- Hardcover: 704 pages
- Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (Mar 20 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0060083816
- ISBN-13: 978-0060083816
- Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16 x 4.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.1 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,786,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
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.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Davis, author of the trademarked series of Don't Know Much About primers, seeks to dispel public boredom and ignorance about history and correct mistakes about various historical events in this update of his bestselling survey of American history. He arranges the book around a series of short essays on questions ranging from the basic (e.g., "Why did the southern states secede from the United States?") to the esoteric ("What was Teddy Roosevelt's grandson doing in Iran?"), intended to crystallize larger themes in our country's past. Davis's engaging treatment is spicy but judicious. He notes sex scandals from Alexander Hamilton's to Bill Clinton's, tamps out JFK conspiracy theories and speculation about J. Edgar Hoover's cross-dressing, and debunks myths like the legend of Betsy Ross and the movie Mississippi Burning. He provides sharply drawn, even-handed accounts of controversies, and his verdicts are generally well considered. Unfortunately, because discussions are usually tied to colorful personalities, heroic movements and dramatic crises, processes that are quiet but profound, such as the post-war rise of suburbia and the decline of unions, tend to get slighted. There's lots of history to browse through here, but little historiography to tie it together; while the book is far superior to standard high-school treatments, and a valuable reference for students young and old, it still leaves the impression that history is just one damn thing after another.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Few eras in American history are shrouded in as much myth and mystery as the long period covering America's discovery and settlement. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Few eras in American history are shrouded in as much myth and mystery as the long period covering America's discovery and settlement. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent overview of U.S. history,
By
This review is from: Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History But Never Learned (Paperback)
Well-written, enjoyable look at American history. Fun to read, and yet not too superficial. There are no images or photos, so be forewarned.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Contrast Needed,
By
This review is from: Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History But Never Learned (Paperback)
Kenneth Davis' book about American history needs to be compared and contrasted with other recent American history books such as James Loewen's _Lies Across America_. Davis writes another US history including things which he considers everything you need to know, historical shortcomings. "Truth isn't cosmetically perfect, " he writes. Quite often history is skewed by myths and misconceptions.Davis writes along the traditional line of history from America's "'discovery' by Europe" to the Bill Clinton administration. His intention is to write a narrative that could be read from beginning to end and debunk myths and misconceptions along the way. In that regard he has done a good job. However Davis has a far gentler attitude than Loewen.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good overview, but biased and editorial,
By Jayson Spade (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History But Never Learned (Paperback)
Davis writes a good overview of American history, summarizing some of the key and decisive events of the past. While no substitute for a text book, Davis makes interesting subject areas which have put generations of high school history students to sleep. As augmentation to a prescribed course of study, or as a refresher for a HS/college graduate, this book is worth reading.A word of caution. This is not a 'bare facts' history. Davis' writing style is heavily laced with very liberal editorialism. Davis also tends to insert his own opinions as fact. Overall he seems to view American history through liberal hindsight, rarely hesitating to impose his own value judgements on historical events and decisions made by political, military and business leaders.
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