September 28, 2001

Historical Ignorance Is a Two-Way Street

To the Editor:

I agreed with many points that Richard Pells made in "American Studies: on the Margins in Europe" (The Review, August 17). However, I would like to comment that neglect of American-history topics by Europeans on their secondary-school exams is hardly worse than the gross neglect European history gets in U.S. schools. ... Surely it is even more important for Americans to gain an understanding of the European cultures and peoples and ideas that gave rise to certain