Rating: 
Summary: You Don't Want to Know about Kenneth Davis.
Review: Kenneth Davis' "Don't Know Much About..." books are fun and interesting. There are occasional factual errors, so use his works to get an overview or refreshment of the subject, and don't rely too heavily on specific historical anecdotes. But I recommend reading, not listening. Davis has a penchant for droning on about himself, his critique of the schools, and his own philosophy of learning. When doing so, he is verbose and repetitive. With a book, you can skim over his homilies and get to the data points. Unfortunately, you can't do that with an audiocassette or CD. In addition, the charts and lists he puts in his books are fine when you can view them, but they don't come through well when he reads them to you. I recommend skipping the cassettes or CDs -- try the books.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, But Not Great
Review: Overall, I liked this book more than many of the other reviewers. Sure, there are some factual errors (enough to drop my rating down to 4 stars), but Davis gets his facts right 9 times out of 10. The material is broken up in a very logical manner, and the questions Davis chooses to pose, then answer, form a cohesive overview of the subject. I think anyone with enough interest in the subject to consider reading this book will come away fairly satisfied with what is delivered. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Davis Earns Gold Star for Space "Don't Know Much" Book
Review: The extreme numbers measuring temperature, distance, and light years are incomprehensible after awhile (Everett Dirksen's quote about billions adding up to real money is adapted here effectively). Several passages need rereading to understand fully, not from Ken Davis' writing (which remains concise despite some shoehorned pop culture references) as from the subject of an ever-expanding, changing universe being difficult to get your arms around to start with. Moreover, a book describing awe-inspiring star and planet activity could provide better illustrations and photos than some old New Yorker cartoons. That said, Ken Davis' "Don't Know Much" template has allowed him to write a best-selling series of books introducing and explaining everything from geography to the Bible to the Civil War, plus a separate children's book series and popular Web site. "Don't Know Much About The Universe" continued his successful series. Davis allows you to see and understand the universe's wonder while detailing the human drama it often inspired. In doing so, Davis knows when to express opinion (giving his on John Glenn's 1997 return to space and the hidden agenda in 1986's Challenger tragedy) and when to stand back while offering many.(His final chapter, "The Old One's Secrets," deftly describes theories surrounding how the universe began while continuing to consider Creator involvement. He also however, drops in references to "Oklahoma!" and Gertrude Stein.) As with his other books, Davis tells his story as a series of answered questions covering everything from life on distant planets to new understandings of scientific icons (Galileo, Werner von Braun, Albert Einstein). Throughout "Don't Know Much," Davis effectively describes opposition these and other astronomy heroes faced from government (investigated Einstein, forced accused war criminal Arthur Rudolph from the country), Roman Catholicism (which cleared Gallileo 10 years ago for writings nearly 400 years before) and even rivalry within its own ranks (Issac Newton's story here is particularly instructive.) Davis also charts a timeline of astronomy's historic events and provides a lengthy bibliography and list of recommended magazines and Web sites. Somehow amidst the star-struck name dropping (plentiful but which, to be fair, lightened and even explained more difficult concepts), Davis somehow missed a quote from the rock band the Eagles: "Just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky/you can see the stars but still not see the light." For anyone looking at the stars inspired to know more of their origins and activity, "Don't Know Much" provides a illuminating, compact look at an ever expanding subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine, if you like trivia; some things are better left unsaid
Review: Well, I did not read the book, but I did waste [good money] to buy this set on CD (not on amazon.com). Hey - the entire 1st CD is a total waste of time. The guy talks and talks and talks, and says nothing of value! Kind of like - here - let me tell you about this stuff I'm going to tell you about, when I tell you about it eventually.... By CD #2 I gave up. Lots of ridiculous trivia. Believe me - you don't know this stuff - you don't need to know this stuff - unless they come out with a Trivial Pursuit of little known cosmos trivia. Definite PASS on this one!
| 
