Myth America Edited By Kevin M. Kruse and Julian E. Zelizer

Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past was like a mini history course aimed at 20 myths that many accept at face value. Each essay traces the history of the beliefs around topics like ‘Vanishing Indians,’ American Exceptionalism,’ The Border,’ and ‘Voter Fraud.’ If you are curious about why people think the way they do about our past and present, this book is helpful. The essays describe the origins and development of the historically contextualized ideas that helped to shape some of our modern assumptions–assumptions that rest on shaky historical grounds. Each author is a serious historian with excellent credentials. Myth America provided an introduction to many areas of history about which I know far too little.