We Distort, You Decide

Well, it seems the people have spoken: David Barton’s The Jefferson Lies: Exposing the Myths You’ve Always Believed About Thomas Jefferson (2012) has been voted “the least credible [American] history book in print.”

As we’ve been reporting over the last couple of weeks, the History News Network Web site surveyed readers on this question. Five nominees were finally announced, but in the end, Barton’s book “edged out Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States by nine votes ... -- 650 votes versus 641. Commenters criticized the book for its gross factual errors and political agenda -- in an e-mail to HNN, Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter, professors at Grove City College and authors of Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims About Our Third President, wrote that ‘Barton misrepresents and distorts a host of Jefferson’s ideas and actions, particularly his views and practices regarding religion, slavery and church-state relations.’ A commenter on HNN’s boards noted that the book ‘looks like an intentional attempt to mislead and deceive in the guise of history.’”

You can read more about HHN’s poll here.

FOLLOW-UP: “Just the Facts, Man.”