I wish I had had some popcorn; I thoroughly enjoyed the
   exchange. I like a passionate debate and I've probably learned
   more in the exchange about "the troubles with attempting
   unbiased history", the many failings of many authors (perhaps
   not this author in particular) - and the frustration of agendas,
   both unveiled and even hidden from the authors themselves than I
   did about the book.

   But it's this *passion* that makes history so interesting to me.

   I hated history in school. It felt like I was being fed
   something. Even the teachers didn't seem to believe it or care
   and neither did we. There were _some_ exceptions; I did have a
   couple of exceptional history teachers, but generally, I had
   little interest in history for many years after school.

   I'll certainly see if our local public library has a copy of
   this book and I will go through it, if not cover to cover (I
   rarely read cover to cover), I will jump around to get a 'gist'
   of the sense the author is trying to convey and I look forward
   to seeing how my conclusions mesh up with others.

   The passion of promotion of this book though, is really what
   fascinates me the most. When I see a progressive/activist push
   in a singular direction, such as promoting a history book (along
   with corresponding lesson plans, activity worksheets, a desire
   to change the way history itself is taught in American
   education)... well, I'm DEFINITELY going to wonder, "Why?"

   It should be fun smile emoticon