Don't Know Much About® Anything: Everything You Need to Know but Never Learned About People, Places, Events, and More!

Don't Know Much About

by Kenneth C. Davis

In his wildly entertaining, winningly irreverent, New York Times bestselling Don't Know Much About ® series, author Kenneth C. Davis has amused and edified us with fascinating facts about history, mythology, the Bible, the universe, geography, and the Civil War. Now, the sky's the limit in his latest irresistible installment—a grand tour of knowledge that carries us from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Berlin Wall, from the Salem Witch Trials to Watergate, from Michelangelo to Houdini. Brimming with busted myths, gripping true stories, and peculiar particulars about a plethora of people, places, and events, this captivating compendium is guaranteed to delight information lovers everywhere as it feeds our insatiable appetite to know everything!

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Reference, Trivia, Education, World History, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2007

About the author

Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Don't Know Much About® series of books and audios for adults and children. Don't Know Much About® History, the first title in the series, became a New York Times bestseller in 1991 and remained on the paperback list for 35 consecutive weeks. It has since been revised several times and now has more than 1.6 million copies in print. The 30th anniversary edition of the book was published with a new preface, "From an Era of Broken Trust to an Era of Broken Democracy."

Davis is, according to Publishers Weekly, "a go-to guy for historical insight and analysis."

AMERICA'S HIDDEN HISTORY also became a New York Times bestseller. A NATION RISING also uses dramatic narratives to tell the "stories your textbooks left out." His book, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICA AT WAR (May 5, 2015) was called "searing" analysis by Publishers Weekly.

Kenneth C. Davis’s success aptly makes the case that Americans don’t hate history, just the dull version they slept through in class. Davis’s approach is to refresh us on the subjects we should have learned in school. He does it by busting myths, setting the record straight, and always remembering that fun is not a four-word letter word.

His IN THE SHADOW OF LIBERTY: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF SLAVERY, FOUR PRESIDENTS, AND FIVE BLACK LIVES looks at the lives of five people enslaved by four of America's most famous Presidents and the role of slavery in American history and the presidency. In May 2018, MORE DEADLY THAN WAR: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War was published.

STRONGMAN: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy was published by Holt. It was named among the best books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews and the Washington Post.

In November 2022 GREAT SHORT BOOKS: A Year of Reading--Briefly was published by SCribner. A compendium of 58 great short works Davis read during the pandemic lock down, it is a joyous celebration of reading.

Coming in October 2024 is THE WORLD IN BOOKS: 52 WORKS OF GREAT SHORT NONFICTION. It is an accessible and comprehensive guide to some of the most influential and important works of nonfiction, from the earliest days of writing to contemporary times. Each entry includes information about the writers behind these consequential books and the time in which they lived.

Reviews

[Lacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Negative 10 stars.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

True fans of trivia are bound to be disappointed with this assortment of questions and answers. For more in-depth information on similar topics (and more background on history myths), better look to The Book of General Ignorance. This book might have at least been more enjoyable to read had it had used a similar format. Instead, basically a few sentences suffice to introduce each topic hand followed by a handful of quiz questions with answers on the next page. This got annoying almost immediately, and I found myself skipping ahead to the answers every time to get my information fix in. As if that weren't bad enough, there were at least a handful of repetitions where the answer to one question was basically addressed elsewhere (often in an answer to another question in the preceding section). With so few trivia questions allotted to each section (even on hot button topics and topics rife with corresponding misconceptions) there's just no excuse for that.

[lyndsay ortiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first K.Davis purchase and was sorely disappointed due to the lack of substance to each topic offered. The subjects are only briefly explained (one paragraph) then a few questions are asked about it.

The information is given in the question/answer or true/false format, the answers being on the next page. Each topic is covered in one page. Even the Civil Rights Movement...and peanut butter.

I usually love trivia, reference, and books on various subjects such as this.

This book is perfect for kids, though, as I noticed my two (under 11) enjoyed learning some facts about Christmas and historical people.

Recommeded for those who don't have a lot of time to read and just want a quick run down of a few randomly chosen subjects.

[Elyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

A trivia book written in a "Question-Answer" format. Some questions were impossible to answer (at least for number-challenged me), ie the population of a place, the distance between here and there. Some questions were asked twice! A sloppy piece of work.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know tea has more caffeine in the leaves than coffee does in its beans? This is a compendium of facts presented in a snappy question and answer format. The range of topics is broad including history, foods, government and sports.
The facts are not covered in depth. This is more a list of trivia answers than a study of the topics. Still, the answers can make the listener or reader want to know more. It's best to cover a little at a time to give yourself time to absorb the answers.
I listened to the audio version read by Jeff Woodman with two others posing questions. Kenneth Davis read an introduction and an epilogue. It was read clearly and was an enjoyable listen. This would be a great way to spark curiosity in middle grade children or older.

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Don't Know Much About anything" written by Kenneth C. Davis is full of bits of trivia. Full of offbeat questions which bring about offbeat answers that turn trivia into the trivial. This book would make for a great bathroom read. I can't imagine that the confusing format of questions and answers would enlighten anyone of the subjects covered. It did, however, lead to many curiosities about some of the answers. I found very little actual information and felt the need to look elsewhere for explanations.

[Robert Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that great

The questions were not really well thought out, and I found a few glaring mistakes. Of course several answers are now outdated (e.g. longest reigning British monarch has changed since 2007).

[Layce Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

A great light read. Funny and fact filled and amusing. What a perfect little book to dip into now and again.

