America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation

by Kenneth C. Davis

Kenneth C. Davis, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Don't Know Much About History, presents a collection of extraordinary stories, each detailing an overlooked episode that shaped the nation's destiny and character. Davis's dramatic narratives set the record straight, busting myths and bringing to light little-known but fascinating facts from a time when the nation's fate hung in the balance.

Spanning a period from the Spanish arrival in America to George Washington's inauguration in 1789, America's Hidden History details these episodes, among others:


The story of the first real Pilgrims in America, who were wine-making French Huguenots, not dour English Separatists
The coming-of-age story of Queen Isabella, who suggested that Columbus pack the moving mess hall of pigs that may have spread disease to many Native Americans
The long, bloody relationship between the Pilgrims and Indians that runs counter to the idyllic scene of the Thanksgiving feast
The little-known story of George Washington as a headstrong young soldier who committed a war crime, signed a confession, and started a war!
Full of color, intrigue, and human interest, America's Hidden History is an iconoclastic look at America's past, connecting some of the dots between history and today's headlines, proving why Davis is truly America's Teacher.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Audiobook, Historical, American Revolution, American

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

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.

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm trying to decide whether books like this are good or bad and I guess I'm going with good. The thing that bothers me is that these are not "untold" tales- as Davis makes very clear in this book, he is simply reading actual academic history books, taking interesting minutia out of them, and writing that minutia down in his own book. I do that to my friends all the time, but I just tell them the trivia, I don't make my own book out of it. And it really just amounts to trivia. Davis implies that these stories are supposed to tell us something about American history that we didn't know before, but I don't know what that would be exactly. It is interesting that there was a massacre of French Protestants by Spanish Catholics in 16th century Florida, but what does it really have to do with anything? It is interesting that George Washington screwed up a battle or two during the French and Indian War, but Davis doesn't really connect it to any grand idea about what that says about America. And he digresses like crazy, getting into the whole history of the Protestant Reformation when I thought he was trying to make points about America.
However, Davis is including tidbits from decent current scholarship here. When he writes about Shay's Rebellion, for example, he is including pretty current historical analysis. At least people aren't getting old, outdated history here. And this could lead people to search out some of these other, better history books from which he quotes at length. So I guess this is a plus, on the whole.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the worst history books I’ve ever read. I realize there’s a market for such books, and I see that it gets tons of great reviews, but I really don’t see how this would appeal to anyone who has had more than a couple of high school history classes.

The premise of Davis’ work is that you don’t get a complete history of the early pre-nation days of America in your standard history class. I agree completely. There’s far too much material, and for purposes of giving a basic overview of our nation, the high points—settlers, revolution, constitution—are all you’re going to have time for, or really need. If you took a specialized history class at a college level, visited specific historic sites, or just read some history books, you’ll get a much more complicated and nuanced view of history. The same could be said for just about any subject matter—I had one high school chemistry class. I did some basic experiments and learned my way around the periodic table. I didn’t expect to go home with the ability to synthesize complex drugs and create alloys.

Davis’ book takes a close look at six events, and purports to show you the things you didn’t know. Each event is interesting, and in a general way, the facts are correct, but this is more extended trivia than anything else. Yes, the back and forth of various colonial powers in the early days of the colonies happened and is interesting, but is it relevant? Not to the extent that Davis seems to think it is. Moreover, most of the detail presented is tangential and more likely to be a footnote in a serious history work than the main focus. If this was my only complaint, I’d rate this as a decent, but uninteresting work.

