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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 · 23,991 ratings · 2,615 reviews · 55 distinct works • Similar authors

	Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned 3.88 avg rating — 8,988 ratings — published 1990 — 103 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 — 2,614 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 — 1,972 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 4.08 avg rating — 1,370 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 — 1,435 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 — 1,249 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 3.51 avg rating — 1,132 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 — 661 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 3.62 avg rating — 674 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 — 552 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

Pilgrims, Parades, and Pigskin: A Thanksgiving Primer

As the fourth Thursday in November approaches, our country is gearing up for a diet-busting meal to celebrate those somber folks in clunky shoes and buckled hats who sailed to the New World aboard the Mayflower. The Pilgrims wore black clothing, right? And ate turkey with the Native Americans, remember? And their peaceful relations with the Indians was long lasting, correct?

Well, not exactly. But

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 — 17,230 ratings

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Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. To create our...

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Lessons

by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)

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Kenneth C. Davis wrote a new blog post Don’t Know Much About® Halloween–The Hidden History (Video directed and produced by Colin Davis; originally posted October 2015)When I was a kid in the early 1960s, the autumn social calendar was highli Read more of this blog post »
Nov 25, 2025 12:04AM · 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	1208	Nov 30, 2010 09:03PM
The History Book ...: CARLY'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2013	72	160	Jan 02, 2014 10:01AM
Fiction Fanatics: February Extra Challenge 2014	35	72	Mar 02, 2014 04:40PM
The History Book ...: PRESIDENTIAL SERIES: GLOSSARY -LANDSLIDE (SPOILER THREAD)	372	229	Feb 19, 2015 12:16PM
2025 & 2026 Readi...: The Dewey Decimal Challenge - 2013	214	638	Mar 19, 2015 03:07AM
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2015: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS)	3424	692	Sep 01, 2015 07:40PM
2025 & 2026 Readi...: ^Melissa's 2015 Challenge 120^	43	111	Oct 03, 2015 11:52AM
Reading with Style: WI 15-16 My Domino Plan	26	81	Dec 11, 2015 02:33PM
Cozy Mysteries : Ultimate 2015 Reading Challenge	758	1242	Jan 18, 2016 07:16AM

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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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