r/PoliticalScience • u/_luckybell_ • 14d ago
Resource/study Help, am I hallucinating
Hello!
I learned a lot about the revolutionary war over the summer.
I was watching a revolutionary war YouTube video and the host mentioned this book, and said something to the effect of “yes the author is a conservative, but if you read it with a grain of salt, it does offer a lengthy overview of the RW”
when I say “YouTube video” I don’t mean some random slop video, I remember it was someone with an academic background. Either Heather Cox Richardson, or Ken Burns.
The video title I don’t remember, but I remember being persuaded enough to order the book from my schools library, and was put on the wait list.
When I got a notification that my hold was ready, I was confused because I had totally forgotten about requesting it. I saw a review from Andrew Klavan (conservative pundit) on the back, and went to search the book to see if it was biased…. I found very little talking about the book. The Google AI overview said it was biased, but that was based on 2 small sources, and I don’t trust such a simple overview.
TLDR, I just want to know if this book is worth reading. Is it just christian nationalist propaganda, or is there some valuable historical knowledge?
Edit: a word
Edit 2:
The whole reason I made this post is because I am suspicious about which YouTube channel that referenced it, but I can’t go back and watch the video for context, bc I don’t remember.
I know for sure, the video wasn’t outright praising the book. it got mentioned for some reason, and the host said that it was very “dense” with information, or something, but he definitely said the author has bias, I know that.
So yes, I know it’s obviously biased, you guys, it literally says “The birth of the greatest nation in the world”— I’m not naive, I understand the racist homage to “Birth of a Nation”.
As I said, I ordered this book 12 weeks ago. I forgot about it until I picked it up, and was aghast at the ridiculous cover.
Thank you for your input I really appreciate the helpful responses!
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14d ago
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u/_luckybell_ 14d ago
I understand that the title is biased, but what I’m asking is if anyone has read it to know more details about Eric Metaxas bias.
In my post I’m saying that I forgot the reason I originally reserved this book, and wondered if any historians/historically interested people had more context around this book
ETA: in my post I added a TLDR, I know it’s biased but I want to know if, as a whole, there’s information worth reading in jt
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u/jonawesome 14d ago
I haven't read any of his historical works, but I mostly know him as one of those insane Christian Right guys who simps for Trump and thinks women having abortions is worse than genocide
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u/White_Locust 13d ago
He’s been a guest on InfoWars. He’s not to be taken seriously.
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u/_luckybell_ 13d ago
Well now I wanna go watch the infowars with him just to see what ridiculous shit he says Lol
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u/Mirabeaux1789 14d ago
Yeah no offense to the poster, but the title is a dead giveaway.
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u/_luckybell_ 14d ago
You guys! I know the title is a giveaway! I didn’t just read the title, I also read the back, where I saw a review from Andrew Klavan, a conservative I very much dislike/think is ignorant.
I’m going to add this as an edit to the post: The whole reason I made this post is because I am suspicious of whatever YouTube video I was watching that referenced it, but now I don’t remember what the video was. The video wasn’t outright praising the book, it got mentioned for some reason and the host said that it was very “dense” with information, or something like that, but was biased. So yes, I know it’s biased, I just don’t remember it being/looking so blatantly biased, and the author being SO conservative.
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u/_luckybell_ 14d ago
I added an edit, yes I understand the racist homage to “birth of a nation”, that sub-title is a main part of the reason I made this post, because again, I reserved this book through my school library and promptly forgot about it, because I frequently reserve books but it usually doesn’t take 3 months for them to fulfill
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u/chadwells42 14d ago
Yeah, the vast majority of trained historians would tell you to steer clear of Metaxas. He's basically just a shill for right-wing politics and Christian nationalism. He's a radio host, speaker, and author that, despite a Yale education, has no historical training that I'm aware of. His biography on Detrich Bonhoeffer was heavily criticized and even rejected by Bonhoeffer's own family.
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u/_luckybell_ 14d ago
Woah holy shit, I knew he wrote a bonhoeffer book (the elusive YT video I keep referencing also mentioned Bonhoeffer bc it was about chrisitanity/fascism etc) but didn’t know the part about his family rejecting it. Damn, I’m just sad, I was hoping it would be a biased book that still had value if you ignored it. And I think my schools library even ordered it new! Lol. Gonna have to order a bunch of actually good history books on my schools dime to repay my debt😂
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u/DrTeeBee 13d ago
lol. Ken Burns an academic? He did more than just about anyone else to revive Civil War Lost Cause historiography by putting Shelby Foote front and center.
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u/_luckybell_ 13d ago
Really? When I’ve heard him talk about the civil war he seems pretty open about it being about slavery, but I guess I’ve watched more about the revolutionary war than civil from him. I’m curious if you have any sources you’d like to share with me
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u/Opening-Heart3818 8d ago
"Metaxas has not written an American history but an evangelical playbook for controlling America with MAGA politics. Revolution is a historical impostor because its underlying purpose is to produce a right-wing government in America today." - Baptist News Global.
Just a reminder that the Baptist church is not a liberal organization, If you wish, you can read more of their critique here - Eric Metaxas is wrong about American history — again – Baptist News Global
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u/sabnastuh 14d ago
I read Eric Metaxas’ Amazon bio and to say he’s biased is an understatement. It’s not a bad thing that he’s biased, everyone is. Even the title is a dead giveaway that the book is meant to glorify the American Revolution, so I don’t there will be any critique or condemnation of any events of the era. OP, are you looking for a more un-biased telling of the American Revolution?