But trivia on its own doesn’t make a book, and Davis never tries to address the complexity and nuance that is actual history, as a serious book on this topic might do. So Davis, to fill space, starts embellishing, something most historians do to some extent. The problem is, he doesn’t know when to stop. He’s constantly telling us how people felt, or how we should feel about things, but this isn’t history, it’s opinion and fiction. Davis then tries to keep things relevant and modern by adding in slang or contemporary phrasing when neutral phrasing would have been more appropriate and accurate. After using the bits of trivia for all it is worth, he begins to ramble, mixing in bits and pieces of standard history, while inserting his own opinions on all of it. The opinions and rather confusing bias he inserts is what truly turned me off, as well as his determination to attack anything seen as ‘history’. Davis seemed to want to go after the establishment or promote the underdog any chance he had. Fine. Some people like that type of history. However, the bias got in the way of his history, and more importantly became confusing. When Catholics were against non-Catholics, we were supposed to side with the non-Catholics. When a man went up against a woman, we were supposed to side with the woman. When the white man was going after the native populations, we were supposed to side with the native population. When a woman and a child were kidnapped by a group of natives, and she scalped all of them in their sleep, we were supposed to side with the woman because…they were men and she was being empowered? They kidnapped her (never mind there was a conflict going on and she had taken her land)? I’m not sure. But at times this work was almost laughable in how it was constantly trying to promote some poor maligned group. If there was a historic event, or more importantly a known historic figure, we were supposed to root against them because they were a known event or figure, and obviously false or they’re terrible, because history only happened as Davis relates it. To give one example, never mind what George Washington did, because shortly after reaching adulthood he massacred enemy troops in what was obviously a war crime, then covered it up (hundreds of miles from civilization, during a conflict, with no communication back home, when he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong). Later on, he wasn’t sympathetic with an insurrection (sorry…maligned poor farmers being screwed over by the man) attempting to seize federal weapons, that I’m sure they were going to display for historical purposes and not turn on and massacre the local citizens (which unlike when George Washington massacred Native Americans, is apparently to be encouraged...I guess because they are European and more wealthy than the ones doing the killing?). He’s obviously a horrible person. How could you think he ever did anything good?

I could go on, but the point is that this isn’t history, this is fantasy, bias and opinion writing. If that’s your thing, fine, but let’s not market it as history. I’m well aware history has bias and things get left out, but generally speaking, history should be…well…actual history, or at least have a hint of it mixed in.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm betting this book was a brand new car. This was Davis's way to pay for something. Maybe a vacation at the beach, college tuition, etc. Whatever the purchase, this was not a serious academic endeavor.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An educational and entertaining book that relates 6 different episodes in the history of our country starting in 1497.

Each chapter starts with a list of dates and relevant-to-that-chapter happenings.

Of course you will have to read the book to find out all the unknown events in each chapter. I learned plenty. But I will include a cryptic comment for each chapter, just to pique your interest.

ISABELLA'S PIGS
No wonder there are so many feral pigs in Florida!!

HANNAH'S ESCAPE
Her experiences make ME glad I did not live in the 1600's.

WASHINGTON'S CONFESSION
Washington's early exploits during the French and Indian War.

WARREN'S TOGA
The contributions to our country of the little known Joseph Warren.

ARNOLD'S BOOT
Benedict Arnold might have gotten a really raw deal.

LAFAYETTE'S SWORD
The authoring and ratification of the Constitution had more than the obvious reason for occurring.

If you are a history buff, even you might learn a few things. Hope you enjoy.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. Davis writes in a clear, engaging, narrative style, with purpose and focus. His purpose here is to tell more about the foundations of the United States, from its European beginnings as small colonial outposts up to and including the need for the Constitution. Many people with a passing knowledge of history will know parts of these stories, but Davis includes a pleasing amount of detail for interest, without getting bogged down.

Here is what is in the book: A brief synopsis of the union of Ferdinand and Isabella and the purging of Muslims and Jews from Spain. The stories of the first Spanish and French settlements in and around Florida, their religious rivalries and brutalities. The dynamics of the Protestant settlers around Massachusetts and the Indians who lived there and found their land constantly encroached upon by the fecund settlers and immigrants. The causes of King Philip's War. Another look at embargoed, occupied Boston and the leaders of the Revolution there. The economic forces that bound together the common people with the colonial elite (briefly) that made the Revolution possible, and the consequences of having those interests diverge after the Revolution.

