The Issue at a Glance

We, Rigoberta’s Excuse-Makers (10.1007/s12129-012-9294-7)

Daphne Patai, University of Massachusetts Amherst

In 1999, anthropologist David Stoll exposed as fabricated parts of I, Rigoberta Menchú, an autobiographical account by Guatemalan activist and 1992 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú. Daphne Patai describes the immediate, vituperative, and ongoing reaction to Stoll’s conscientious research—and eventually to Stoll himself. Today, Stoll continues to be vilified, while Rigoberta’s fictionalized past, defended as postmodern truth, continues to be retold as nonfiction.

The Howard Zinn Show (10.1007/s12129-012-9286-7)

Gilbert T. Sewall, American Textbook Council

Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United Statesis the nation’s best-known and bestselling work of American history. Used in history, economics, sociology, political science, and women’s studies courses nationwide, it is also a favorite Advanced Placement selection. And yet, Sewall shows how Zinn, who created the “99 percent”