I started to read Lepore's book but got turned off by stuff like what you mention. I'm really irritated by info that seems agenda-driven, especially when it's an area I'm not expert in (since it makes me feel more vulnerable to the perhaps distorted claims of the author).
I note that you refer to Lepore as a liberal. I see myself as a "liberal," but it seems to me that opinion-makers on the US left nowadays prefer the term "progressive." Indeed, it seems to me that contemporary progressives are generally not liberal, and don't approve of liberal values. What do you think?
I really don't know how to distinguish between liberal and progressive, or whether I'm one of either. As I wrote above, this is obviously an important book and she gets a lot of stuff right--but some important stuff wrong. I found it very much worth reading, but then I'm an American history junkie.
I started to read Lepore's book but got turned off by stuff like what you mention. I'm really irritated by info that seems agenda-driven, especially when it's an area I'm not expert in (since it makes me feel more vulnerable to the perhaps distorted claims of the author).
I note that you refer to Lepore as a liberal. I see myself as a "liberal," but it seems to me that opinion-makers on the US left nowadays prefer the term "progressive." Indeed, it seems to me that contemporary progressives are generally not liberal, and don't approve of liberal values. What do you think?
I really don't know how to distinguish between liberal and progressive, or whether I'm one of either. As I wrote above, this is obviously an important book and she gets a lot of stuff right--but some important stuff wrong. I found it very much worth reading, but then I'm an American history junkie.