There are brief but interesting biographical sketches in the book as well: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, a Spaniard who survived in the wilderness of the American south for years. Hannah Dustin, who escaped being kidnapped by American Indians. Anne Marbury Hutchinson, a mother, pioneer, lay-preacher, heretic, widow, and finally victim of an Indian, who lived in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. George Washington, a brave but initially rash social climber who started the French and Indian War and had a huge financial stake in the Revolution. Benedict Arnold, rash but brave, fighting valiantly to capture and secure the route between Canada and Boston, and led astray through frustration of his personal ambition. James Wilson, a financier of the revolution who was twice caught up by a populist mob, member of the supreme court while in debtor's prison, who died a broke and broken man.

Fascinating. To me, one of the most important aspects of the Revolution that was illuminated was the extent to which British balking at the expense of defending the American colonies after the French and Indian War, coupled with founding fathers hunger for huge profits in land speculation (Washington, Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and others are all mentioned as having their financial ambitions thwarted by the British needing to pull back their defenses a bit), helped to create the conflict. There is nothing wrong with either of those positions, of course, but it is easier to get on your enlightenment-era, freedom and human-rights high horse when there is money to be made.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very good read. A wealth of little know facts of American history covering, basically, 6 events - from the Spanish conquest of America to the second revolution that almost derailed the great experiment in democracy (Shay's Rebellion).

The author Kenneth Davis present the story behind the story - what your history books didn't tell you.

For instance, forget the ax and the cherry tree ... When George Washington was a young man - long before the American Revolution - he was the commander of a group of Virginians and Native American allies. He disobeyed orders and ambushed a small French party and allowed his Native American allies to murder the French officer/ambassador who had surrendered and the rest of the wounded French soldiers. And, that action was the staring point for the French and Indian War.

Queen Isabella suggested that Columbus take pigs on his second voyage. The pigs helped spread disease which wiped out thousands of Native Americans. Obviously God showed the Spanish (and later the English) that these savages were in league with the devil; Another way of saying population control.

Why don't we hear more about the French Huguenots who had settled in present day Jacksonville, Florida, in 1654, fully 50 years before the Pilgrims sailed from England? After landing in June of that year, they gave thanks to God (the first American Thanksgiving?) and established a settlement. They even found some local grapes and made 20 barrels of wine. Of course, a few years later the Spanish destroyed the settlement and killed every man, woman and child.

It's these little stories that make history interesting --

[Asails F · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compilation of short stories that I enjoyed. The most important concerning the world sitation 11/22/2011 is called Lafayette's Sword.

A story about Shay's rebellion which tried to take over the Springfield Mass. Armoury. The rich and gentried based in Boston and other cities tried to stop this group of war heroes and landowners - small farmers. These landowners were abused by laws that sent them to debtors prisons and resulted in their loss of property. One should read the rest of the story.

It is a must read that should be constantly retold in all schools.

I have read similar stories years ago around the 60's or 70's so I know that these are not new found stories but are written with a new gusto that I have not encountered before.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

America's Hidden History is a compilation of "hidden" events and people from roughly 1600 through the Constitutional Convention. This book is definitely intended for folks who slept through early American History in high school and haven't revisited it since. Since my major undergraduate concentration area was history, I taught social studies, and currently I read history for enjoyment, I'm not the target demographic. I found it to be a rehash of several other American History books currently on the market. I'd recommend Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me" for a more provocative read about "hidden" American History.

[thewestchestarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More history than revelation. Kenneth C. Davis forged a career by reporting actual history rather than the sanitized propaganda-laden tales told in your average grammar school history book. Often these more bloody, messy tales of actual lives of historical figures lead you to respect them more given they had to earn their place through trial and error rather than seeming to be divinely driven to greatness as most historian would have it. Davis’s ”America’s Hidden History…” focuses on the founding of colonies after 1610 through the founding of the country just before 1800. Much of the early part of the book deals with wars with native American when they could still truly have been called wars as opposed to the later massacres such as The Battle of Wounded Knee. This section will seem flat to all but the ardent history buff although some general impressions such as how close the native peoples of North America came to at least delaying the eventual loss of their land to European settlers.

