History : everything you need to know about American history but never learned / Kenneth C. Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Kenneth C.

Contributor:

Davis, Kenneth C.

Series:

Davis, Kenneth C. Don't know much.

Don't know much about

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History--Miscellanea.

United States.

History.

Genre:

Trivia and miscellanea.

Physical Description:

xxi, 678 pages ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : HarperCollins, [2003]

Summary:

A new, completely revised, expanded and updated edition of the million-selling New York Times bestseller that launched the entire Don't Know Much About series. When Don't Know Much About History first appeared thirteen years ago, it created a sensation. With humor, wit, great stories, and a trademark conversational style, the book brought Americans a fresh new take on history. Shattering myths and vividly bringing the past to life, it spent thirty-five consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Davis proved that Americans don't hate history -- they just hate the dull textbook version they were force-fed in school. The book became an instant classic, an "anti-textbook" that has sold more than 1.3 million copies. In his irreverent and popular question-and-answer style, Davis now returns with a completely revised edition that brings history right up to the moment -- covering such topics as the end of the Cold War, Clinton's impeachment, the bizarre election of 2000, and the events that led to September 11.

Incorporating new research and discoveries, Davis also updates and expands on such long-standing American controversies as the Jefferson-Hemings affair, the Alger Hiss trial, and the Rosenberg spy case. And he includes an expanded "civics lesson" that examines some of America's hottest social and political issues, such as the death penalty, gun control, and school prayer. For history buffs and history-phobes alike, longtime fans who need a refresher course, and for a new generation of Americans who are still in the dark about America's past, Davis proves once more why People magazine said, "Reading him is like returning to the classroom of the best teacher you ever had."

Contents:

Chapter 1 Brave New World 1

Chapter 2 Say You Want a Revolution 47

Chapter 3 Growth of a Nation: From the Creation of the Constitution to Manifest Destiny 107

Chapter 4 Apocalypse Then: To Civil War and Reconstruction 183

Chapter 5 When Monopoly Wasn't a Game: The Growing Empire from Wild West to World War I 253

Chapter 6 Boom to Bust to Big Boom: From the Jazz Age and the Great Depression to Hiroshima 319

Chapter 7 Commies, Containment, and Cold War: America in the Fifties 397

Chapter 8 The Torch Is Passed: From Camelot to Hollywood on the Potomac 437

Chapter 9 From the Evil Empire to the Axis of Evil 533

Appendix 1 The Bill of Rights and Other Constitutional Amendments 595

Appendix 2 Is the Electoral College a Party School? A Presidential Election Primer 618

Appendix 3 U.S. Presidents and Their Administrations 624.

Notes:

Rev. ed. of: Don't know much about history.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [631]-655) and index.

Related Work:

Davis, Kenneth C. Don't know much about history.

ISBN:

0060083816

OCLC:

50810141