A question for homeschoolers.

[Shane Harris]

What is the best US History textbook or publisher that gives a well written and thorough explanation of US history without the all the pro-government propaganda of public school textbooks?

Edit: On a more general note I'd be very interested in hearing any suggestions or theories for the best ways to go about homeschooling in general regardless of subject (although my own reasons for wanting to home school are more based in the social studies because I believe those subjects are the most tainted by public education systems)

[freedomforever!]

I'm homeschooled and taking an online AP US History class. Some of the texts and lectures we've used have been biased, but I like to google "(American history topic here)" with the Mises Institute, Cato, Lew Rockwell, and other pro-liberty websites to get another perspective. Using a variety of sources is also helpful, as are reading lots of books - for example, we recently studied the Great Depression, and I'm currently reading The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes, about how FDR's policies prolonged the Depression.

Sorry, this answer doesn't give a specific textbook or publisher, but I've found that lots of outside reading besides the textbook is great for learning the truth.

[Ender]

Anything by Thomas DiLorenzo is a good start.

Try this first:

"How Capitalism Saved America: The Untold History of Our Country, from the Pilgrims to the Present"

[Ender]

BTW- there are no unbiased uncompromised textbooks- skip them.

[BuddyRey]

Apparently, the Mises Institute just rereleased Murray Rothbard's classic, tremendously well-regarded 4-volume set Conceived in Liberty in a single-volume format. It's only about 25 bucks on Amazon if I remember correctly.

[PolicyReader]

I'm homeschooled and taking an online AP US History class. Some of the texts and lectures we've used have been biased, but I like to google "(American history topic here)" with the Mises Institute, Cato, Lew Rockwell, and other pro-liberty websites to get another perspective. Using a variety of sources is also helpful, as are reading lots of books - for example, we recently studied the Great Depression, and I'm currently reading The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes, about how FDR's policies prolonged the Depression.

Sorry, this answer doesn't give a specific textbook or publisher, but I've found that lots of outside reading besides the textbook is great for learning the truth.

Pretty much this^

The method I developed while homeschooling was to use at least three sources on a subject and to make only one of the first three a standard text book.
As a theoretical example reading a text book, a collection of memories and contemporary newspaper articles. It's not always easy to find such things (depending on how far back you're going) so failing that I'll look for books/works with a bias toward each side of a conflict or issue until I have a voice from the parties involved in what I'm studying. I find it very important to humanize and personalize the aspects that go into a historical context so as to avoid projecting contemporary bias or per-supposition upon times/contexts that frequently differ from our own in meaningful ways.

As with the above quoted poster I'm sorry I'm unable to give you a single source, but I've found it to be quite rare that a single book/group will soundly cover an issue.

I hope this is of some help to you :)

[Shane Harris]

I'm not really even close to needing this yet but I plan on homeschooling my kids someday in the next decade or two and was just wondering what some of you out there might recommend as one libertarian to another. The LVMI history set looks promising but I was thinking of something more generic. My own APUSH book in highschool (public school) was actually very well written and from what I remember not too biased. Really high quality with pictures and maps and graphs and political cartoons from the 1800s and stuff like that. On a side note I do plan on getting some of those LVMI books for myself in the meantime.

[Voluntary Man]

'The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History' - Tom Woods

[Shane Harris]

Pretty much this^

The method I developed while homeschooling was to use at least three sources on a subject and to make only one of the first three a standard text book.
As a theoretical example reading a text book, a collection of memories and contemporary newspaper articles. It's not always easy to find such things (depending on how far back you're going) so failing that I'll look for books/works with a bias toward each side of a conflict or issue until I have a voice from the parties involved in what I'm studying. I find it very important to humanize and personalize the aspects that go into a historical context so as to avoid projecting contemporary bias or per-supposition upon times/contexts that frequently differ from our own in meaningful ways.

As with the above quoted poster I'm sorry I'm unable to give you a single source, but I've found it to be quite rare that a single book/group will soundly cover an issue.

I hope this is of some help to you :)

great advice thanks!

[Luciconsort]

for colonial history I'd suggest Rothbard's Concieved in Liberty, I was homeschooled and wish I'd had more liberty minded stuff then. I'd say textbooks are useless, I always did better with strait up histoican non-fiction books, never liked the condensed and abridged feel you get with textbooks. that's just my preference though.

[freedomforever!]

A good book I read a while ago: 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask by Thomas E. Woods.

[Luciconsort]

A good book I read a while ago: 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask by Thomas E. Woods.

I love that book!!

[UMULAS]

What is the best US History textbook or publisher that gives a well written and thorough explanation of US history without the all the pro-government propaganda of public school textbooks?

Edit: On a more general note I'd be very interested in hearing any suggestions or theories for the best ways to go about homeschooling in general regardless of subject (although my own reasons for wanting to home school are more based in the social studies because I believe those subjects are the most tainted by public education systems)


History is written by the winners - Aristotle

[RayB]

We have subscribed to HAOH for a number of years would recommend it for those researching learning resources.
http://historyatourhouse.com/