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

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Summary: Don't know much about Irish history
Review: In the section on WW1 Davis claims that the aim the Irish rebellion of 1916 was to distract the British and so help the Germans. This is completely false as the Irish were not allies of the Germans. The aim of the rebellion was to gain Irish freedom and was a separate war that had been raging for over six hundred years at that point. The Irish took advantage of Britain's other war and were also happy to show the hypocrisy of Britain's claim to be defending small nations such as Belgium when it refused to release its colonial control over Ireland. The situation is even more complex as many Irish did fight in WW1 under the British flag. However subtlety and complexity are not part of this author's repetoire. Elsewhere he states that one reason organised labor was slow to develop in America because the Irish hated the Italians and the Italians hated the Germans -perhaps a touch simplistic. One howler of many is that Davis states that the Irish leaders of the 1916 rebellion were hung when in fact they were shot. Given I found so much error in a half page on a subject I knew something about I can only wonder how many more mistakes there are in this book

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Summary: A readable history timeline that gives simple answers.
Review: To be negatively critical of a book that in it's short span of 400 pages, with it's large typeset and it's "plain English" approach is to miss the larger picture. That is, it isn't written for those (like myself) with History degrees. It is a synopsis of the important events in American History-that's it. Anyone, regardless of intelligence, can get something out of this. If you have an interest in history, buy it. If not, check it out at the library. At least read the sections on the Revolutionary War, Vietnam War, WW I and WW II as well as the Civil War. It'll clue you in on what it means to be free.

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Summary: Great, Fabulous, Interesting, Amazing
Review: I am 11 years old. I have a strong interest in American History. This book hits the basics well while giving you some facts you didn't know. When you read it you keep on wanting to go just to the next section.

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Summary: Don't Waste Your Time on Don't Know Much Audio Version
Review: I don't know about the written book, but the audio cassette was lacking in details. The audio version probably should not have been abridged. The author glances over some very important topics in history. Trying to go from the 1600's to 1984 in 100 minutes (or so) is just ridiculous. I don't know any more now for listening to this tape or spending the money.

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Summary: One of my favorites.
Review: This book is one of my favorite history books. I reference it all the time, as it is a great way to start a research topic, though on some topics, it is comprehensive enough to be the sole resource. Its light style and Q&A approach to exploring US history is refreshing, and the author often uses contemporary parallels to help explain (or compare) events in US history.

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Summary: Don't know much about anything
Review: If it's true that 'the winners write history', then it must be a corollary that liberals edit and selectively disseminate it. Mr. Kenneth Davis proves this by choosing in the main the worst, most unappealing aspects of American history, and then tries to fob it off on the public as 'Everything You Need to Know... etc'. His book is roughly the equivalent of a restaurant reviewer who rummages through the bins behind the top eating establishments and reports only on the garbage he finds. One would expect some semblance of accuracy from a purported history book, but such, alas, is not always the case. A couple of the serious howlers: William Randolph Hearst must have been a fast learner to have 'learned in the Civil War that war headlines sold newspapers', since he was only 2 or 3 when it ended; Richard Nixon made his 'you won't have Nixon to kick around any more' speech after losing the 1962 California governors' race, not after losing the 1960 presidential election. If Mr. Davis can be either wrong or misleading on small issues like this, why should we believe him on big ones? But it's about economics and law where Mr. Davis is especially suspect. For instance, in his panegyric on FDR, Mr. Davis never mentions a couple of inconvenient facts: there was no Constitutional basis for most of his New Deal, and most of what he tried not only didn't work, it made a bad situation worse. Want to know what really caused the Great Depression? Don't read this book, read Milton and Rose Friedman's account in their book "Free to Choose". Mr. Davis and other liberals still haven't forgiven Ronald Reagan for being both successful and wildly popular. Any objective reviewer of the US economy before and after the Reagan Administration would conclude that the 1980's benefited all strata of the American economy, not just 'the rich' as the liberals keep yammering on about. 'Objective' and Mr. Davis don't belong in the same sentence let alone book. A few other examples of the overall slant to this liberally biased account: if the only other man in the world whose power matched FDR's was Hitler, then what was Stalin, chopped liver? In disparaging the Marshall Plan which saved Europe following WWII as nothing but a capitalist plot, does Mr. Davis claim that Europe would have been better off under Stalin's heel? I can't wait for Mr. Davis next magnum opus, "Don't Know Much About Anything".

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Summary: Excellent book for anyone who just watched "Liberty."
Review: Have you just watched the PBS' special, "Liberty?" Do you have a hakerin' to learn more about the Revolutionary War? Have you ever wished all the pertinent facts of American History could be boiled down to the basics? Ken Davis does an admirable job of using humor and relevant topics to make American history come alive and fascinating to his readers. As with his other books, Davis employs the FAQ (frequently asked questions) format throughout much of the book. A good resource for American History teachers and high schools students bound by law to take an American History course.

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Summary: It's the book that applies to any ages.
Review: it's a brief American history and has outlines for events that took place in the United States. Don't wanna read big, old thick referrence books? Try this. A very good referrence book...that means, you don't really have to look through the whole book; to find something particular, just go to the index, find a certain period..boom! there you go.

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Summary: Can't go wrong with this brief history book!
Review: This book is also for those who know history but sometimes need a quick and simple review. Now taking History 101 and this book makes a great study review before the big exams! It definetly helped me to understand and remember many terms and subjects while trying to cram the night before a test. A winner at a good price! (paperback ed.)

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Summary: insults the intelligence
Review: this book is misleading in that it tells you every thing you already knew unless you failed eighth grade history. though it tells a more accurate history than most text books it still falls short of being impartial. i do not reccomend this book. the worst part is when discussing the american invasion of the phillipenes it mentions only the american casualties and not the 600,000 people who were killed by americans