Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned

“Reading [Kenneth C. Davis] is like returning to the classroom of the best teacher you ever had.” —People

Revised, updated, and expanded, the Twentieth Anniversary Edition of Kenneth C. Davis’s classic anti-textbook Don’t Know Much About History revitalizes the landmark book’s ability to revolutionize the way we look at our past. Like Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, Davis’s Don’t Know Much About History captivates readers with a wry and lucid, comprehensive and comprehensible narrative. With a new section covering the twenty-first century’s most significant events, from the Great Recession to Hurricane Katrina to the election of Barack Obama and more, the Twentieth Anniversary Edition of Don’t Know Much About History reinvigorates the book’s crucial promise of delivering fascinating, insight-driven learning to a new generation of readers.

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A new, completely revised, expanded and updated edition of the million-selling New York Times bestseller that launched the entire Don't Know Much About® series

When Don't Know Much About® History first appeared thirteen years ago, it created a sensation. With humor, wit, great stories, and a trademark conversational style, the book brought Americans a fresh new take on history. Shattering myths and vividly bringing the past to life, it spent thirty-five consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Davis proved that Americans don't hate history -- they just hate the dull textbook version they were force-fed in school. The book became an instant classic, an "anti -textbook" that has sold more than 1.3 million copies.

In his irreverent and popular question-and- answer style, Davis now returns with a completely revised edition that brings history right up to the moment -- covering such topics as the end of the Cold War, Clinton's impeachment, the bizarre election of 2000, and the events that led to September 11.

Incorporating new research and discoveries, Davis also updates and expands on such long-standing American controversies as the Jefferson-Hemings affair, the Alger Hiss trial, and the Rosenberg spy case. And he includes an expanded "civics lesson" that examines some of America's hottest social and political issues, such as the death penalty, gun control, and school prayer.

For history buffs and history-phobes alike, longtime fans who need a refresher course, and for a new generation of Americans who are still in the dark about America's past, Davis proves once more why People magazine said, "Reading him is like returning to the classroom of the best teacher you ever had."

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“Quirky, sardonic, accurate, rudimentary, and often amusing…. A breezy question-and-answer approach that is far removed from the massive textbooks all of us once lugged around.” - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“If you’ve always wondered exactly what Boss Tweed bossed and what Tammany Hall was, Davis is your man.” - Washington Post Book World

“Unquestionably a handy reference book. It’s just the thing when your pesky school-age kids try to show you up at homework time.” - Dallas News

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

Praise for the fully updated and revised edition of Don’t Know Much About History “Davis covers U.S. history with a balanced and contemporary voice, shedding light on many legends, myths, and inaccuracies (e.g., Pocahontas did not save Capt. John Smith’s life; the first President of the United States was John Hanson of Maryland, elected President under the Articles of Confederation). The book makes for fun reading for history buffs.” - Library Journal

“here is considerable merit in this book.... It is replete with interesting tidbits of information that can enrich one’s general historical knowledge and stoke interest in further reading.” - Booklist

— Critical praise for the book that has sold more than 1.3 million copies: “A book that not only fills in gaps in historical knowledge, but is genuinely entertaining…wonderful!” - Orlando Sentinel

“Davis writes with humor, he can turn a fine phrase…. If history were usually taught this way, we wouldn’t have to worry about the closing of the American mind.” - Booklist