| Don't Know Much About History |  | Author: Kenneth C. Davis
Publisher: Random House Audio
Category: Book
Buy Used: $92.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  160 reviews
Sales Rank: 6712609
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
ISBN: 0553745174
EAN: 9780553745177
ASIN: 0553745174
Publication Date: November 1, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Finally, someone who tells history like it was, without the old textbook gloss that's put so many students into premature naptime and misinformed the few who stayed awake. Davis corrects the myths and misconceptions from Columbus up through the Clinton administration, and shows that truth is more entertaining than propaganda.
Product Description
p A new, completely revised, expanded and updated edition of the million-selling iNew York Times/i bestseller that launched the entire Don't Know Much About series /p p iWhen Don't Know Much About History/i first appeared thirteen years ago, it created a sensation. With humor, wit, great stories, and a trademark conversational style, the book brought Americans a fresh new take on history. Shattering myths and vividly bringing the past to life, it spent thirty-five consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Davis proved that Americans don't hate history -- they just hate the dull textbook version they were force-fed in school. The book became an instant classic, an "anti -textbook" that has sold more than 1.3 million copies. /p p In his irreverent and popular question-and- answer style, Davis now returns with a completely revised edition that brings history right up to the moment -- covering such topics as the end of the Cold War, Clinton's impeachment, the bizarre election of 2000, and the events that led to September 11. /p p Incorporating new research and discoveries, Davis also updates and expands on such long-standing American controversies as the Jefferson-Hemings affair, the Alger Hiss trial, and the Rosenberg spy case. And he includes an expanded "civics lesson" that examines some of America's hottest social and political issues, such as the death penalty, gun control, and school prayer. /p p For history buffs and history-phobes alike, longtime fans who need a refresher course, and for a new generation of Americans who are still in the dark about America's past, Davis proves once more why iPeople/i magazine said, "Reading him is like returning to the classroom of the best teacher you ever had." /p
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| Customer Reviews: Read 155 more reviews...
 Very entertaining January 5, 2009
Entertaining reading but his liberal bias shows through very clearly. His take on recent America politics, especially Nixon through Clinton, sounds like any NPR listener.
 Inaccurate, biased, etc. December 31, 2008
Mr. Davis really short changes Jamestown, and gets things wrong. The Captain of the ship was Christopher Newport not John Newport. If you want to know what really happened in Jamestown read David Price's book `Love and Hate in Jamestown'. FYI - 12-year-old Pocahontas would have never had a crush on a short, round, red-headed 45-year-old man(Smith).br /Disinterested grammar school students could learn from it...they would learn some things that aren't true, but they are disinterested so they will promptly forget them anyway.br /Anyone who loves history, or a specific part of history could very likely find themselves annoyed by the things he chooses to ignore and the other things he chooses to harp on forever.br /It can be used for a glossed over timeline of events.
I'll be honest I did not, have not and probably never will sit down and read through this entire book November 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
No - I intend to continue to use this book as a reference book. Occassionally things come up and I want a quick answer about history, I look it up in a book, this book. br /br /The other night my first grader wanted to know more about the timeline between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. He also wanted to diagram certain events that Presidents encoutered in their presidency. After I closed my mouth and my head stopped spinning, we went to the bookshelf and pulled a number of reference books down to begin our timelines and diagrams. This book saved me - big time. br /br /We were watching National Treasure, and I disputed a fact from the movie, everyone else told me I was crazy, so we looked it up in Don't Know Much About History. br /br /The book begins with the the discovery of America, after the chapter title page there is a summary page of the discussion points you will find in each chapter, usually a brief but relevant synopsis of events. At the end of each chpater is either a breakdown of key informational points or a timeline of events. br /
 Interesting November 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Interesting but not exactly good to learn US history. If you already know US History I highly recommend it. If you want to learn, try something more traditional first.
 Disappointing October 20, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was hoping to get a nice factual primer on American History when I ordered this book. What I got was a writer projecting his political bias on as many topics as possible. I'm kind of a hybrid Rebuplican/Democrat so I'm far from a right winger. But the left wing slant of this book is obvious and obtrusive from the get go. If this guy wants to impose his political beliefs on others, he should try fiction because history is too important to become an interpretive exercise.br /br /I couldn't recommend this author less.
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