Who really discovered America? What was "the shot heard 'round the world"? Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: Did he or didn't he?
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Aug 16, 2007
Sabrina
rated it: 
It is infinitely easier to critize a book like this one than it is to write one. Succint, interesting summaries of sweeping historical eras are almost always doomed to failure on some level, and I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, Davis does an Ok job. It's just that his writing is so bad. His prose is littered with pronouns lacking clear antecedents and most irklingly, he constantly repeats proper nouns making for some seriously bumpy, seriously irritating reading:
"Almos More...
"Almos More...
Oct 10, 2011
Drake
rated it: 
There was a TV documentary called, America the Story of Us on the history channel that only gave the good things about American History. This book was nothing like that. It gave everything, the good and the bad, and this author must have read a freakish amount of books to know that much. I learned so much and it proves that America wasn't just made up of perfect people who did perfect things. The only reason it isn't 5 stars is that it doesn't describe the weakness of the Articles of Confederati
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Mar 14, 2009
Alison
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Its always disconcerting when the first few lines of a book try to turn George Washington's prayer at Valley Forge into a farce made up by hyper religious people. Right then I knew I was reading a book written by a liberal. But I continued. He spent the first chapter cutting down Columbus and his greediness in order to explain that he wasn't the first person to discover American land (duh!) and then never answered who really did (Amerigo Vespucci). I thought his history way too basic at this poi
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Nov 13, 2011
Jeremy
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Good overview of American history. The more I read about history, especially American history, the more appalled and the more hopeful I become. Appalled, because humanity keeps making the same mistakes fueled by greed, apathy, and ignorance. Hopeful, because eventually a movement starts that achieves real change for the better and because we as a species have proven our resilience over and over.
Every single one of our founding fathers and all the men and women we consider great in the More...
Every single one of our founding fathers and all the men and women we consider great in the More...
Jun 15, 2011
Don
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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May 31, 2011
Judy
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Where in the world did I get this book? I was cleaning out some stacks of books this weekend and there it was. Written in a question and answer format, this book tries to explain basic principles of American History. Example, "What is Manifest Destiny?" "What was the Era of Good Feelings?" "How the Hell did George W. Bush ever get elected?" Actually, I just made that one up, but there was a question about the disputed Election of 2000. Since I teach U.S. Hist
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Jun 21, 2010
Andrew
rated it:
Every American should be lashed to a chair and forced to read this book. That's the sort of thought that pops into my head every now and then when I get in touch with my inner-despotic dictator. A benevolent despot, I hasten to add, because it truly would do all my fellow citizens a world of good. Americans are frighteningly ignorant about many things, especially their own history.
Eventually my inner-freedom-fighters overthrow my inner-despot, and re-establish the right of all Am More...
Eventually my inner-freedom-fighters overthrow my inner-despot, and re-establish the right of all Am More...
Jun 27, 2009
Christopher
rated it: 
The real problem with “Don’t Know Much About History” is that it prescribes to the Modern School of History, namely: anything white males did in the last 3,000 years is criminal, all of white men’s successes are on the backs of other people, and white men are very lucky.
This is not to say DKMAH is a bad book or even bad history; its not. The book is, though, pedestrian in the info contained and in the events covered. However, what it lacks in material, it makes up for in righteou More...
This is not to say DKMAH is a bad book or even bad history; its not. The book is, though, pedestrian in the info contained and in the events covered. However, what it lacks in material, it makes up for in righteou More...
Mar 25, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
Overall, it was OK.
Interesting story about not only the civil war, but a history of the world leading up to the civil war.
The politics of slavery were the cause of the civil war, and the seeds that started this war were planted as soon as America declared independence. The confederacy was controlled by a small number of souther politicians, and those politicians owned a lot of slaves - so when the north wanted to abolish slavery, the slave owners rebelled.
The north had a big More...
Interesting story about not only the civil war, but a history of the world leading up to the civil war.
The politics of slavery were the cause of the civil war, and the seeds that started this war were planted as soon as America declared independence. The confederacy was controlled by a small number of souther politicians, and those politicians owned a lot of slaves - so when the north wanted to abolish slavery, the slave owners rebelled.
The north had a big More...
