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Kenneth C. Davis

Goodreads Author

Born

Mount Vernon, NY, The United States

Website

http://www.dontknowmuch.com/

Twitter

kennethcdavis

Genre

History, Nonfiction, Biography

Member Since

March 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/kennethcdavis

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Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Don't Know Much About® series of books and audios for adults and children. Don't Know Much About® History, the first title in the series, became a New York Times bestseller in 1991 and remained on the paperback list for 35 consecutive weeks. It has since been revised several times and now has more than 1.6 million copies in print. The 30th anniversary edition of the book was published with a new preface, "From an Era of Broken Trust to an Era of Broken Democracy."

Davis is, according to Publishers Weekly, "a go-to guy for historical insight and analysis."

AMERICA'S HIDDEN HISTORY also became a New York Times bestseller. A NATION RISING also uses dramatic narratives to tell the Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Don't Know Much About® series of books and audios for adults and children. Don't Know Much About® History, the first title in the series, became a New York Times bestseller in 1991 and remained on the paperback list for 35 consecutive weeks. It has since been revised several times and now has more than 1.6 million copies in print. The 30th anniversary edition of the book was published with a new preface, "From an Era of Broken Trust to an Era of Broken Democracy."

Davis is, according to Publishers Weekly, "a go-to guy for historical insight and analysis."

AMERICA'S HIDDEN HISTORY also became a New York Times bestseller. A NATION RISING also uses dramatic narratives to tell the "stories your textbooks left out." His book, THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICA AT WAR (May 5, 2015) was called "searing" analysis by Publishers Weekly.

Kenneth C. Davis’s success aptly makes the case that Americans don’t hate history, just the dull version they slept through in class. Davis’s approach is to refresh us on the subjects we should have learned in school. He does it by busting myths, setting the record straight, and always remembering that fun is not a four-word letter word.

His IN THE SHADOW OF LIBERTY: THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF SLAVERY, FOUR PRESIDENTS, AND FIVE BLACK LIVES looks at the lives of five people enslaved by four of America's most famous Presidents and the role of slavery in American history and the presidency. In May 2018, MORE DEADLY THAN WAR: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War was published.

STRONGMAN: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy was published by Holt. It was named among the best books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews and the Washington Post.

In November 2022 GREAT SHORT BOOKS: A Year of Reading--Briefly was published by SCribner. A compendium of 58 great short works Davis read during the pandemic lock down, it is a joyous celebration of reading.

Coming in October 2024 is THE WORLD IN BOOKS: 52 WORKS OF GREAT SHORT NONFICTION. It is an accessible and comprehensive guide to some of the most influential and important works of nonfiction, from the earliest days of writing to contemporary times. Each entry includes information about the writers behind these consequential books and the time in which they lived. ...more

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Kenneth C. Davis’s books

Average rating: 3.78 · 23,894 ratings · 2,607 reviews · 54 distinct works • Similar authors

	Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned 3.87 avg rating — 8,971 ratings — published 1990 — 63 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation 3.56 avg rating — 2,606 ratings — published 2008 — 34 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Don't Know Much About Mythology: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned (Don't Know Much About Series) 3.64 avg rating — 1,965 ratings — published 2005 — 37 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives 4.07 avg rating — 1,363 ratings — published 2016 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned 3.87 avg rating — 1,430 ratings — published 1998 — 57 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Don't Know Much About the Civil War: Everything You Need to Know About America's Greatest Conflict but Never Learned 3.89 avg rating — 1,246 ratings — published 1996 — 55 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Don't Know Much About Geography: Everything You Need to Know About the World but Never Learned 3.50 avg rating — 1,127 ratings — published 1992 — 49 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Don't Know Much About the American Presidents 3.98 avg rating — 659 ratings — published 2001 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America's Hidden History 3.63 avg rating — 672 ratings — published 2010 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	More Deadly Than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War 3.86 avg rating — 551 ratings — published 2018 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Kenneth C. Davis's Blog

When Robin Hood Was Blacklisted

(Originally posted in 2022; Revised and updated September 30, 2025)

Book censorship is as American as apple pie, slavery, and lynching.

This post offers a brief overview of book banning in America. As teachers and librarians are fired, service academy libraries are purged, and free speech is under assault, the subject is more important than ever.

UPDATE (10/1/2025)

“Restrictions on books in

Series by Kenneth C. Davis

Don't Know Much About (18 books)
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Kenneth C. Davis (Goodreads Author),

S.D. Schindler (Illustrator)

3.81 avg rating — 17,181 ratings

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Kenneth C. Davis wrote a new blog post Labor Day 2025 [Post updated August 18, 2025]To most Americans, the first Monday in September means a three-day weekend and the last hurrah of summer– a final outing Read more of this blog post »
Oct 06, 2025 02:04PM · like

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Quotes by Kenneth C. Davis (?)

“How strong is a faith that can't stand up to a few honest questions?”
― Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned

tags: inspirational

8 likes

“Memorizing information is valuable but only if you're able to make some sense of the information and put it into a useful context. Isn't it much better if we can attach something tangible to that information?”
― Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About Geography: Everything You Need to Know About the World but Never Learned

tags: memorizing

6 likes

“The following twenty years would be the nadir of American Indian history, as the total Indian population between 1890 and 1910 fell to fewer than 250,000. (It was not until 1917 that Indian births exceeded deaths for the first time in fifty years.)”
― Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned

tags: american-indian, death, truth

5 likes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread)	2785	1206	Dec 01, 2010 12:03PM
The History Book ...: CARLY'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2013	72	160	Jan 03, 2014 01:01AM
Fiction Fanatics: February Extra Challenge 2014	35	72	Mar 03, 2014 07:40AM
The History Book ...: PRESIDENTIAL SERIES: GLOSSARY -LANDSLIDE (SPOILER THREAD)	372	229	Feb 20, 2015 03:16AM
2025 Reading Chal...: The Dewey Decimal Challenge - 2013	214	638	Mar 19, 2015 05:07PM
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2015: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS)	3424	689	Sep 02, 2015 09:40AM
2025 Reading Chal...: ^Melissa's 2015 Challenge 120^	43	111	Oct 04, 2015 01:52AM
Reading with Style: WI 15-16 My Domino Plan	26	81	Dec 12, 2015 05:33AM
Cozy Mysteries : Ultimate 2015 Reading Challenge	758	1242	Jan 18, 2016 10:16PM

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Kenneth’s Quotes

“How strong is a faith that can't stand up to a few honest questions?”
― Kenneth C. Davis, Don't Know Much About the Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Good Book but Never Learned

tags: inspirational

8 likes

tags: american-indian, death, truth

5 likes

tags: memorizing

6 likes

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