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Editorial Reviews
Parenti (Democracy for the Few, etc.) argues that history is written by the victors, and he doesn't like it one bit. That's mostly because, as a progressive, his sympathies lie largely with history's losers. Historians, Parenti insists, have promoted gross miseducation across the board, abandoning "what really happened" in favor of a "pro-business, anti-labor" view of history. In his effort to "set things right," he turns, first, to the writings of historical textbooks, blaming "the powers that be" -historians, publicists, publishers, Publishers Weekly, the culture at large for sustaining a "mainstream orthodoxy." Parenti then turns to Christianity's suppression of paganism, seen microscopically in Constantine's silencing of Porphyry, to conclude that, as with all hegemonies, Christian teaching and preaching is really just an "ideological justification for the worldly interests of a ruthless slaveholding class." The problem is that Parenti is a much better complainer than he is an explainer. He's at his best when he localizes his argument in a chapter that takes on the "strange death" of President Zachary Taylor. Only there is the mysterious process by which speculation transforms into official record given ample analysis. Parenti wants a people's history, not just another account of the "gentrification of history." Yet the actual story here is slanted, jumbled and tailored to fit Parenti's all-too-familiar contentions, illustrated at times with bullet points.
From Booklist
Parenti, a self-styled "progressive" thinker, seems to be telling us that history is written by the winners. How original! This one-sided emotional screed repeatedly sets up straw men and then knocks them down. For example, Parenti asserts that the Catholic Church often propped up the oppressive status quo during the Middle Ages. Does any serious student of history need to be reminded of that generally accepted assertion? In his dogmatic insistence on finding a proslavery conspiracy behind the...
Spotlight Reviews
Reviewer: from Gibsonia, PA United States
Readers of Zinn, Chomsky, Herman etc will find little new in reading this as other works by Parenti but this takes away little in the entertainment of the read. Like other Parenti books 'History As Mystery' is filled with many delightful facts rarely mentioned in mainstream history and scholarship. Aside from the distasteful apologetics of lenninism and the soviet union much of what Parenti says is highly accurate and relevant. The most novel chapter I feel was the one on Zachary Taylor being poisoned. Parenti makes a strong case for this being a possibility but does not do a good job linking this to the 'bias of modern historians.'
I have to admit however that I was somewhat disappointed in 'History as Mystery.' I found little value in two chapters discussing the oppressiveness of the catholic church in the middle ages, and although the chapter on 'pyschopolitics' is highly amusing it is somewhat dated. A better Parenti book to read I feel would be 'Against Empire' which does a wonderful job debunking the ideas that the 'US only cares about world democracy' and that empires are artifacts of the nineteenth century. I got this book for 5$ at a used bookstore. Although not the best (in rhetoric or information) radical book I feel it was worth the cost!
Angry, Tough to Chew Food for Thought, November 21, 2000
Reviewer: from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Michael Parenti's History as Mystery was a wonderful discovery. As a fan of all things historical, it is always a pleasure to discover a writer who looks at history from a different angle from most mainstream authors. Parenti has a viewpoint and shouts it loudly and proudly. Since all history writers have a bias of some kind, it is nice to read a book that wears its bias on its sleeve. He is far left. That could pose a problem for some readers who are so firmly entrenched to the right but for others it is a delight to travel with Parenti as he examines the ways history is manipulated by the ruling elite for their own benefit. This book, whether you agree with it or not, will make you question other historians as you read them. That is a very good thing. This book opened my mind a little (and along with the History on Trial, as a companion piece) allowed me to examine with insight the history that I have been spoon fed in the past and the history books I will enter into in the future. An entertaining read from an angry (with every reason to be so) book.
Deserves to be a classic, July 16, 2002 Reviewer: from Madison, WI
This is an absolutely sensational book that deserves to be read by a larger audience than it will probably get. Parenti touches on traditionally taboo subjects and sheds a whole lotta light on them. His section on the religious inquisition is outstanding along with his analysis of how powerful mainstream intellectuals have white-washed the death of Zachary Taylor. If you have time to read only one history book all year, make this the one.
Helps To Uncover History, July 7, 2002 Reviewer: from University Park, PA USA
Parenti writes about certain events in history that need more attention and to uncover some truths. He deals with the rise of Christianity in Europe and how unbarbaric it was in many aspects and the resentment of peasants to the church hierarchy. He deals with issues like politics and certain agendas influence history. Overall, history as mystery does make you question how history is taught and how to question the facts.
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