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

Davis, Kenneth C.

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8,810 ratings by Goodreads

9780307714930: Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned

ISBN 10: 0307714934 ISBN 13: 9780307714930

Publisher: Random House Audio, 2011

“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.

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From the Back Cover:

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."

About the Author:

Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of A Nation Rising; America’s Hidden History; and Don’t Know Much About� History, which sold more than 1.6 million copies, and gave rise to his phenomenal Don’t Know Much About� series for adults and children. He blogs regularly at www.dontknowmuch.com.

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