the most pernicious myths about our nation’s past 
 
The United States is in the grip of a crisis of bad history. Distortions of the past promoted in the conservative media have led large numbers of Americans to believe in fictions over facts, making constructive dialogue impossible and imperiling our democracy.  
 
In Myth America, Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer have assembled an all-star team of fellow historians to push back against this misinformation. The contributors debunk narratives that portray the New Deal and Great Society as failures, immigrants as hostile invaders, and feminists as anti-family warriors—among numerous other partisan lies. Based on a firm foundation of historical scholarship, their findings revitalize our understanding of American history. 
 
Replacing myths with research and reality, Myth America is essential reading amid today’s heated debates about our nation’s past.  - (HARPERCOLL)

Kevin M. Kruse?is a professor of history at Princeton University and the editor or author of five books, including White Flight and One Nation Under God. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.? 
? 
Julian E.?Zelizer?is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and the author and editor of numerous books, most recently Burning Down the House and Abraham Joshua Heschel. He lives in New York City.? - (Grand Central Pub)

Kevin M. Kruse is a professor of history at Princeton University and the editor or author of five books, including White Flight and One Nation Under God. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.  
  
Julian E. Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and the author and editor of numerous books, most recently Burning Down the House and Abraham Joshua Heschel. He lives in New York City.   - (HARPERCOLL)

Library Journal Reviews

Princeton Univ. historians Kruse (One Nation Under God) and Zelizer (Burning Down the House) combined their talents to edit this collection of essays written by historians seeking to set the record straight on a variety of issues, including immigration, imperialism, and the right to protest. The authors contend that Americans are living in an age of disinformation, which is dangerously weakening the country's democracy. Essays are used to bolster the strength of the editors' argument that while the Trump administration is responsible for pushing the country to its "crisis point," this was only possible because of changes allowing right-wing myths to have an impact on American life—namely, the development and growth of conservative media outlets and what the book calls the "devolution of the Republican party's commitment to the truth." The authors successfully correct myths, providing historical context and research and making this a compelling collection for readers interested in politics, government, and history. Readers can expect 20 essays on different discourses written by historians such as Glenda Gilmore, Ari Kelman, and Carol Anderson. VERDICT The authors and editors set some misinformation straight in this highly readable collection. Recommended as a general purchase for all libraries.—Mattie Cook