Mar 31, 2010
Julie
rated it:
I would never recommend this book to anyone who loves America. This author mainly gives his opinions, not actual facts. When he does make statements, he doesn't do any follow up. It seems to me that he is a hater of America, and never should have make a book on our history. In my opinion, he should have stuck to facts instead of his anti-american views on our history. If you are a true American who loves this country, I would avoid this like the plague. He bounces around on subjects, and t
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Feb 22, 2010
Michael
rated it:
It is astonishing the amount of information that is omitted in text books about American History. Even today, as a teacher of adult basic education, the reality of the stories we grew up with and continue to teach is shocking. I am a student of history, both academically and as a continuing hobby, and I like to give the general population the benefit of the doubt concerning their ability to handle the truth about our past as Americans. It does not detract one iota from the great service FDR pr
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Nov 22, 2009
Donal
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History books, by their nature, are never "definitive" no matter what the title at the front or the blurb at the back may state. However, a good history book will give the reader some sort of springboard from which to launch into the lifetime's pursuit that is history. This book's accessible, often witty style will inform, but more importantly will stimulate the thirst for knowledge, which is as it should be. I don't think the author seeks to offend, but some formerly sacred and ven
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Apr 25, 2009
Jeff
rated it:
This edition of "Don't Know Much About History" takes the reader to the early years of President Clinton (©1995). Subsequent versions, I believe, bring readers to more current affairs (no pun intended).
I found "Don't Know Much About History" a difficult read. While the author, Kenneth C. Davis, undoubtedly knows his subject extremely well, the book read like a semi-narrative text book. Repetitive anecdotes would surround time-lined historical events throughout the More...
I found "Don't Know Much About History" a difficult read. While the author, Kenneth C. Davis, undoubtedly knows his subject extremely well, the book read like a semi-narrative text book. Repetitive anecdotes would surround time-lined historical events throughout the More...
Aug 16, 2010
melydia
rated it:
A friendly question-and-answer format with entertaining answers about American history from Columbus to Clinton. The post-Watergate coverage is pretty slim, but at that point it could probably be assumed that most readers remembered those years clearly. (There is an updated version, but my copy was printed in 1995.) I learned quite a bit about those bits we skipped in school, like the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Though it could not replace a traditional history course, since there is an assumpt
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Apr 25, 2011
Shy
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I read this book as a refresher on American History with a view to sitting a specific exam. In that respect, I suppose the book was successful in achieving my objective. However, I would generally not recommend this book for anything other than as a springboard into further study and thankfully for this purpose Davis provides a very detailed list of further readings for each section.
It is a good succinct summary of American history. A distillation, if you will, of a large amount of More...
It is a good succinct summary of American history. A distillation, if you will, of a large amount of More...
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Dec 30, 2008
Brandon
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Kenneth C Davis' look at history is not quite as entertaining as Bill Bryson, but you actually feel like you take more away from it. The what it told its stories in question and answer format was not only helpful but useful. Davis likes to use timelines a little too much in talking about the wars and that is unfortunate because he turns what is an anti-textbook history book into a by the numbers textbook format. It removes the curiousity and inserts boredom. When I would get to the timelines I a
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Oct 10, 2010
Dan
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Note: This review is of the first two chapters of the book.
"Don't Know Much About History" has been one of my favorite books ever! It was easy and fun to read and it helped me learn more about history in so many ways. For example, say you wanted to know about when and how Jamestown got started. So all you need to do is flip to that chapter of the book and then look up that section of the chapter. Plus, the book has many timelines that help you put stuff into perspective. So More...
"Don't Know Much About History" has been one of my favorite books ever! It was easy and fun to read and it helped me learn more about history in so many ways. For example, say you wanted to know about when and how Jamestown got started. So all you need to do is flip to that chapter of the book and then look up that section of the chapter. Plus, the book has many timelines that help you put stuff into perspective. So More...
Apr 23, 2011
Dina
rated it:
Kenneth C. Davis has a really terrific knack for making history interesting, exciting and most importantly personable. I had first picked up his Don't Know Much About the Civil War book and was amazed that for the first time, I was enjoying learning about battles, generals and strategic movements - it was more like story-telling than fact reciting. I feel that this is what history should be; important events told with all the care that a well crafted work of fiction holds, so that places and ide
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Dec 19, 2010
Masamune's Song
rated it:
A very nice overview that does a good job of showing American history as it relates to world history, not in isolated, boring blocks that I was taught in grade school. Seriously, by sixth grade, I wanted to hurl every time I heard the name "Paul Revere."
I don't see how he can consider himself "biased toward objectivity," though. He makes plenty of disparaging remarks about southern, conservative, religious types and he seems, for the first part of the book anyway More...
I don't see how he can consider himself "biased toward objectivity," though. He makes plenty of disparaging remarks about southern, conservative, religious types and he seems, for the first part of the book anyway More...