A second far more interesting section turns common views of two revolutionary figures exactly 90 degrees by presenting George Washington as an arguable war criminal as an early 20’s English soldier and Benedict Arnold as America’s greatest rebel at least until he sold out to the British. The story of Washington’s unprovoked attacked on a French detachment during a period of official detent is the more engaging of the two and ultimately the reader winds up respecting the man more for having gone through a period of immaturity when he made some serious mistakes. The Arnold story also results in more respect for the figure although his ultimate enlisting on the British side does limit just how patriot he can be portrayed.

The final act covers the debates and deliberation of the founding fathers and likely will not be that surprising to those have tried to get agreement on say, lunch. Obviously, founding a nation could not have been that smoothly carried out. In short, probably a better book for the junior historian than the general reader and one that rewards skipping around and reading the good parts.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for the bathroom. Interesting short stories but hard to get through from cover to cover

[Sparrow .]

Shay’s Rebellion was not a rebellion – it was a (thwarted) revolution! In rural Massachusetts! Around Pittsfield! If his cadre had won, the USA might have become a democracy. Instead, a bunch of real estate speculators wrote the U.S. Constitution – illegally, because they were only authorized to revise the Articles of Confederation. (This latter fact is not emphasized in Davis’ book.)

It’s tragically funny, in a way. The 13 Colonies fought a whole revolution to avoid paying taxes, and afterwards, they had high taxes – to pay for the revolution!

Alexander Hamilton (at the Constitutional Convention) argued that the President should serve for life. (All this was based on the Roman Republic.) But no one paid him any mind.

And what about Ann Hutchinson! She was essentially a 17th-century guru, receiving messages from God in Massachusetts – till they kicked her out, she moved to the Bronx, was murdered by Indians, but eventually was reincarnated as the Hutchinson River Parkway! Impossible but true!

I wish “America’s Hidden History” was seven times as long, or even – God help me! – a podcast.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this was another "cut the grass" audiobook. Interesting history from the "Founding Father's" era of US History. The author plucks hidden facts and history from the annals of history. Stories often omitted from the history textbooks we learned from in school. He gives kudos (and also shame) to many heroes and villains of the Revolutionary War era and post-war formings of our country.

An inside look at George Washington, Benedict Arnold, James Madison and several unsung and forgotten heroes of that age. The author must have dug into the letters and writings of that day in order to present this information as "fact". Worth the time to listen to or read it.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frankly, this book is pretty lousy. There's not much "hidden history" included in this book, obscure history sure but not hidden. Davis spends far too much time on well known facts and figures than is good for him since he supposedly was trying to write a book about "hidden" history. He might be able to get away with saying that it was "hidden" in plain sight but that's almost laughable.
Here are some of the problems with the book.
First, Davis spends a significant portion of the book talking about Spanish history, as in history of the continent of Spain and a small portion of time on Spanish colonies that eventually became part of the United States. The narrator's abysmal Spanish accent was on full display here. (For someone with training in the language, that was particularly grating.)
Second, Davis got some basic facts wrong. Unfortunately, I did not jot them down as I heard them so I am unable to support my argument.
Third, Davis devoted an entire chapter to Benedict Arnold, one of the most well-known figures in American history. Granted, many people don't know his full story but that's not because his history was hidden, it's because most people don't read books of history beyond their high school textbook. (This is simply an unfortunate reality.) As someone who took a class devoted to the early national era of the United States, nothing included in this chapter surprised me. Thus, this is not a book of "hidden" history, just obscure history.
I do not recommend this book.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book about tidbits of "hidden history" (and some not so hidden) from the 16th to the eighteenth centuries. It starts with the failed French Protestant colony of Fort Caroline,(massacred by the Spanish in 1564) on the coast of what is now northern Florida and the Puritans in Massachusetts (who kicked out Anne Hutchison for her "free thinking" in 1634) and ending with several chapters on the American Revolution and the aftermath, leading to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. There is a long description of the life of Benedict Arnold, once the greatest fighting general in the revolution and his treasonous end. I enjoyed the chapters on Arnold especially, and Anne Hutchison, but had already known about Fort Caroline from Tony Horwitz's excellent book on the Spanish in America.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was not an easy book to read. The style was jumbled, too many tangents. And there were very few "Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders." The first pilgrims part is right, and the first few chapters did include more of the opening history of the Americas once the Europeans arrived.

