The battles over American history—and how it’s taught in our schools—are front-page news these days. Those currently in power want to impose a sanitized narrative that downplays the centrality of slavery, among other topics, to the story, while many scholars, teachers, and parents push back. Ann Bausum’s latest nonfiction book shows that the conflict is hardly a new one. White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote History (Roaring Brook Press, August 12) made our list of the Best YA Books of 2025, and Bausum told us more about it by email.

What was the original idea that started you working on the book?

A dozen or so years ago, an old friend from Virginia tracked down for me copies of our childhood state history textbooks. By then, I knew those books from the 1960s had been flawed, but when I read them with fresh and wiser eyes, I was shocked by how seriously they had misled us about such matters as the nature of slavery, the cause of the Civil War, and the realities of Reconstruction. Such distortions are part of what’s known as the Lost Cause, a post–Civil War effort to maintain white supremacy and restore white rule in the South. I wrote White Lies to help others—and myself—understand the history of this effort and its continuing impact on Americans.

What kind of reception has the book had in schools and communities so far?

Support for White Lies has been strong, whether I’ve spoken in Wisconsin, where I live now, or in such states as South Dakota, Texas, and Utah. Many people have shared stories about their own experiences with misleading or incomplete accounts of history, and there is general agreement that we are better served when we learn from the past by studying the breadth of our nation’s story, both its triumphs and its tragedies.

What inspired you during the writing of the book? What were you reading, listening to, watching?

Because I was writing a nonfiction book, I read a great deal of scholarly work about the Lost Cause and related history. That material was crucial, of course, but so was travel. In 2021, as soon as I’d gotten vaccinated against Covid, I headed to Virginia and Washington, D.C. I wanted to get a fresh look at familiar historical sites, see new ones, and view Confederate monuments slated for removal. I also rewatched relevant movies, such as Gone With the Wind. By reconnecting with various forms of Confederate commemoration, I was able to describe and contextualize them for readers in a more compelling way.

Where and when did you write the book? Describe the scene, the time of day, the necessary accoutrements or talismans.

I write at my home office, a space stuffed with books, reference materials, family photographs, and objects from my past. One picture took on added significance during the five-year period of my work on White Lies. You’ll find it included with my author’s note. It shows my mother as a young girl in Louisiana circa 1935, surrounded by four older generations of her family. The oldest was the widow of a Confederate soldier who died from camp illnesses before ever reaching the battlefield. My mother’s family also had a relative from Louisiana who fought against the Confederacy. This photo reminds me of the complexity of our history, of how our nation’s story and our personal stories are one, and that our nation’s history is short! As a child, I sat on the lap of a woman who grew up sitting on the lap of a Civil War widow. That fact still amazes me.

Tom Beer is the editor-in-chief.