For the American legal scholar, see Kenneth Culp Davis. For the biographer of Franklin D. Roosevelt and other 20th Century American figures, see Kenneth S. Davis.
Davis's first book, Two-Bit Culture: The Paperbacking of America, offers an overview of the history of paperback books, although some publishers, such as Walter Zacharius and Irwin Stein's Lancer Books, were given little coverage.
Published by Crown in 1990, Davis's second book, Don't Know Much About History, spent 35 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and sold nearly 1.5 million copies. This unexpected success launched the Don't Know Much About... series. The standardized format is a chronological coverage of a subject with each chapter divided into boldface subheads of questions, such as, "Did Pocahontas really save John Smith's life?" Davis then answers the questions with basic facts delivered in short easy-to-read essays which have a straightforward approach, but sometimes grab the reader's attention by beginning with light humor and anachronistic comparisons. For example: "Even the astronauts who flew to the moon had a pretty good idea of what to expect; Columbus was sailing, as Star Trek puts it, 'where no man has gone before'." Quotes from historical figures often follow the essays.[1]
The titles were initially inspired by Sam Cooke's song "Wonderful World", with the lyrics, "Don't know much about history" or "geography," etc. The series has generally received favorable reviews. One mixed review criticized Davis for "treat[ing] his subject matter as a vehicle for his own editorials".[2]
America's Hidden Historyedit
Davis's book, America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation (2008), has a more serious tone than the earlier books, is more expansive, and focuses not only on well-known names but also on forgotten figures such as Hannah Duston.
Books (external links)edit
Two-Bit Culture: The Paperbacking of America (Macmillan, 1984)
Don't Know Much About History (1990) (2003 expanded) ISBN9780060083823)
Don't Know Much About Geography (1992)
Don't Know Much About the Bible (1999)
Don't Know Much About the Civil War (1999)
Don't Know Much About Space (2001)
Don't Know Much About the Planet Earth (2001)
Don't Know Much About the Presidents (2001)
Don't Know Much About the Kings and Queens of England (2002)
Don't Know Much About the Universe (2002)
Don't Know Much About the Pilgrims (2002)
Don't Know Much About Sitting Bull (2002)
Don't Know Much About the Pioneers (2003)
Don't Know Much About American History (2003)
Don't Know Much About George Washington (2003)
Don't Know Much About the 50 States (2004)
Don't Know Much About the Solar System (2004)
Don't Know Much About Dinosaurs (2004)
Don't Know Much About Thomas Jefferson (2005)
Don't Know Much About Abraham Lincoln (2005)
Don't Know Much About World Myths (2005)
Don't Know Much About Mummies (2005)
Que Se Yo De Historia (2005)
Don't Know Much About Martin Luther King Jr. (2002)
America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation (2008) ISBN9780061118180
A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America's Hidden History (2010) ISBN9780061118203
The Hidden History of America at War: Untold Tales from Yorktown to Fallujah (May 2015)[3][4]ISBN9781401324100
In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives (2016) ISBN1627793119
More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War (2018) ISBN1250145120
Referencesedit
^Davis, Kenneth C. (13 October 2009). Don't Know Much About History. ISBN9780061793523.
^"Don't Know Much About History". bookreporter.com.
^"Kenneth C. Davis, The Hidden History of America at War - Pritzker Military Museum & Library - Chicago". pritzkermilitary.org.
^The Hidden History of America at War: Untold Tales from Yorktown to Fallujah (Don't Know Much About): Kenneth C. Davis: 9781401324100: Amazon.com: Books.
