The American Textbook Council - World History: An Appraisal

In subjects ranging from Africa to terrorism, world history textbooks provide unreliable, often scanty information and provide poorly constructed activities. Publishers could and should be providing high school teachers and students with cheaper, smaller, more legible volumes, stripping trivia and superfluity from current volumes. Pressure from educators themselves is needed, but whether sufficient will exists to force publishers to change remains an open question.

Who should pay attention to this report and take action? Textbook purchasers, including members of state boards, department of education officials, and school textbook committees. So should elected officials, editorial writers, and policy analysts. World history textbooks undermine their hopes, standards, curriculum frameworks, and official policies. Rooted in a flawed production system and publishers' intransigence, the problems with world history textbooks go deep enough to raise questions about corporate violations of public trust.

to download the report.