As an overview for adult who didn't pay attention in high school, it serves its purpose remarkably well. Yes, it's left-leaning, but so am I, and if I wanted to hear about how America has never done wrong, I would've paid attention in high school. ( )

A very quick, and sometimes interesting, survey of American History. Things get started with some tentative speculation about how the first (non-) indigenous peoples arrived, then picks up speed with the arrival of the first European explorers. If you already passed American History in high school and college, you already know this stuff. But it's a reasonable refresher course. Keep in mind that this is somewhat targeted at those with less than a college (or even high school?) education, so there are no big words or deep concepts. ( )

Who really discovered America? What was "the shot heard 'round the world"? Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: Did he or didn't he?

From the arrival of Columbus through the bizarre election of 2000 and beyond, Davis carries readers on a rollicking ride through more than 500 years of American history. In this updated edition of the classic anti-textbook, he debunks, recounts, and serves up the real story behind the myths and fallacies of American history. ( )

Admittedly I do know a lot about history- a good portion of this book was review, but I did learn new things even in the chapters that were review. I learned the most about history post World War II- none of my history classes have ever gotten that far, and it was good to sort things that I sort of knew out. I might reread this eventually to pick up things that I didn't hold onto this time because of how much information there was. ( )

I loved this book when I was younger. And I also might have used it as a crash course to get certified to teach history (to brush up on the basics). I love history and this book is a really fun twist on all the stuff we only know so much about. Great for a teen who's really interested in history!

I didn't want to persist with this. Every since I read Lemony Snicket's discourse on the subject, I get annoyed by this misuse of "literally". In other way the history was a bit too casual. I tried it in physical book form as well, but it seemed lazy. Really think you're better off with Hakim. ( )

Poorly written, biased, and didn't live up to it's title - quite a bad book. ( )

A concise review of history. Delightful to review recent history for the 70's through 2002 as well. Well worth the time! ( )

This is a great, general book about US history even for adults. It quickly covers the important points of US history. It also has an amazing bibliography. ( )

This was a truly revelling historical book to the history of America and all the missing parts to the school education textbooks. To where it has described the lives and political opinions of our founding fathers and presidents. Also the wars that came along with the revolutionary war and the civil war in the following 100 years. To a more modern explanation of our history it went in depth into that cold and world wars. Also the branches of our political system and rules of law.
One thing I personally found interesting was the Boston tea party. Yes a common historical event, but an untrue full one at that. The basic story has been told that the British raised the taxes on tea, yet the real reason was that the taxes were lowered. Surprising, but the taxes previously were collected and instated by the colonialist against the taxes. So the British lowered them yes, but sent in their own troops to enforce the taxes that were lowered. The colonist jobs were, in majority, tea smugglers or black marketers for tea. So when the British started in forcing the taxes and controlled the black-market there was a sudden rapid downfall in jobs and cash flow. Thoughs events eventually led to the Boston tea party. As shown this book covered all the branches of American history from early to modern, and an educational read. ( )

A friendly question-and-answer format with entertaining answers about American history from Columbus to Clinton. The post-Watergate coverage is pretty slim, but at that point it could probably be assumed that most readers remembered those years clearly. (There is an updated version, but my copy was printed in 1995.) I learned quite a bit about those bits we skipped in school, like the Vietnam and Korean Wars. Though it could not replace a traditional history course, since there is an assumption that you know enough basic information to ask the questions being answered, it is an excellent refresher for those who have long since forgotten the names and dates they learned in school. Like most good popular history books, it brings out the human side of history, turning the names into people and the dates into actions with consequences. ( )

A brilliant written book on our nation's history. It is very informative and easy to read as, most history books are long and drawn out this book is entertaining and riveting. ( )

A compilation of important facts in our country's history. Each fact has a perspective or details that were probably not taught to you in school, unless you had a really cool history teach. A worthwhile read. ( )

This is a really fun skip through American history. It breaks down the last few hundred years into periods and then covers major events in each. Attention is paid in particular to noting people, places, and things you may have heard of but may not remember or may never have learned about. The author earns extra points for not being shy about calling a bastard a bastard (e.g. when he talks about the worthless Senator McCarthy he's quite blunt, in contrast to some of the recent apologist tomes penned to try and defend him and his actions).

I read the first edition of this book but if you buy it today you'll get a new edition with a few corrections and new material. ( )

An engaging and amusing overview with consistent depth across time. Somewhat over emphasizing certain political aspects. Not exactly left-leaning, but definitely highlighting environmental and racial issues. ( )

Explodes long-held myths and misconceptions, revealing the human side of history that the textbooks neglect.

Lively enough for a non-American like me to pick up a fact or two about US history. Might come in handy if I ever found myself headed towards cocktail hour with a gym-ful of Alabama schoolteachers... Or might not. ( )

Davis offers a quick and compact distillation of the essentials of American history. Inevitably in such a miniscule form detail and depth are short-changed. Still, it's better than nothing. ( )

Lots of interesting facts and annecdotes, but Davis definitely has his own point of view about the events of history, the actors and what it all means. I personally thought Davis was much to hard and negative about Hawthorne. ( )

Another addition to Davis's "Don't Know Much" series. He's updated his looks at some of the questions and myths surrounding American history. As with all his books, it is an excellent starting point for serious learning about the topic, and he includes a number of books to read for further investigation of interesting topics. ( )

Quick answers to history of America questions--cuts through the details & lays it out in an agreeable fashion ( )

I loved this book when I was younger. And I also might have used it as a crash course to get certified to teach history (to brush up on the basics). I love history and this book is a really fun twist on all the stuff we only know so much about. Great for a teen who's really interested in history!