[Roni Adair · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did this on CD. Didn't really care for the format.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and kinda fun. If you like trivia, this is pretty good. If you want to know everything and how it connects to everything then this is moderately helpful.

Liked it.

[h a fehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

great for a long road trip

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Random facts about lots of things. Perfect for brushing up before trivia night!

[patti mosberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting

Answers to so many questions you wished you had thought to ask. Fun fact type of book. Very easy and fast read.

[Yvonne Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Didn't Know Much About Anything, but now I know a little bit more than I did, Thanks to Don't Know Much About Anything by Kenneth Davis.

[Vinnie V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonus quizzes of a subject gave answers away in the original quiz or the introductory info. Some outdated info but that's bound to happen when it's almost 20 years old

[Izzie]

I really don’t enjoy how this was written. Finishing it seems like torture

[Dj · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Don't Know Anything books are a fairly mixed lot. Some are good, some are less good. This one is a tad different than the ones that I have read before. It gives you a short write up about a topic then asks you some quiz like questions and gives you the answers. It would be a prefect kind of book for trips, family nights and the like.

I really enjoyed it and will be reading it on other occasions in the future.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

Lots of great information here, but I'm not the biggest fan of the format. Lots of quizzes, and I only like to take quizzes after I've studied the material first. That said, trivia is always fun.

[Blythe Penland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very informative. I saw this book at my library and I just heard it calling to me. Honestly, I don't know much about anything. This book had lots of facts about things I'm familiar with and not-so-familiar with. I enjoyed learning about various topics, mostly entertainment and outer space, but that's just me. I think that this was a really good book who want to know more about things they may have heard, and dig deeper into the subject. I think this book was taught better than public school nowadays. Kenneth Davis had a good point about learning. It really is so much fun to learn, but the public school system these days does not teach in a way that is fun. Sometimes, school isn't even informative, because you might cram the information in your head for one quick quiz back in grade school, but now you have no idea what that was because the information was thrown out of your brain once you no longer needed it. I recommend this book to people who always wanted to know more, but never had the time.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read all of Mr. Davis’ other (adult) books except Don’t Know Much About the Civil War. Don’t Know Much About Anything is written in a different format than his others. It is more of a Trivia book, tackling a wide range of topics in quiz-like form. Topics include Famous People, Historic Happenings, Food, Sports and Entertainment. Subjects include Mother Theresa, The Nuremburg Trials, Volcanoes, and Valentine’s Day. Davis opens each subject with an introductory paragraph followed by a series of questions whose answers can be found on the following page. Some of these are tidbits you may have heard along the way, but many are obscure and interesting. Davis’ writing can be very humorous, but I find he wears out his use of puns in the paragraphs preceding the quizzes (Don’t Know Much About Playboy: Bare all in this quick quiz). Otherwise, a fast, fun book to read (took me just a few hours to get through) and full of trivia to share.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Davis tries a different approach here, giving a page per topic with a short blurb followed by questions so you can quiz yourself. It did not work for me. Where his other books have been so interesting and educational, this one was too disjointed and shallow, and sometimes information on different pages repeats, making it even more obvious that we are not working with a concerted effort here. Plus, often the questions are trick questions, or vague, where it does not stay connected in your head while you go to the next page, sending you flipping back and forth to see what the answer relates to again.

Disappointing effort by a good author.

[Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Synopsis: This book has little snippets about just about anything, although the majority of the topics covered seemed like they would only be of interest to Americans. Various people, places and things are all covered and described in bursts throughout the book.

My Review: Honestly, I was quite disappointed with this book. I'm not sure what I expected, but this one didn't cut the mustard. Things in the book felt a little superficial and while reading it I felt a bit like I was wasting my time. My suggestion would be to pick up a book by Bill Bryson before one from the Don't Know Much series.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this hoping that I would be amazed by the facts, but I thought it was a major let-down. First, they ask you the questions but give you just a paragraph of background information, so the only thing I read is the paragraph. Second, I already knew about 75% of the answers, so I was skipping the pages I already knew. I'm probably being too harsh, but for just one reader, this book is not good. If I were at a gathering of some friends, I would get this book and quiz them, because some of them probably do not know these facts.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I much prefer his narrative books to this quiz format. The content was generally good, while he occasionally contradicted himself in a few places. For example, saying in one place that all U.S. Presidents have followed George Washington's lead in adding "So help me God." to the end of their oath. Later in that section was a question asking who was the first president that didn't say it.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fun trivia styled book of facts you feel you should know but still draw blanks. It was fun to learn new pieces of history about everything from presidents to hamburgers. At times I wished the book was more in depth on subjects and the page turning was a little tedious. Overall it was a fun and education read.

[Arjun · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Don't Know Much About® Anything" by Kenneth C. Davis is an engaging and comprehensive book that delves into various subjects, from history and geography to pop culture and science. Davis presents intriguing facts in an accessible manner, making it an enjoyable read for anyone looking to expand their knowledge in a fun way.

[Sarah Jowett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this series of books but this one was kind of a let down with the layout and style. Rather than a page about the person or place or event, it's a blurb and then the answers to just four or five brief questions.

[Jamie F · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me. I listened to it in the car... I found the kid's voice that asked the questions to grow annoying and after having read first family, I much rather learn about history in less of a fast food way. With that said it could be great for someone else....

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of quick blurbs about historical topics and people (plus much more), but I don't love the quiz questions. I think a more direct summary on each topic would be more interesting to me. I'm very thankful to be finished with this book....kind of painful.