Overview
Our museums are full of pure white Classical sculptures. Over the years, we've ignored evidence that they were originally painted bright colours, 'restoring' sculptures to a gleaming white and becoming heated about the very idea of a lick of paint. Why? Because the stories we tell about our past affect how we see ourselves today. Just one wrong turn in our understanding of history can infect whole areas of thought - as well as how we look at society and relate to others in the 21st century. Exploring some of the biggest myths, mysteries and misconceptions about the past (Columbus didn't discover America, the Vandals weren't vandals, Boudicca wasn't English), David Mountain reveals how ongoing revolutions in history and archaeology are finally shedding light on the truth. We discover how prejudices, hoaxes and misinterpretations have whitewashed entire chapters of history, dismissed and demonised female leaders, and invented entire civilisations. Past Mistakes will make you reconsider your notion of what is and isn't 'history' - and why it matters now.
Full Product Details
Author: David Mountain
Publisher: Icon Books
Imprint: Icon Books
Dimensions:
Width: 14.10cm
, Height: 2.90cm
, Length: 22.30cm
Weight: 0.460kg
ISBN: 9781785786624
ISBN 10: 1785786628
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 05 November 2020
Audience:
General/trade
,
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
'Past Mistakes takes what we think we remember from history class and sets the record straight! Definitely worth reading if you're ready to have your mind blown and then be filled with rage that you've been hoodwinked for this long.' -- The Tiny Activist 'Whether discussing Pythagoras' legacy, Athenian democracy, the myth of Progress, or the Wild West, Mountain quickly points out how the truth is more nuanced than-or completely different from-stories we may know. ... the work's main thrust is the conversation between present and past and how our view of the past influences current behavior-most clearly outlined in a chapter about the Wild West mythos shaping American gun culture to this day.' -- Booklist
'Whether discussing Pythagoras' legacy, Athenian democracy, the myth of Progress, or the Wild West, Mountain quickly points out how the truth is more nuanced than-or completely different from-stories we may know. ... the work's main thrust is the conversation between present and past and how our view of the past influences current behavior-most clearly outlined in a chapter about the Wild West mythos shaping American gun culture to this day.' -- Booklist
Author Information
David Mountain is a freelance writer whose work has been featured in Free Inquiry, The Humanist and Nadja. He has also given talks at the Edinburgh Fringe and Belfast's Festival of Ideas and Politics. He currently lives in Edinburgh.