[SheLove2Read · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love history, especially the early history of my country, but this bored me to tears. There was no "hidden" history I could see. Everything I did read, I've read before, and told in a much more entertaining way.
DNF

[Ejayen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an early US history book, full of stories of humans.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable book that covered a few areas of which I previously knew little. The author started with a great narrative concerning Spanish and French colonization efforts in Florida. It's here that he brought up a great point - that Spanish has been spoken in North America longer than English. I'm sure that's a political point that could be used in today's highly charged environment. This section I found especially interesting as I traveled to this part of Florida two months ago; wish I had read this book beforehand to give me additional perspective on Ft. Caroline, Ft. Matanzas, etc.

Another great note from the author is that Queen Isabella recommended to Columbus that he take pigs with him on his ships as a self-sustaining food supply. It was an absolutely brilliant idea to keep the explorers fed, but believe this led to the feral hog problem in the U.S., and most importantly probably greatly aided the mass deaths of the native population due to the diseases the hogs carried which the local population had no natural defense. Very sad.

The other section of the book that was of interest was the pages on Benedict Arnold. Never studied this individual before and thus knew little, but I now understand his historical role better. Lastly, a book that was enjoyable and worth the time I spent reading.

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I'm a history teacher, so I think I would say that I have a higher than average knowledge of history. That said, I would assume that any US history text with the "hidden" in the title would not focus solely on Paul Revere's midnight ride for pages without at least mentioning, let alone discussing a teenage girl, Sybil Ludington who rode twice the distance that night of Revere. This is just one specific example, and I will avoid a rant by simply stating there is also little mention of other women in the text, despite "women" being mentioned in the title. I am giving this book two stars as it does give readable (if you can get over the frustration) information about numerous Founding Fathers, but I certainly don't think there is anything "hidden" within these pages as it is yet another history book about white men. Disappointing.

[Virginia B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always done that way in the history books, nobody wants their kid to know that the Spanish came not to settle a new land but to slaughter everyone who was not Catholic; the the native Indians mostly died by the thousands due to diseases brought by the Europeans, that George Washington was pretty much a look-out-for-himself bloodthirsty bigot, who kept slaves and was horrified that some slaves had volunteered to fight against the British in Boston; etc. Really well written, very interesting. Am a little disappointed that it didn’t continue into the Civil War. Guess he had to stop someplace!

[Suzanne Fecteau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written with humor and knowledge. Davis brings a new light to US history. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and was glad to know I knew many of these incidents. Glad to know my education was well rounded and all inclusive.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe these stories should have remained hidden…

[Skyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

not my style. I was pretty bored with it and didn't finish the last chapter.

[Kevin Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite parts were about the pilgrims, early colonial period and the part about Benedict Arnold. Although he ruined everything good about him by becoming a traitor, his early career was pretty great and apparently many people believe he was the best general in both armies.

[Randy Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pilgrims most often celebrated as the First Americans other than true Natives,thought as the first Europeans in North America but in fact the first Europeans were French Huguenots, wine makers and coming to America as most did, for the freedom to practice their religion.
The Spanish down in Florida, were the first to bring slaves to America, and in fact the slave trade extended both ways with many tribes raided and traded as slaves with Cuba.
The in fighting among the Pilgrims those who were Catholic, Protestant, even the cursed Lutherans, here in America it seems many forgot what they came here for.
Davis tells of the financing of the American revolution and how that money was earned,slave trade, piracy, to respectable traders, as well as those who made there fortunes in land deals buying land from Indians the warriors , or who made the deal often laughing at the idea that land could be bought and sold, as their culture believed that the land was there for all to share and for all to protect.
The first best selling book in the Americas was by a woman, something many would have thought impossible,our heroes that were later labeled traitors some having the truth prove them innocent but plagued by the story non the less, to the wealthy who bought Americas Freedom yet who died in debtors prisons or penniless.

