[.ca] Don't Know Much about History: Everything You Need to ... (ISBN 0060083824)

From Amazon.com:
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.

Not REAL history, but biased history:
Just like a newspaper, this author decides to cover certain events in history AND from a certain perspective (far left). Those of us who have learned American history in an AP class, where we read papers on a particular topics from the several authors (several perspectives), have the ability to see the entire "picture". This author chooses the perspective and, in most cases, ignores the TRUTH asbout a certain event. This teacher gives Mr. Davis a D for this book.

Good overview, but biased and editorial:
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.

Don't Know Much About History Indeed!:
First of all everyone has a bias & no one's on the same page as far as experiences, or books that they have read. I was at the bookstore and just wanted to have a coherent grasp of the Lincoln Assassination- the author could be right, I don't know...it's a little before my time, but the way Mr. Davis cavalierly tells us" The Warren Commission, got it right" Well..I guess then I'm Wilt Chamberlain..how many dozens of people have to come forward that were there,not conspiracy types, but trained medical personnelfor example etc, etc.. at every step of the way in that case-Mexico City,New Orleans, Bethesda Naval Hospital, Parkland Hospital for Davis to wake up and see something different transpired?I've read a couple books on Marilyn Monroe's death & I could not say with any certainty, whether she was murdered or not,it was probably suicide, yet with people like Jimmy Hoffa, Sam Giancana, Hoover, and Counter Intell. honcho James Jesus Angleton possibly monitoring her( all JFK enemies that have potentially interesting linkages to 11-22-63, as either suspects, or covering the case up) who can make a blanket statement of accidental overdose, or suicide? So...how can I put faith in Davis's judgement in other cases?

Bias Disappoints, audio reading is fantastic:
(This review refers to the audio edition) "Don't Know Much About History" is as hard a book to recommend as it is to truly scorn. Author Kenneth Davis succeeds in offering a single-volume of American history covering most major events and eras in simple, accessible language. Yet Davis fails to craft a balanced book, his own political viewpoints and biases too often intruding upon the text. It's unfortunate, because his victory in putting together such a book is noteworthy. The audio reading here is extraordinary. The tone is lively and engaging, and the use of several narrators (changing places for chapter titles and famous quotes) brings a welcome change of pace to what could be a monotonous 20-plus hours. The production is very good, the sound crisp, and chapter titles are read aloud. (I hate audio books that skip chapter titles). As it purports to do, "Don't Know Much..." runs the gamut of American history, from the earliest explorers to September 11, 2001, and just about every major event in between. Events are summarized and explained in easy to understand language, making a great starting point for those developing a love for history, or readers looking to refresh their memory of history lessons learned long ago. Throughout are timelines on major events (the Civil War, World War II, etc.) and quotes from key historical figures. Overall, the presentation is wonderful and will be a boon to those with even a passing interest in history. A well-formatted piece. In the audio edition, the timelines come across as awkward. The quotes, however, are wonderful. Two other narrators, a male and female, handle the chores here, serving to break the listener away for a moment and sink into the famous quote. Impersonations are also excellent. These add a lot of flavor to the reading. Unfortunately, despite his claims otherwise, the author fails to leave his political viewpoints out of the picture. (Right from the start, Davis spends ten minutes telling you why his book is NOT biased. That screams of protesting a bit too much). His viewpoint intrudes too often, and after a while it becomes an unwelcome distraction. As far as Davis is concerned, business in America is a Great Evil, never having done anything that wasn't corrupt, dishonest and brutal. Not once does he offer a story about business improving the American way of life, yet dozens of examples are given about what mean-spirited murderers businessmen are. If it entails business, it is Bad. Always. Corrupt seems to be Davis' view of all of American history. No bravery, sacrifice, grand vision, or good intentions in Davis' America (even those who fought slavery did so out of greed, not a desire to free slaves, according to the author). No inspiration, can-do spirit, hands-on building of a new world. Nothing worth being proud of. Only greed, murder, racism, and more greed. An objective writer would have noted that America was built on both the good and the bad. Davis' propensity to inject racist motivations into event after event is equally troubling. America's history with racism is indeed disturbing and shameful; that it is well-chronicled here is unquestionably commendable. Yet the author also seems to inject racism in almost everything, whether or not there is any indication that race played a part in the historical event. None of this is to say the book does not have merits. It does. The writing is crisp, fast-paced, detailed, and informative. The light humor is welcome. Almost every major era in American history is covered. Davis also makes an effort to put events in the context of their times, helping us better understand what key events meant in the long term. It is an engaging look at history. Don't Know Much About History is easy to recommend to a casual reader looking for a quick primer on American history - with the caveat that they are getting a skewed view of things. The book will be all but worthless to a history buff - you won't learn anything new here. The book may well be abrasive and irritating to those who want their history with a little more balance, but as a single-volume chronicle of American history that is both complete and well-written, it would be difficult not to recommend this. The bias is there, sure, but for those willing to look past it, this is a solid selection. And for the price, the unabridged audio edition is a fantastic bang for the buck.

A Contrast Needed:
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.