Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition

Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned

By: Kenneth C. Davis

Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Kenneth C. Davis, Zach McLarty, Cassandra Campbell

“Fun, engrossing, and significant. . . . History in Davis’s hands is loud, coarse, painful, funny, irreverent—and memorable.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Here, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its debut as a New York Times bestseller, is the revised, updated, and expanded edition of the classic anti-textbook that changed the way we look at history. First published two decades ago, when the “closing of the American mind” was in the headlines, Don’t Know Much About® History proved Americans don’t hate history—just the dull version that was dished out in school.

Now Davis has brought his groundbreaking work up to the present, including the history of an “Era of Broken Trust,” from the end of the Clinton administration through the recent Great Recession. This additional material covers the horrific events of 9/11 and the rise of conspiracy theorists, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the New Orleans levees, the global financial meltdown, the election of Barack Obama, and the national controversy of same-sex marriage.

Eye opening on many accounts

I do feel on a few historical events the author avoided pointing out even more discrepancies surrounding those events. But I also learned some things that I did not know. Since most of us only know what the media gives us this is truly a revealing work!

This book misrepresents itself in title & content

The author begins by deriding the average history teacher as being dull and perhaps not trained in the discipline of teaching or history. He goes on to manifest good writing (Good education?). So ends his implied effort at presenting history in an interesting and truthful manner. In a classroom, this "teacher" would drive crazy most students.

The format is Q&A, e.g., What is the Bill of Rights? The answers go into boring details that are difficult to imagine as being enlightening to anyone. Davis has not earned the authority to criticize the teaching style of anyone.

As with the majority of formal teaching, Davis' book (the first few chapters anyway) makes no allusion to anything practical (not that difficult, even within the subject of history); nor is any real effort put towards overviews, concomitant activities throughout the world, etc.

Disappointed

I have the actual book and was reading along with audible . I realized it skipped all of chapter 1 and part of chapter 2 . Which makes no sense at all.