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Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About...) By Kenneth C. Davis ( HarperCollins )
Release Date: 2004-04-13
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $14.95
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Product Description
Who really discovered America? What was "the shot heard 'round the world"? Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: Did he or didn't he? From the arrival of Columbus through the bizarre election of 2000 and beyond, Davis carries readers on a rollicking ride through more than 500 years of American history. In this updated edition of the classic anti-textbook, he debunks, recounts, and serves up the real story behind the myths and fallacies of American history.
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Amazon.com Review
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.
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 I'll be honest I did not, have not and probably never will sit down and read through this entire book ( lefthandedirish )
No - I intend to continue to use this book as a reference book. Occassionally things come up and I want a quick answer about history, I look it up in a book, this book.
The other night my first grader wanted to know more about the timeline between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. He also wanted to diagram certain events that Presidents encoutered in their presidency. After I closed my mouth and my head stopped spinning, we went to the bookshelf and pulled a number of reference books down to begin our timelines and diagrams. This book saved me - big time.
We were watching National Treasure, and I disputed a fact from the movie, everyone else told me I was crazy, so we looked it up in Don't Know Much About History.
The book begins with the the discovery of America, after the chapter title page there is a summary page of the discussion points you will find in each chapter, usually a brief but relevant synopsis of events. At the end of each chpater is either a breakdown of key informational points or a timeline of events.
Very Handy - I know that the Internet is an option, but I want my child to see how researching works. And we had fun.
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 Interesting ( calvarado1 )
Interesting but not exactly good to learn US history. If you already know US History I highly recommend it. If you want to learn, try something more traditional first.
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 Disappointing
I was hoping to get a nice factual primer on American History when I ordered this book. What I got was a writer projecting his political bias on as many topics as possible. I'm kind of a hybrid Rebuplican/Democrat so I'm far from a right winger. But the left wing slant of this book is obvious and obtrusive from the get go. If this guy wants to impose his political beliefs on others, he should try fiction because history is too important to become an interpretive exercise.
I couldn't recommend this author less.
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A Built-In Bias Book
In terms of objectivity, this book has little to offer. Bias in the modern sections is easily spotted. Read the sections that describe Ronald Reagan as an incompetent dolt and Bill Clinton as a brilliant but flawed politician. If his bias is so readily apparent in these modern passages, then what kind of bias is probable in sections where a reader is less able to discern his 'slant' on history to suit hisown agenda. Historians should offer up facts and figures and weave from a variety of sources to come up with a solid profile of history. Davis has an ax to grind for the liberal camp. At the end of the book, he refers to Howard Zinn, a hard left historian, who offers a 'necessary corrective' in his books.
If you're looking for history books, keep looking.
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 "Don't Know Much About.." Series is Excellent! ( bfgf@rcn.com )
I've read all of the books in the "Don't Know Much About.." series. If you're interested in getting a rather thorough overview without becoming an expert, these books are for you. They are so easy to read, that I couldn't but them down.
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