“Fun, engrossing, and significant. . . . History in Davis’s hands is loud, coarse, painful, funny, irreverent—and memorable.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Here, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its debut as a New York Times bestseller, is the revised, updated, and expanded edition of the classic anti-textbook that changed the way we look at history. First published two decades ago, when the “closing of the American mind” was in the headlines, Don’t Know Much About® History proved Americans don’t hate history—just the dull version that was dished out in school.

Now Davis has brought his groundbreaking work up to the present, including the history of an “Era of Broken Trust,” from the end of the Clinton administration through the recent Great Recession. This additional material covers the horrific events of 9/11 and the rise of conspiracy theorists, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the New Orleans levees, the global financial meltdown, the election of Barack Obama, and the national controversy of same-sex marriage.




A compelling compendium of history's greatest and most influential works and writers--from Homer to Harry Potter, from Chaucer to "Charlotte's Web."



Combat tales have come to form an essential piece of our identity as Americans. But as some war stories have been repackaged and embellished, the truth behind the conflicts--the lives of the average soldiers and civilians involved and the lasting significance of the battles on American history--often lies buried. Kenneth C. Davis aims to change that. Here, he takes readers inside six landmark battles that offer crucial insights. From the Battle of Yorktown (1781), where a fledgling America learned hard lessons about what kind of military it would need to survive; to 1945 Berlin, when the downfall of the Third Reich set the stage for decades of Cold War tension; to Fallujah (2004), which epitomized the dawn of privatized war, Davis explores the key battlefield characters and events, shattering myths and misconceptions. Revelations include: the unacknowledged role that enslaved people and free African Americans played in the Revolution and Civil War; the grave miscalculations and cruelty that took place at Petersburg, Virginia, site of the longest siege of an American city; the scandalous use of water torture and civilian atrocities that shook Theodore Roosevelt's White House; the secret reasons why Stalin was desperate to take Berlin in the closing days of World War II--and why General Eisenhower let him; and the epic battle that changed how reporters covered--and Americans viewed--the Vietnam War. With this book, Davis illuminates why we go to war, who fights, the grunt's-eye view of combat, and how these conflicts shaped our military and national identity.--From publisher description.

Millions of Americans, bored by dull textbooks, are in the dark about the most significant event in our history. Now New York Times bestselling author Kenneth C. Davis comes to the rescue, deftly sorting out the players, the politics, and the key events—Emancipation and Reconstruction, Shiloh and Gettysburg, Generals Grant and Lee, Harriet Beecher Stowe—and much more.

Drawing on moving eyewitness accounts, Davis includes a wealth of “hidden history” about the roles played by women and African Americans before and during the war, along with lesser-known facts that will enthrall even learned Civil War buffs. Vivid, informative, and hugely entertaining, Don’t Know Much About the Civil War is the only audiobook you’ll ever need on “the war that never ended.”



Don't Know Much About Anything: Everything You Need to Know But Never Learned About Famous People, Exceptional Places, Historical Happenings, Holidays and Traditions, Everyday Objects, Remarkable Inventions, Space, Sports, Food, Entertainment and More! is a compendium of around 275 columns, sorted into the subject categories listed in the subtitle. Quizzes on the atomic bomb, hamburgers, football, and The Wizard of Oz are included, along with the Emancipation Proclamation, cold weather, and Mother Theresa, to name a few.

Like all of Ken Davis' Don't Know Much About audiobooks, Don't Know Much About Anything will educate and inform listeners while allowing them to have fun.







Examines the childhood and youth, education, law career, family life, and presidency of Abraham Lincoln.