Suppressed History II: Pulverizing Politically Correct Paradigms, B.Forrest Clayton, Armistead Publishing; Cincinnati, OH, 2005, $14.95

George Orwell wrote, "He who controls the past, controls the present."

Historian B. Forrest Clayton takes that maxim seriously.

The latest book in his Suppressed History series is a wide-ranging look at the leftwing attempt to alter America's destiny by lying about and manipulating American History.

Older readers will enjoy the way Clayton debunks conventional liberal views about the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.

The liberals maintain that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was as surprised as the American people.

Clayton summarizes the many splendid books that present the documented truth about the start of World War II.

The Americans had broken the Japanese codes, and Roosevelt certainly knew an attack was coming.


Older readers will also like the way Clayton sets the record straight about the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961.

He points out that since"most American History textbooks are written by leftwing professors," who virtually worship the ground that President John F. Kennedy walked on, the textbooks excuse the tragic failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion on the theory that the CIA underestimated Castro's popularity.

Clayton explains why that's a ridiculous argument.

The Bay of Pigs invasion failed because at the last minute Kennedy called off the crucial U.S. air support for the landing.


Younger readers will enjoy the way Clayton debunks popular liberal myths on Custer's last stand, the Tet offensive in the Vietnam War, guncontrol in Britain, and illegal immigration.

Also of interest are his chapters on how language, clothing, music and art influence our culture. Inhis section entitled "Social History," Clayton takes on everything from headphones to the National Endowment for the Arts.

For too many years, the Left has controlled and distorted American history, exerting far too much control over public policy and the fate of our society. But Clayton thinks that the liberal monopoly on deciding what is and is not true is not impenetrable.

In his conclusion, Clayton points tothe rise of alternative media, including the Internet and talk radio, assigns that Americans are losing patience with liberal attempts to suppress history. Clayton's work is very useful to teach facts about American history that students will not learn in school or from their textbooks written by leftwing professors.