Don't Know Much about History

June 3, 1991
This reference, intended to supplement Americans' insufficient knowledge of their country's history, lists essential people, places and dates from the New World's discovery to the Iran-Contra affair, and compares past events to those of the present.

April 1, 2003
Davis, author of the trademarked series of Don't Know Much About primers, seeks to dispel public boredom and ignorance about history and correct mistakes about various historical events in this update of his bestselling survey of American history. He arranges the book around a series of short essays on questions ranging from the basic (e.g.,"Why did the southern states secede from the United States?") to the esoteric ("What was Teddy Roosevelt's grandson doing in Iran?"), intended to crystallize larger themes in our country's past. Davis's engaging treatment is spicy but judicious. He notes sex scandals from Alexander Hamilton's to Bill Clinton's, tamps out JFK conspiracy theories and speculation about J. Edgar Hoover's cross-dressing, and debunks myths like the legend of Betsy Ross and the movie Mississippi Burning. He provides sharply drawn, even-handed accounts of controversies, and his verdicts are generally well considered. Unfortunately, because discussions are usually tied to colorful personalities, heroic movements and dramatic crises, processes that are quiet but profound, such as the post-war rise of suburbia and the decline of unions, tend to get slighted. There's lots of history to browse through here, but little historiography to tie it together; while the book is far superior to standard high-school treatments, and a valuable reference for students young and old, it still leaves the impression that history is just one damn thing after another.

February 1, 2011

First published two decades ago, this challenge to our failing knowledge about American history's basics launched the resoundingly popular "Don't Know Much About" series and has sold 1.6 million copies to date. This anniversary edition updates the text with information on 9/11, Obama's election, and more. With a 60,000-copy first printing; sure to be in demand.

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