Stuff Every American Should Know

by Denise Kiernan, Joseph D'Agnese

This pocket-sized companion is filled with stuff every American should know. Who played the first game of baseball? What's a bicameral congress? Where did Mount Rushmore come from? Who is Geronimo and who do we yell his name when we jump? Stuff Every American Should Know answers these questions plus great information on the Declaration of Independence, fireworks, the first Thanksgiving, "The Star-Spangled Banner," assassination attempts on U.S. presidents, buffalo nickels, the Statue of Liberty, how to bake the perfect apple pie, and much, much more.  From the Hardcover edition.Are the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence important to you?Then you'll want to check out two other books by the Signing Their  RIGHTS   The Fame & Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the U.S. Constitution"An extraordinarily fascinating study of America's lesser-known founding fathers alongside the more well-known ones,  Signing Their Rights Today  is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended contribution to public and college library shelves." -- Midwest Book Review (Reviewer's Choice)"[The authors]...maintain a refreshing reverence for the Constitution itself. Rather than ask readers to believe that an 'assembly of demigods' (Jefferson's words) wrote the Constitution, Ms. Kiernan and Mr. D'Agnese challenge the notion that the group that crafted this document of enduring genius was uniquely brilliant or visionary. If this raises the question of how exactly the miracle was accomplished, it should at least give readers some hope for our own seemingly uninspired political era." --  The Wall Street JournalSigning Their LIVES The Fame & Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of IndependenceIn the summer of 1776, fifty-six men risked their lives and livelihood to defy King George III and sign the Declaration of Independence--yet how many of them do we actually remember?Signing Their Lives Away  introduces readers to the eclectic group of statesmen, soldiers, slaveholders, and scoundrels who signed this historic document--and the many strange fates that awaited them. Some prospered and rose to the highest levels of United States government, while others had their homes and farms seized by British soldiers.Featured history title in Reader's Digest's, "Best of America" issue, 2009."Kiernan and D'Agnese...succeed in stripping away preconceived notions of the more famous signers, and bringing out something of interest about the other, less well known ones..." --Library Journal* "Kiernan and D'Agnese present astonishing individual portraits of all the signers" -- School Library Journal, starred review

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Reference, American History

146 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Denise Kiernan is an author, journalist, producer, and host of “CRAFT: Authors in Conversation.” Her new young reader’s book, "We Gather Together: Stories of Thanksgiving from then to now," arrived September 2023, and is a companion title to the popular adult nonfiction book, "We Gather Together," and children’s picture book, Giving Thanks. Her titles "The Last Castle" and "The Girls of Atomic City" were both instant New York Times bestsellers in both hardcover and paperback. "The Last Castle" was also a Wall Street Journal bestseller, a finalist for the 2018 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. "The Girls of Atomic City" was also a Los Angeles Times and NPR bestseller, was named one of Amazon's “Top 100 Best Books of 2013,” and is now available in multiple languages. It was also awarded the 2014 American Political Science Association's Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for the best book published in the United States on government, politics, or international affairs.

Kiernan has also co-authored several popular history titles including "Signing Their Lives Away," "Signing Their Rights Away," and "Stuff Every American Should Know." She has been published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Village Voice, Time, Ms. Magazine, Reader's Digest, Discover and many more publications. She has also worked in television, serving as head writer for ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" during its Emmy award-winning first season and has produced for media outlets such as ESPN and MSNBC.Throughout her career, Kiernan has been a featured guest on many radio and television shows, including NPR's "Weekend Edition," PBS NewsHour, MSNBC Morning Joe and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She lives in North Carolina.

Find out more about Denise's projects at:
http://denisekiernan.com
http://facebook.com/DeniseKiernanAuthor
http://www.twitter.com/DeniseKiernan
https://www.instagram.com/iamdeniseki...

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was nice read, informative, and contain couple of things I was not aware of...

Blue Jeans were not invented in the US by Levi Strauss (he definitely helped popularize them in US thou) - they in fact have their beginnings from India and Europe. In 16th Century in India, they sold hard-wearing blue fabric from Dongari Fort (dubbed "Dungagree); In Europe they wore Italian fabric as the "blue of Genoa" (bleu de Genes), hence blue jeans in English.

If you enjoyed this book, I would recommend the book called "The Intellectual Devotional: American History".

I did find one thing ironic about this book about America... it was printed in China.

[Juliet Penrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little book! Got it at Mt. Vernon and read it for abt an hour in the car. There’s a few passages I found interesting in there. Very patriotic! 🇺🇸🏈

[Gordon Gauss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sample citizenship test at the end of this book is an eye-opener. Although we may have passed civics class years ago, this tells us how much we have forgotten or really never knew. When was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence front to back?

