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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2623 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-13
• Released on: 2004-04-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 678 pages

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.

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.

From School Library Journal
"What did America gain from the Spanish-American War? What was the Bonus Army? What happened at the Bay of Pigs?" Davis gives the answers to these questions and others in this informative, easy-to-read book that is organized in chronological order from the beginning of American history to the Reagan presidency. The chapters contain questions and answers and excerpts from speeches and related writings of the time. Under "selected readings," Davis includes historical fiction as well as annotated lists of nonfiction to supplement each section. The book can be read from start to finish as a narrative or it can be used as a reference source in American history classes. It's sure to make history come alive for YAs. --Roberta Lisker, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

I'll be honest I did not, have not and probably never will sit down and read through this entire book
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.

Interesting
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.

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.