Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre
Review: "Don't Know Much about Geography" was . . . mediocre. Arguably, a good refresher on the physical science you learned in 8th grade. The author surveys many of the basic concepts like "the ice age," geographical terms, and introduces a little "geo-sociology," explaining how geography influenced society. Towards the end of the book, the author reverses his path and begins a discussion of "socio-geography," explaining how man influences geography. A fun little book but not filled w/ much substance.
As a minor point, the author gets a little sloppy w/ his writing. Each chapter has its fair share of basic grammatical miscues like the following sentence, which contains at least two errors in grammar and construction: "The 1980's were by far the hottest decade ever recorded."
All in all, it was . . . mediocre.
Rating: 
Summary: fun and informative book on geography, geology, and history
Review: A pretty good introduction to a variety of topics in geography, geology, astronomy (generally as it relates to the earth), and history as well. In part, the book is fairly basic, addressing some basic topics such as what are continents, addressing if Columbus "discovered" America or not, what is a light year, and listing the world's largest seas for instance. Some commentators called the book remedial I see, and at times, yes, it can be. Many of the questions that are answered (the information in the book is generally presented as a particular question followed by several paragraphs to several pages of answers for each) can be high school or even middle school level (though not written at middle school level). By and large though, I found the book a really neat read, covering a lot of topics. While it might have been nice if some questions were gone into in more depth, all in all the author, Kenneth C. Davis, is to be commended by his well-written answers to a variety of questions in world geography. To me, many topics that were addressed were not remedial at all. What do tides and tidal waves have to do with one another? Isn't Europe just part of Asia? Why is Australia a continent? Where was the Garden of Eden, or was there one? Why are there no deserts on the Equator? Why is the Black Sea called that? How did Africa come to be called the Dark Continent? Are there Canaries in the Canary Islands? What the heck is a Hoosier? I don't know about you, but I wasn't able to answer all those questions, and I was intrigued to read the interesting and well-written answers to these questions. If want some fun light reading in geography and history, bone up on your trivia for the next time you watch Jeopardy! or play Trivial Pursuit, or just want to impress your familiy and friends, this book is one to get.
Rating:
Summary: Good style, fair facts
Review: Designed as a friendly supplement to an adult American's geographical knowledge ~ which can be amazingly incomplete ~ this is a fair success in its aim, in that it assumes very little other than interest on the part of the reader and in the tone, which is never condescending (Davis is probably a graduate of the American public school system and knows what his audience has had to cope with). For my part, i did not learn a whole lot i'd never known before, though i was reminded of some facts, but then i am not a member of Davis's target audience. It is a measure of the book's success with me as well, though, that i was sorry to arrive at the appendices and, thus, the end. I shall search out, at some point, Davis's other listed book, "Don't Know Much About History" and see if that is as simple and satisfying a read. I'll probably learn there, too, since it is about American history.
Rating: 
Summary: Geography? Fun? Can't be. It is!
Review: From the notion that Columbus thought the world is shaped like a woman's breast to a guide to all those countries whose names keep changing, this book is my attempt to make geography more than learning state capitals. Because geography is really about human curiosity and I try to make it fun, human and memorable
Rating: 
Summary: A very nice refresher course on Geography.
Review: I actually listened to this book on tape. The initial voice on the tape (for the first 20 minutes) made me dread having to listen to the WHOLE tape, but fortunately a pleasant well-spoken voice stepped in and completed the book! This was a fun geography review, with interesting stories to go along with the places being described. There was also a little weather, astronomy, and human history thrown in to further describe the location. This was a concise highlighted look at Geography, covering several dozen places with just the right amount of information on each. I very much enjoyed listening to this tape.