Apr 02, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
Good/useful book if you need a crash course in American history. It starts with the European discovery of the Americas, and goes through to the 2000 presidential… hum… elections… (He even touches on the September 11 attacks, but just barely.) The different eras are divided by chapter, so if you are looking to just get a refresher about the Civil War for example, you can easily jump to that section. The author uses a Q&A technique, which I didn’t necessarily enjoy; I felt he jumped from one topic
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Oct 11, 2007
Jamie
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Seriously. Every American should be able to tell a foreigner what the original 13 colonies were. Or at least, what was the shot heard round the world. Or what the Quakers had to do with the Prohibition, or what the New Deal was or any number of pieces of our history. My American History knowledge is like swiss cheese. I have huge holes in my timeline of history. I don't know what I was doing when it was being taught to me, but i definitely wasn't listening. Our history is actually really intrigu
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Aug 10, 2007
Scott
rated it:
I listened to an abridged audio version of this book (it's what they had at the library), so the full book may be better than my impression of it (or, I guess, it might be worse).
This is a terrible book. It may be more fun to read than most history textbooks, but it's treatment of history is extremely shallow and the tone is cheesy to the point of being offensive ("If the French aristocracy had realized what the spread of demoncracy would do, they might not have supported the Am More...
This is a terrible book. It may be more fun to read than most history textbooks, but it's treatment of history is extremely shallow and the tone is cheesy to the point of being offensive ("If the French aristocracy had realized what the spread of demoncracy would do, they might not have supported the Am More...
Jul 02, 2007
sydney
rated it:
This is a quick overview of American history told in a straightforward, lively tone. The book is arranged chronologically by eras, and Davis uses a question-and-answer format to frame each chapter, opening with a list of questions like, "Why was Kansas 'bloody'?" and "What happened at the Bay of Pigs?" He answers one question at a time, often circling back to previous answers to tie events together. Davis also uses my favorite historical tool, the mighty timeline, to set d
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Aug 09, 2007
Tommy
rated it:
Recently I tried a few history books recommended by my Dad, but I found those authors assumed the reader already has knowledge of the basic chronology of American History.
Sadly, my knowledge was full of gaps. That's why I picked up this book, which tells the whole story of the United States, using the basic structure of a decade per chapter. The writing is engaging and clear. I felt like I was learning from start to finish, and I was entertained throughout.
Now I feel mu More...
Sadly, my knowledge was full of gaps. That's why I picked up this book, which tells the whole story of the United States, using the basic structure of a decade per chapter. The writing is engaging and clear. I felt like I was learning from start to finish, and I was entertained throughout.
Now I feel mu More...
Jun 10, 2010
Margaret
rated it:
This book served its purpose, with a broad overview of american history from approximately 1492-2002. Naturally, in 600 pages, such breadth requires a level of shallowness, which conveys itself with a number of moments where Davis squeezes a number of major events into an awkward dependent clause or two. The book could use a thorough Cahoonaville/Frog grammar sweep, but, again, I'm well refreshed on my American history and happy to know the sociohistorical context of some of these supreme court
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Jan 24, 2010
Yana
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I chose to read this book after it was recomended to me by a fellow classmate. It is also another nonfiction bookmk that summarizes the main events in American history( i just can't get enough). This book is really helpful for studying, since we really never have the time to actually read books, besides teh ones assigned, here is one taht will do both. This is your complete guid to knowledge and success on those tricky history tests and quizes.
Feb 17, 2009
Claire
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What I learned from this book. A great deal. I learned that history doesn't have to be written like a textbook. That a history book doesn't have to be full of cheerful stories. This book gives you the reality of American history...our triumphs, our tragedies, our scandals and corruption, our racism, our humanity...
I highly recommend this book if you want to get a good glimpse of the true stories of American history!
I highly recommend this book if you want to get a good glimpse of the true stories of American history!
Jul 25, 2009
Duane
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For anyone who needs to find out the "truth" about our past history, then this is a nice book. It's not exactly a "relaxing" read because it tends to read like a text book, but you do get the "real" story behind all the history that we've been forced to learn. I do like how the author lays out the timelines of history. If you want facts, this is a nice book, if you want a entertaining read, pass to another.
Mar 14, 2009
Sad, but true....I dont know why anyone would read this intentionally. But I thouroughly enjoyed it! If you snoozed through school and cant remember a lot of what you learned, but are suddenly interested as an adult its great! I love this authors whole series. He just highlights the important stuff....some of it was left out in school so it is a great refresher with new info too! Thumbs up!
Aug 29, 2011
Ryan
rated it:
If you don't enjoy history and you read this book, you may change your mind. Ken Davis structures his book in the forms of questions not chapters. Ken gets down to the root cause and effect of events in American History and leaves one wanting to learn more. History is interpretation and I think Ken Davis has a liberal albeit honest and accurate account of what took place in American History.