[Chris Rutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool little book

[Vivien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear, easy to read book about basic American civics and culture. I knew most of it already but it was nice to have a reminder/refresher on what I learned in school. And there is stuff I didn’t know and/or forgot

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and informative book that can essentially be read in 30 minutes. Despite the preface presenting the caveat that there inevitably will be disagreement about what constitutes "stuff you should know", I think does a pretty good job, and as someone who has basically picked up clues of all the different facets of the US, this wraps it up nicely.

[AlegnaB † · Rating 3 out of 5]

It can be read quickly, since it's very small. I got it from the library; I'm glad I didn't buy it. I could have done without the apple pie recipe and turkey carving info, which is not the type of info I expected. The book kept me from being bored while I waited for my son to do his driver's ed.

[Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this in the Mount Vernon Gift shop to learn more about citizenship. To that effort it is very helpful and has a lot of data since it is a compact, pocket-sized guide filled with quirky and essential American trivia—from who played the first baseball game to the origins of Mount Rushmore and how to bake a perfect apple pie. Despite its small size, it’s packed with bite-sized historical nuggets, fun “how-to”s, and patriotic facts that entertain without feeling overwhelming. It gives a lot of detailed data but I think I expected a history of America more than it provided.

[Christopher Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book containing information that All Americans should know about this country. There was some fun “useless” information as well that pertain to America such as Memorials, Sports and food items but the main topics were about The Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book for the curious,, or for killing time.. This is a good selection for areas where a wide range of people may pass through briefly-- waiting rooms and vacation rentals, for example. A series of quick reads on various subjects at a level of general, sometimes vague information. No index, sources sometimes or seldom noted.

[Kevin Todd Lambdin · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Ideas and Facts

Essential information on stuff every American should know. It also makes for a good review for those who haven't thought about these concepts and facts since graduating school.

[Ketzia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice quirky pocket-sized book with bits of information on American history and culture. I bought this book in Texas, at a Cracker Barrel gift shop. Can it get anymore American than that? I think not! 😂🇺🇸🤠

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

The was a fun and entertaining read. I was an easy read with lots of little tidbits of information.

[Kyle O'Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay. I don't know. I knew most of the info in it already.

[mrbilll]

Very interesting and fun to read.

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun quick read. I enjoyed the history focused chapters but some of them (like 10 things to do with a bandana) were pretty pointless.

[Emily Pryor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun little book! I bought it at the visitors center in Philly at independence hall! My bf and I read it on our road trip and learned a lot!

[Jerrilynn Lilyblade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great set of facts and trivia of US History

[Douglas E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable, quick little read. Very eclectic as there is no particular theme. Lots of random yet interesting stuff. Well worth the couple of hours it takes to read.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love trivia and this was great. Some I already knew but much of it was new and interesting. Quick read and fun.

[Christy Chermak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this as a gift for a friend and read through it real quickly. Cute little read with some fun facts I wasn’t aware of! Great to read over American holidays

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a self proclaimed history buff I absolutely enjoyed this short but interesting book. I skimmed over the recipes for typical good old fashioned American food yet I am positive they will come in handy some day (there were only 2 or 3 recipes). This book is filled with tons of fascinating facts that every American will truly appreciate. The short topics and straight forward writing allows intrigued readers to understand clearly and share their new found knowledge with others.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little pocket guide to things Americans from the USA should be aware of. I think the baseball question should have come before the football or corndog question, but we won't quibble. I would imagine of you're moderately educated you know the bulk of this already. Anyway, it includes a sample citizenship test at the end to see if you belong here or not. Good luck!

[Lety (BooksAndMovies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very quick but super interesting read. Even though I'm not from the USA I knew a few of these facts but also learned so many more. There are also a bunch of new places going straight to my bucket list after reading this book. I recommend it if you are interested in knowing more information about the USA.

[Cyndie Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little reference book with the most essential Americana skills. Some fun facts I didn't know and a handy reference for "the classics" Gettsyburg address, start spangled banner, declaration of independence.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, not much meat, but a quick refresher

It’s a fun little tract- nothing special or surprising, but worth a quick read as a history refresher if this isn’t something you routinely think about. I wouldn’t pay much for it.

[Kathy (Bermudaonion) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this 3.5 stars.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough read when you're bored. Some interesting tidbits.

[Charlotte Lamboley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but funny and great esthetics :)

[Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, good for picking up a few trivia facts.