Rating: 
Summary: Very fun to read but the facts given are questionable
Review: I found this book very fun to read. Kenneth C. Davis is a fine writer but I question the facts he gives. Also, at times this seems to be more of a history book the one on geography. Mr. Davis' view of historical events is very opinionated to put it mildly and he could have done more research when dealing with countries where he does not have first hand knowledge. You can throw out the whole section on Japan. It is just one big joke. Really, Mr. Davis, take a look at any supermarket in Japan. There are tons of dairy products. Also, there are large cow ranches throughout Japan. Also, his section on Hawaii was very one sided. He must have not bothered to reseach the material from a Hawaiian poin of view. If you want an enjoyable read, this is a great book. But, take the facts with a grain of salt.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look at planet Earth
Review: I had purchased the audio version of the author's "Don't Know Much About History" and had enjoyed it. I decided to purchase this selection and was not disappointed. The title of this book is a little misleading, as the topics are not limited to geography. The author also covers related topics such as meteorology and climatology, world economics, astronomy, political history. and others. This book focuses on two major types of information: (1) Things you probably learned in school and wish that you could remember -- but don't; (2) Unusual or surprising facts that you probably never knew. Like the "History" book, this one was written in a question and answer format. This technique allows the author to cover various snippets of information and jump around from topic to topic. Although some people like this technique, if you prefer books that flow naturally from topic to topic, this style may annoy you after a while. I agree with some reviewers that the author does tend to interject his personal beliefs and biases into the text. However, when he does so, he tries to back these up with facts. I did not find his commentary to be a negative, but rather found that they made the book more interesting. Note: This is a review of the AUDIBLE.COM audio version of the book (abridged). This audio version was fairly lively and easy to listen to. They tried to use a variety of readers to spice it up (one voice would ask a question and another would give the answer). I enjoyed it on my long commutes to work.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look at planet Earth
Review: I had purchased the audio version of the author's "Don't Know Much About History" and had enjoyed it. I decided to purchase this selection and was not disappointed. The title of this book is a little misleading, as the topics are not limited to geography. The author also covers related topics such as meteorology and climatology, world economics, astronomy, political history. and others. This book focuses on two major types of information: (1) Things you probably learned in school and wish that you could remember -- but don't; (2) Unusual or surprising facts that you probably never knew. Like the "History" book, this one was written in a question and answer format. This technique allows the author to cover various snippets of information and jump around from topic to topic. Although some people like this technique, if you prefer books that flow naturally from topic to topic, this style may annoy you after a while. I agree with some reviewers that the author does tend to interject his personal beliefs and biases into the text. However, when he does so, he tries to back these up with facts. I did not find his commentary to be a negative, but rather found that they made the book more interesting. Note: This is a review of the AUDIBLE.COM audio version of the book (abridged). This audio version was fairly lively and easy to listen to. They tried to use a variety of readers to spice it up (one voice would ask a question and another would give the answer). I enjoyed it on my long commutes to work.
Rating:
Summary: A great idea, but with too many mistakes
Review: I love the title and the idea of the book--a fun, accessible introduction to geography. And, the book accomplishes what it sets out to do, to a large extent. However, as I read it I kept being jarred by errors; not just typos or minor errors, but really big, sloppy mistakes. Here are a few of them (from the 1992 paperback):
Page 175: Since it takes the moon a little more than a day to orbit the Earth . . .
Wrong, and in a way that suggests the author really doesn't understand the Earth-Moon system.
Page 212: . . . the white marble lighthouse stood 440 feet (1234 meters) high . . .
Let's see, are meters longer than feet, or shorter than feet? Do we multiply or divide?
Page 275: . . . meteorites strike at tremendous speeds--as much as 90,000 miles per second.
Hmmm. That's about half the speed of light. I don't think so.
Page 289: The spiraling winds may reach from 9 to 24 miles (15 to 20 km) up into the atmosphere.
At least try to keep the numbers consistent.
Page 312: Pluto may actually belong to another solar system . . .
Then what is it doing orbiting the sun?
Etc., Etc., Etc.
It's a very good idea, but one that deserved a lot more care.
Robert Adler, author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation; and Medical Firsts: From Hippocrates to the Human Genome.
Rating:
Summary: It can be embarrassing...
Review: I must admit that it can be bit embarrassing how little I knew about geography. Davis pulls everything together with facts of old and new. This book forced me to pull out the some maps a few times, which expanded my understanding. He answeres the questions I had always wondered (and a few that I should have already known),an easy and intersting read. Reasonably priced.
|
