Don't Know Much about American History

by Kenneth C. Davis

Book Overview

Was Columbus the first European in the Americas?What sport became more popular after the Civil War?Were the Little Rock Nine a rock-and-roll band? As best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis knows,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060286032
• ISBN13: 9780060286033
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Collins
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Excellent for any age!

I'm 40 years old, have a master's degree, and thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's supposed to be for kids but I think anyone would enjoy it who's interested in brushing up on things they forgot or never really learned. Very entertaining!

Enjoyable Book

This is a wonderful way to brush up on history! It is fast and easy to read. This would be a great book for someone who missed history the first time around!

Great tool for all ages!!

This book is a great concise recap of American history. Despite the age level for the book, I believe this is a great review for those of us who's brains find it hard to retain all those details about our country's history. Good for kids and adults, as well. Thanks, Kenneth Davis.

A Great Overview of American History

The purpose of this book is to make history approachable to people who might not know much about history or may not like history, hence the name. This is a very good overview primarily aimed at older children. It takes a non-confrontational and non-confrontational approach to history, which fits with the generally conservative nature of history in education today. There are no debates. For example, it explains that, while slavery a leading cause of the Civil war, it weakly says that many factors were involved. It says nothing of the clash over the issue of slavery expanion to the western territories and the brutal confrontations leading to war. By the way, I looked at the picture mentioned in another review. It does appear that the picture may be mislabeled, but it is not certain. The picture is a group of Russians. The Russian man in the middle is wearing a white outfit with several Russian medals, and he is obviously a Russian leader, although he probably is not Stalin. The man to the far right, two men over, appears to be a younger Stalin. This is maybe the best overview of American history for older children and adults who do not know much about history. Considering the target audience, the book is a success.

Read it for fun!

The book came with the Movie "National Treasure". The movie was...not bad. But I really enjoyed the book. I was foreign born and learned American History among other history classes in high school. I went on to write History study guides for students later on. This book was excellent in that it is concise and entertaining. Captures my attention all the way through. It is a history book for Dummies and I very much appreciated the simplicity, key elements and the openess of the author.