Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Now this was a very interesting read about history and what we think we know about it. Really enjoyed the topics and the 'myth-busting' though the writing felt heavy and clunky and it was a bit of a slog throughout to get to the point (or to get past the point, as the author just seemed to love to talk once the point had been made, just to drive it home further) Still, there is a lot of really intriguing and eye-opening information in there, and any lover of history will really dig it

I loved this book! Mountain re-examines parts of history that have been misinterpreted - either accidentally or deliberately - and presents instead history that includes women, people of colour and countries outside Europe. He explains in each chapter why it’s so important for the modern day that we understand the impact of these misinterpretations.

I enjoyed the informal writing style and the range of historic myths it covers. The core message about being more critical of the stories we get told is an important one.

The premise of Past Mistakes is that a lot of what we ‘know’ about our history and the history of the world is actually false, and has been rewritten by those in charge to maintain the status quo. The book uses several varied examples to evidence the many ways in which this process can be problematic and dangerous. Mountain uses this famous George Orwell quote to summarise: ‘Who controls the past controls the future: he who controls the present controls the past’.

I loved this book for several reasons. Firstly, it was just very interesting. I learned lots about various different aspects of history, including, a lot about Christopher Columbus and how hideous he was (embarrassingly, as I actually wrote my undergraduate dissertation about the myth of America as the New World and didn’t know loads of this stuff!) Secondly, it felt very relevant and contemporaneous. The book depicts the process whereby history is very consciously rewritten to serve a political agenda, and as time passes, the construction gets lost in time so that people come to believe the curated version of history. We can see this in play at the moment in that the purposeful white washing of history in the UK has led people (racists) to feel validated in some of their views, despite being (it goes without saying) overwhelmingly misinformed. For example, I’ve seen recently that people (racists) have been criticising the colour blind casting of The Bridgertons, because they believe that there were no black people in the UK in the 18th Century (though why this should matter for a colour blind production is another important conversation). uk_black_history quoted David Olusoga in response: ‘The refusal to accept that the black presence in Britain has a long and deep history is not just a symptom of racism, it is a form of racism’. Past Mistakes explores the circular, re-feeding motion of rewritten histories and contemporary beliefs in creating and sustaining prejudice and prejudicial discourses.

The book looks at lots of different historical time periods and phenomena to demonstrate the broader point. This means that the reader is able to learn about lots of different things, without being overwhelmed by information. The writing is very readable and funny where appropriate. I think Mountain uses good writing and tone, as well as thoroughly researched and wide ranging examples, to demonstrate his point expertly and relevantly.

I found this a very interesting book in so much as it left me asking questions about the past that I had assumed to be true. I found the book rather tough going in places as it was so full of information about history, people, archeology and pseudoarcheology. It is ot an easy read but was very absorbing. I can see that this will be a book that I will want to delve into many times in the future to remind myself of some of thehistorical facts that may/maynot be true.
This has taught me a lot about false media and how to try to evaulate the truth from the fiction from the past as well as current affairs.

See full review in link below. This is an abridged version:

Mountain’s clear voice escapes the raspy dryness history writing is known for and he hones in on racial and class biases in the study of history while respecting the discipline’s specialist nature. There is something measured and self-assured about his writing – it’s conversational without losing critical edge.

Each chapter, analysis comes after a drawn-out John Green Crash Course–like spiel, leaving desire for more of a historiography focus. Maybe, he thought his readers didn’t know these things and wants to correct and writes to the layperson. In this context, Past Mistakes is useful for those whose head is lost in present political, religious and social climates as a guide to challenging stereotypes.

Past Mistakes is a crisp reminder to step beyond easily accessible narratives and stay objective when viewing the past. The work succeeds in exemplifying how inaccurate beliefs continue to be entrenched – society clings to tidy, heroic, decisive (and divisive) tales when the truth is far more complex and ambiguous. But the analysis of this becomes lost as he casts a wide net of facts and anecdotes before circling back to the point. It would have been juicer to spend time critiquing trends of incorrectly attributed histories and their continued perpetuation. Providing so much evidence to garner trust from the reader was somewhat unwarranted.

Don’t get me wrong – I recommend this book. I ate it up. There’s nothing offensive or low quality about it. For the purpose of this review, I am considering different reader expectations. With Past Mistakes, I found the fun facts distracting with the brief analysis unfulfilling; I had a leisurely time revisiting known ideas and values without the ability to grow them.

An interesting read, but fails to fully engage--a lot of the subjects feel a bit safe, and the formatting makes the book feel more like a collection of essays rather than a fully cohesive work.

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 through the lens of the (rather racist and sexist) Victorians to prop up today’s white supremacists and misogynists.

I learned some things, but the main message was to engage critical thinking and look for the people who are missing from the “official” historical accounts. A solid four stars.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy in exchange for honest feedback.

A very controversial look at the past. Not an easy and quick read, this book requires a lot of concentration and time.

I understand and appreciate the premise for this book and agree with some of what Mountain stated throughout, but it was a very heavy read therefor I didn’t enjoy is as much as I could have.

Full marks for a name checking BLM and Covid in an attempt to keep this piece relevant.

If I had gotten this book for Christmas I would called it a "dipper", you read it in the bath or on the toilet, it's an easy reading, wants to be edgy but isn't. The chapter on pseudoscience is at least interesting, the whole dark age wasn't angle is about 20 years old. I don't entirely agree on the gun crime hypothesis, given the gun lobby is much more second amendment than frontiersman these days.

There were no major typos and the research was quite sound if not as cutting edge as the author might believe

I enjoyed reading this book. It is not the type of book I would normally read but it is definitely contributing to my expanding horizons. I'm not sure if I would recommend it but am glad I read it.

I enjoyed this book, and would even go so far as saying it's changed the way I think about history completely. We so often get bogged down in dates, times and what happened without ever questioning the narrative. This book aims to change that. It delves into some of the common themes we've been taught for centuries - about gun-toting cowboys settling scores with pistols at high noon, or how the bold adventurer Christopher Columbus discovered America. It compares what we've been taught with the evidence that exists and why the story might have been told in this certain way. It makes you think about the philosophy of history and how it can be used to fit neatly into an agenda for national pride or even to distract and cover up something else completely.

It's a long book - and the chapters are long too, but are packed with information. It is very persuasively-written, so if you want to find evidence that contradicts the author, you'll have to search for it yourself. But it very much opens your eyes to the telling of history and you'll end up questioning everything you've learned. I think it's essential reading for anyone studying history.

Although I did enjoy some bits of this book, I found the picking and choosing as to only choosing facts which fit the authors narrative quite distracting. He would provide sources for the facts he wanted to state but for things which were his opinion and couldn't be substantiated he would merely make sweeping statements without backing them. I have given it 2 stars due to the writing style but wouldn't recommend this book to others due to the authors allowing his personal opinions to colour facts without stating he was doing so and thus misleading others into thinking certain things were fact rather than opinion