Barnes & NobleDon't Know Much About History [30th Anniversary Edition)- Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned by Kenneth C. Davis

Something New For History Novice or Veteran

I actually read the 1990 edition, but I presume my impressions would apply. I thought I knew a lot about history but still learned more from this volume. Author Kenneth C. Davis has organized American history by chronological categories with each topic raised by a question. From discovery through revolution, civil war, growth, the Gilded Age, World Wars and Depression, Cold War to the Age of Reagan. Each chapter is full of facts, placed in the perspective of their times, subject to the author’s fair comment and leavened by snippets of humor. Some things I learned were new, such as the table contrasting European and American names of wars occurring during the colonial era or deeper explanations of incidents than I had previously encountered, Amelia Earhart’s final flight being one. Others were novel nuances on known facts, as the characterization of the Boston Massacre as a labor dispute between British troops, who had been moonlighting, and Massachusetts’ workers with whom they were competing. I read this book gradually over several months whenever I had a few minutes for one of Davis’ questions. Whether you peruse as did I or read straight through and are a history novice or veteran, you will find something educational and entertaining in “Don’t Know Much About History”.