[3] In an editorial in the Times that month, Adam Cohen said "it is tempting to dismiss the book as fringe scholarship, not worth worrying about, but the numbers say otherwise.

"[3][7] Cohen described the book as "a checklist of arch-conservative talking points" which opposed civil rights and promoted discredited theories such as nullification.

"[9][3] Historian David Greenberg in March dismissed Woods as a "hitherto unknown assistant professor" and his book as "a brisk tour of U.S. history from Colonial to Clintonian times, filtered through a lens of far-right dogma, circa 1939" that is "incorrect in more than just its politics" and that "would be tedious to debunk.

"[10] Law professor Eric L. Muller has been frequently cited as a critic of the book, linking its views to the neo-Confederate organization the League of the South.

[3] Judge James Haley praised the book in the conservative Weekly Standard as "a compelling rebuttal to the liberal sentiment encrusted upon current history texts.