History in the Making: An Absorbing Look at How American History Has Changed in the Telling Over the Last 200 Years

I am satisfied with this book. Its what I needed for the course and it saved me money too. Thanks!

This is an excellent telling of half the story. I say half, because Mr. Ward has viewed history as it changes over time. The other half is how it changes depending on the viewpoint of the reporter. Another recent book on this subject is 'Fighting Words' by Andrew Coopresmith. He instead of looking at history over time looked at the Civil War as viewed from the newspaper reports of the time. Would you believe that the stories in the New York Times papers and the Richmond Whig make you wonder if you are reading about the same incident? The big differences in Mr. Ward's examples seem to come from how our culture views the people/event/situation at different in the past. Native Americans (we don't even say Indians any more) for instance have moved from savage beasts, to noble savages, to victims. It is not the event itself that changed in most of the stores, it's how we look at the justification, the reasons something happened. To some extent, this book is more about the culture of the times than the event being described. Very interesting reading. It really makes you wonder how history will cover current events, the War in Iraq for instance. Remember how anti-war the US was on December 6th 1941, and how long the lines were are the recruiting station on December 8th.

First off, let me note this: history is not, as people tend to think, the occurrence of past events and the actions of bygone human beings; history is the RECORD of events and human deeds. As such, "history" is highly open to interpretation, and is always prone to alteration. Above all else, history, an art, never a pure science, is vulnerable, even defenseless, against the whims of momentarily fashionable perceptions. Today's hero is tomorrow's villain. What is celebrated in one generation may be excoriated in another. Even the social acceptability of certain words is a dynamic thing. History in the Making is an extraordinarily interesting book, deserving of prizes and long-term recognition. And while Kyle Ward is listed as author, a better term for his involvement might be editor, since mostly he comments on the writings of others---in this case textbook writers---he has assembled in this insightful study of how Americans' professed attitudes on various topics and figures has or has not changed over the course of the last two centuries. Certain individuals, such as Abraham Lincoln, have enjoyed relatively good press throughout the intervening years since their time, and in fact the public perception of Lincoln has changed little, even in our own iconoclasm-as-truth era. Other topics, though, have merited deep alterations, and sometimes frustrating ones at that. The wavering viewpoints on the race-based issues of slavery, emancipation, civil rights, and affirmative action show not only an evolution of perception, but a widely-ranging stance that defines America across the divide of generations. One thing that sticks out in my mind is how the American view of the so-called Boston Massacre has changed. Whereas at one time this police action on the part of a handful of threatened British troops surrounded by a violent anti-English mob was painted as, well, a massacre, and written of with words like "atrocity" and "martyrdom" we have today a slightly clearer and less propagandized version that is no doubt closer to truth. Among other topics covered in History in the Making are the Gulf of Tonkin incident, McCarthyism, The Trail of Tears, John Brown, the sinking of the Maine, the Salem Witch Murders, and the life of General George Washington. But this list is just scratching the surface. I commend Mr. Ward on putting out an interesting, thought-provoking book on a topic that should be compelling and informative to many people. It is a fine addition to my personal library.

For the readers who suffered through Sociology 101, there will be a feeling of deja vu when they leaf through this book--but without renewed suffering. There's all you learned about how rumors spread contained in this compendium of history text-book descriptions of events. 18th Century earth-shaking matters become 20th Century trivia. Political correctness changes memories. Minor points become grossly exaggerated. The lesson? No history is written in stone. There is more than one surprise in this nicely told, well documented record of past and present history lessons as taught to students and passed along to the general public.

I love this book because it shows history is written to satisfy a particular audience. Collecting textbook accounts over two hundred years, we witness how the "story" of an event changes as America grows and learns. BUT...this does not mean that the current story is the best by any means. For example, I thought that the most objective description of the "Boston Massacre" was in the 1880's. The textbook then provided a fair picture of the mob that pressed upon the British troops and dared them to fire. Today, the story is given as an example of spin, but earlier accounts did explain why the British fired on the American patriots. Other examples: even today, a fair assessment of Brigham Young and Joseph Smith - the founding fathers of Mormonism - is totally absent from textbooks. Little is discussed how Joseph Smith forged money, committed perjury, and provoked the communities in which he lived. It is interesting that the earliest textbooks criticized his religious doctrine as absurd as opposed to criticising his actual conduct. Or take the story of the "Trail of Tears." It was interesting to note that most textbooks, even the early ones, argued that the Native Americans were treated badly by President Andrew Jackson, but only recent ones actually depicted the shocking physical suffering in the forced relocation. (Some old textbooks talked about the Red Men, which is politically incorrect today). In a nutshell, we are reminded of Oscar Wilde's witicism: The proper occupation of the historian is to accurately describe what never happened. I strongly recommend this book, as well as Kyle Ward's earlier book on history, as ESSENTIALS for any high school student.