Textbooks are written in an oracular monotone, so that they claim to be true and important.

What gets lost in the textbook is the overall narrative. It gets lost in all the boxes and all the photos and all the little stuff that's stuck in all the time.

In sum, U.S. history is no more violent and oppressive than the history of England, Russia, Indonesia, or Burundi - but neither is it exceptionally less violent.

It is always useful to think badly about people one has exploited or plans to exploit... No one likes to think of him or herself as a bad person. To treat badly another person whom we consider a reasonable human being creates a tension between act and attitude that demands resolution. We cannot erase what we have done, and to alter our future behavior may not be in our interest. To change our attitude is easier.

The world, of course, doesn't come divided into disciplines. The world just is.

Textbooks are written in an oracular monotone, so that they claim to be true and important.

Teachers need to teach the subject rather than to teach the textbook.