This was a delightful and well written book, each chapter urging you to the next. Davis educates and entertains us in a fashion that holds the readers interest.I would recommend this to any one who has an interest in history, the revolution, or just a good story.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read quickly while in the process of reading The Real George Washington- and I got the impression that he was not really all that impressed with George Washington. I really don't like it when people tend to put others on such high pedestal that they become "demi-gods" but I am more offended when people try to normalized them back again by pointing out in the worst possible light that they had faults. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams (founders), Abraham Lincoln- these were all just men- not overly exceptional except that when offered trials they approached them with honor, and courage instead of making excuses. They were amazing and insiprational because as "just men", they did phenominal things. We should not be looking at them as "demi-gods" but as men who showed us that we can do exceptional things, too if we can face our own trials with courage and honor instead of making excuses. Don't waste your time trying to humanize or normalize these great men just so you don't have to try as hard. If normal is being less than your very best and dissing those who were their best, then we obvioulsy haven't learned anything from any of these men. On a less preachy side, I loved the chapter about the women and unknown people in history that helped bring about this country- so I may have to read the book again to make sure that I didn't just mis-understand what he said about Washington.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While there were few things I didn't know at least something about in this book, Davis digs deeper into America's history than what most of us learned in school.

The historical periods covered range from the early Spanish conquistadors/explorers through the aftermath of the Revolutionary War in the 1780s.

Davis discusses the role of the importation of pigs as spreaders of disease, and further notes the impact of disease during crucial historical moments.

We learn that the Hugenot refugees from France were the first settlers, rather than the Pilgrims. And the bad relations between the Pilgrims and Native Americans belies the sentimental Thanksgiving story that we grew up with.

We learn of George Washington's early undistinguished military career that involved disobeying orders and ultimately starting the French and Indian War, along with the story of Benedict Arnold's descent from Revolutionary heroism to his bitter traitorism.

Women as religious leaders, writers, and captives of various Native tribes find their way into these pages.

All-in-all, an interesting read.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that, when America was new, Vermont used to be a haven for rebels? Have you ever "read the riot act" to anyone? Have you ever seen the statue of Benedict Arnold in Saratoga, NY? What woman was the first to have a statue of her own? Kenneth C. Davis, who deserves the nation's thanks for presenting our history in an interesting, palatable way, includes all of the above, and much more, in America's Hidden History. It's interesting to contemplate that the father of our country and our most infamous traitor shared so much in common. There must be at least a few dates included in this collection of essays, but I can't really recall which ones, because it's not the dates that count, it's the stories, all of which are truly enjoyable. Our politics have always been fractious and ornery. Economics have always been a major motivator, long before our democracy was even a spark in the founding fathers' eyes. Forget the icons and the myths, sit back and delve into this volume, and learn while having some fun that the early Americans rich, poor, and middling, were people just like us.

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was this my favorite history book that I’ve ever read? No. But it did what it was supposed to do. It whet my appetite for American history. It turned dull dates and names and events that we have all learned about in school into real people with real grievances and real consequences for the place that they were living.

Is it a comprehensive book about the American Revolution and Colonial America? Of course not, it would be impossible to summarize the complete history of one person or event in 280 pages, nonetheless the birth of an entire nation. But again, I don’t think that was the point. Through the author’s writing we got a glimpse of the action, and there is a large bibliography that gives us plenty of options if we want to delve more completely into any given subject.

I’m excited to flesh out some of the people and events that were brought up in this book. Now to just pick a place to start… Franklin, maybe? Washington… The Spanish or the Puritans. North or South? The options are endless.

[Drick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those who love Howard Zinn's People's History of the American People will enjoy this book. this book only coverse the period of US History before and up to the writing of constitution and contains stories of unkonwn persons whose lives were quite influential in their time, but in many ways who were villified or forgotten: Hannah Dustin, Anne Hutchinson, Benedict Arnold, James Schey of Shey's Rebellion, and so on. The book is written in an a story telling manner and is a goog read. Perhaps the most troubling part of the book was the heavy-handedness of the Puritans. having come from Puritan ancenstry and being married to a descendant of Hannah Dustin, I found this section most intriguing and disturbing, but then isn't that what a good read is for?