Past Mistakes, David Mountain
Past Mistakes, David Mountain
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Past Mistakes
How We Misinterpret History and Why it Matters

Author: David Mountain

Narrator: Alex Wyndham

Unabridged: 8 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/09/2021

Synopsis

From the fall of Rome to the rise of the Wild West, David Mountain brings colour and perspective to historical mythmaking.The stories we tell about our past matter. But those stories have been shaped by prejudice, hoaxes and misinterpretations that have whitewashed entire chapters of history, erased women and invented civilisations. Today history is often used to justify xenophobia, nationalism and inequality as we cling to grand origin stories and heroic tales of extraordinary men.Exploring myths, mysteries and misconceptions about the past – from the legacies of figures like Pythagoras and Christopher Columbus, to the realities of life in the gun-toting Wild West, to the archaeological digs that have upset our understanding of the birth of civilisation – David Mountain reveals how ongoing revolutions in history and archaeology are shedding light on the truth.Full of adventures, and based on detailed research and interviews, Past Mistakes will make you reconsider your understanding of history – and of the world today.

About David Mountain

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Raluca

"Cavemen" didn't really live in caves, and the switch from nomadic to agrarian societies didn't happen unavoidably or overnight. Pythagoras was a madman cult leader, and his followers attributed to him inventions and discoveries which had happened centuries before or after his lifetime. "Barbarians"......more

Goodreads review by Lisa

The first chapter about the Greek and Roman statues actually being full of colour was quite eye-opening and loved the chapter on women.......more

Goodreads review by Verity

I enjoyed reading Past Mistakes by David Mountain, a book about misconceptions about history and how history has been often rewritten as propaganda for more recent political purposes. History is always viewed through the lens of the present day, but it’s surprisingly how much history is still viewed......more

Goodreads review by Mohammed P Aslam

Our heroes of the past can be seen as the vanguard of civilisation who tame the frontiers of human adventure. The villains portrayed in these events are frequently indigenous inhabitants who are seen as the savage foil from the continents of Africa to India to Australia and the wild west of America.......more

Goodreads review by Jenia

Entertaining and interesting. I guess I've heard a lot of the basic arguments before, but it was interesting to hear things in more depth, esp about Pythagoras (new to me!) and Byzantium......more

Quotes

"Narrator Alex Wyndham's smooth voice and English accent voice are perfect for this fascinating dive into the myths and mistakes in what we "know" about history.… Most importantly, he sounds engaged with the historical stories he is telling, and that keeps the listener interested as well."
—AudioFile Magazine“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“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

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