There is a logical saying in society that one should take to heart; that phrase is, "Don't believe everything you read." Just because a text is written and published does not mean it is always accurate. Historical facts, similar to the whispered words in the childhood game, “telephone,” are easily transformed into different facts, adding or subtracting some details from the story. James Loewen, in The Lies My Teacher Told Me, reveals how much history has been changed by the writing of textbooks so that students who study textbooks can understand and connect to the information. In Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States, the author tells historical stories through the point of view of ordinary people. The mainstream media, as demonstrated by Loewen and Zinn, often pollutes and dilutes the story to make the information sound better and more easily understandable to society. First of all, Zinn and Loewen's accounts are very different from what textbooks and mainstream media tell children. . As mentioned above, Zinn's People's History of the United States conveys the narrative of Columbus' voyages and the beginnings of slavery and racism through the eyes of common people or natives. This view enlightens the reader, who most likely believes that Columbus was a good and benevolent American hero, to the fact that Columbus “sailed the blue ocean” out of greed and self-glorification. In reality, Columbus caused pain, suffering, and death because of his greed; he captured the natives for their ability to do hard labor and for information on where to find riches, mainly gold (Zinn, ch. 1). Heroic adventures, as they are represented in society, merge into the acts of a greedy man who sought glory for himself among the paper and food that we had in equal parts” (Ch. 4, A3). White servants, although for the most part received all aspects of the service time portion of the contract, received the bare minimum. Clearly we therefore see the need to read/see more than one perspective on historical events is crucial. You cannot rely on a single description because the information may or may not be the complete truth. The author may leave out, embellish, or be unaware of some details, which leaves the reader at a disadvantage if they only read one passage. Works Cited Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Second. New York, New York: Touchstone, 1997. Print.Zinn, Howard. A popular history of the United States. Fifth. New York, New York: Harper Collins, 2010. Print.