kenneth, davis, american, legal, scholar, kenneth, culp, davis, biographer, franklin, roosevelt, other, 20th, century, american, figures, kenneth, davis, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, r. For the American legal scholar see Kenneth Culp Davis For the biographer of Franklin D Roosevelt and other 20th Century American figures see Kenneth S Davis This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral Please help improve it by replacing them with more appropriate citations to reliable independent third party sources December 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view April 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Kenneth C Davis is an American history writer best known for his Don t Know Much About series Contents 1 Life 2 Don t Know Much About History 3 America s Hidden History 4 Books external links 5 References 6 External linksLife editBorn in Mount Vernon New York City Kenneth attended Concordia College Bronxville in New York and Fordham University at Lincoln Center New York He lives in New York City and Dorset Vermont accompanied by his wife and two children Davis s first book Two Bit Culture The Paperbacking of America offers an overview of the history of paperback books although some publishers such as Walter Zacharius and Irwin Stein s Lancer Books were given little coverage Davis has lectured at the Smithsonian Museum and the American Museum of Natural History and been a contributor to The New York Times Newsday and other publications Don t Know Much About History editPublished by Crown in 1990 Davis s second book Don t Know Much About History spent 35 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and sold nearly 1 5 million copies This unexpected success launched the Don t Know Much About series The standardized format is a chronological coverage of a subject with each chapter divided into boldface subheads of questions such as Did Pocahontas really save John Smith s life Davis then answers the questions with basic facts delivered in short easy to read essays which have a straightforward approach but sometimes grab the reader s attention by beginning with light humor and anachronistic comparisons For example Even the astronauts who flew to the moon had a pretty good idea of what to expect Columbus was sailing as Star Trek puts it where no man has gone before Quotes from historical figures often follow the essays 1 The titles were initially inspired by Sam Cooke s song Wonderful World with the lyrics Don t know much about history or geography etc The series has generally received favorable reviews One mixed review criticized Davis for treat ing his subject matter as a vehicle for his own editorials 2 America s Hidden History editDavis s book America s Hidden History Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims Fighting Women and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation 2008 has a more serious tone than the earlier books is more expansive and focuses not only on well known names but also on forgotten figures such as Hannah Duston Books external links editTwo Bit Culture The Paperbacking of America Macmillan 1984 Don t Know Much About History 1990 2003 expanded ISBN 9780060083823 Don t Know Much About Geography 1992 Don t Know Much About the Bible 1999 Don t Know Much About the Civil War 1999 Don t Know Much About Space 2001 Don t Know Much About the Planet Earth 2001 Don t Know Much About the Presidents 2001 Don t Know Much About the Kings and Queens of England 2002 Don t Know Much About the Universe 2002 Don t Know Much About the Pilgrims 2002 Don t Know Much About Sitting Bull 2002 Don t Know Much About the Pioneers 2003 Don t Know Much About American History 2003 Don t Know Much About George Washington 2003 Don t Know Much About the 50 States 2004 Don t Know Much About the Solar System 2004 Don t Know Much About Dinosaurs 2004 Don t Know Much About Thomas Jefferson 2005 Don t Know Much About Abraham Lincoln 2005 Don t Know Much About World Myths 2005 Don t Know Much About Mummies 2005 Que Se Yo De Historia 2005 Don t Know Much About Martin Luther King Jr 2002 Don t Know Much About Rosa Parks 2005 ISBN 0060288191 Don t Know Much About Mythology 2005 ISBN 006019460X Don t Know Much About Anything 2007 ISBN 9780061251467 America s Hidden History Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims Fighting Women and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation 2008 ISBN 9780061118180 A Nation Rising Untold Tales of Flawed Founders Fallen Heroes and Forgotten Fighters from America s Hidden History 2010 ISBN 9780061118203 The Hidden History of America at War Untold Tales from Yorktown to Fallujah May 2015 3 4 ISBN 9781401324100 In the Shadow of Liberty The Hidden History of Slavery Four Presidents and Five Black Lives 2016 ISBN 1627793119 More Deadly Than War The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War 2018 ISBN 1250145120References edit Davis Kenneth C 13 October 2009 Don t Know Much About History ISBN 9780061793523 Don t Know Much About History bookreporter com Kenneth C Davis The Hidden History of America at War Pritzker Military Museum amp Library Chicago pritzkermilitary org The Hidden History of America at War Untold Tales from Yorktown to Fallujah Don t Know Much About Kenneth C Davis 9781401324100 Amazon com Books External links editDon t Know Much official site Learning First Alliance interview with Kenneth Davis Appearances on C SPAN In Depth interview with Davis November 4 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kenneth C Davis amp oldid 1171533381, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
