Heroification

Many history books (if not all) leave out some of the facts when telling a story. I'm sure there are some that leave out things just because they believe that it is peripheral and unimportant, but what makes a certain fact unimportant? James Lowen's book Lies My Teacher Told Me argues that historical figures are often portrayed as overly heroic, and then become uninteresting.

I agree with Lowen that important facts are left out, and people are portrayed as someone, or something, they aren't.  There really isn't any reason to leave facts like that our of a history book.  If it were a short story giving a brief synopsis of someone's life, then that would be fine, but often it isn't.  The personality is lost when facts are left out, or even twisted, as they sometimes are.  .

One of my favorite history figures is Abraham Lincoln.  There are many stereotypes that float around about him, though, and it can be hard to find where the truth ends and the fable begins/  I've hears stories telling of his great compassion for the working class, and how his kids would run around the white house without their shirts on, because that was how he grew up, and that was what he knew.  he was also the president during the Civil War, and thousands of people died while he was in presidency.  Was that unavoidable?  Did he care?  I certainly hope so, but I'd have to do some research to find out, and even then it may not be possible to know for sure. Looking  back, Abraham is probably my favorite because of his stereotypes, which may or may not be true.