Don't Know Much About Anything Else: Even More Things You Need to Know but Never Learned About People, Places, Events, and More! [Paperback]

Kenneth C. Davis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Don't Know Much About... | Publication Date: August 26, 2008

For years, Kenneth C. Davis has enlightened and enthralled us, opening our minds and tickling our fancies with his wonderfully irreverent, fun, and factual Don't Know Much About^® books. He has carried readers on wild and edifying rides through history, mythology, geography, the Bible, the Civil War, even across the universe. Now, following on the heels of his triumphant New York Times bestseller Don't Know Much About^® Anything, comes Don't Know Much About^® Anything Else, his latest one-stop potpourri of intriguing information. Chock-full of delightful historical snippets and fascinating people, remarkable milestones and boneheaded blunders, and eye-opening, brain-boggling facts about simply anything and everything in the world, here is the ideal companion for those long car rides, plane flights, quality family hours, or relaxing downtime.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kenneth C. Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of A Nation Rising; America's Hidden History; and Don't Know Much About^® History, which spent thirty-five consecutive weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, sold more than 1.6 million copies, and gave rise to his phenomenal Don't Know Much About^® series for adults and children. A resident of New York City and Dorset, Vermont, Davis frequently appears on national television and radio and has been a commentator on NPR's All Things Considered. He blogs regularly at www.dontknowmuch.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (August 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061562327
• ISBN-13: 978-0061562327
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #719,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ken Davis is the author of Don't Know Much About History, which spent 35 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, and gave rise to the Don't Know Much About series, which has a combined in-print total of 4.3-million copies.Ken Davis has been dubbed The King of Knowing by Amazon.com because he becomes a subject expert in all of the areas he writes about; the Bible, Mythology, the Universe, the Civil War, for example. Ken has also been a Wise Man; on Who Wants to be a SuperMillionaire and a Life Line on the regular edition of the show. Ken Davis's success aptly makes the case that Americans don't hate history, just the dull version they slept through in class. But many of them want to know now because their kids are asking them questions they can't answer. 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. A somewhat well-kept secret: Ken Davis never graduated from college, but he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Concordia College in Bronxville, where he was also asked to give a commencement address. Ken Davis is a frequent media guest. He has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows, including NPR, The Today Show, Fox and Friends, CNN, and The Discovery Channel. He has been a commentator for All Things Considered, and has written for the New York Times. In addition to his adult titles, he writes the Don't Know Much About Children's series published by HarperCollins. He lives in New York with his wife. They have two grown children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not that great..., December 31, 2008

By 

Julie Merilatt "julzddm" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Don't Know Much About Anything Else: Even More Things You Need to Know but Never Learned About People, Places, Events, and More! (Paperback)

Having read all of Mr. Davis' other (adult) books including Don't Know Much About Anything, I was a bit disappointed in this one. It seems like he put together some of the leftovers from the latter mentioned book just to publish something, and it didn't contain nearly as much interesting trivia as its forerunner. While it still included some interesting tidbits and was an incredibly quick read, I would recommend any of his other books before this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for Futue Jeopardy Contestants (and Wannabes), August 12, 2009

By 

LegalBeagle (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Know Much About Anything Else: Even More Things You Need to Know but Never Learned About People, Places, Events, and More! (Paperback)

Everyone has a dream. For some it is performing on Broadway, writing the Great American Novel, or running a marathon. For my son it has been to be a contestant on Jeopardy. Like a moth to the flame whenever tryouts for Jeopardy are announced in a nearby locale my son is one of the first in queue.

And like any good parent I have spent a small fortune on books spanning the physical sciences to the arts in furtherance of the Jeopardy quest. After reading Don't Know Much About Anything Else by Kenneth C. Davis, the latest installment in the Don't Know Much Series I might have been better off if I had restricted my purchases to those penned by Davis. The book is comprised of series of one page quizzes on subjects ranging from Japan to the paths of the post-breakup Beatles and almost everything in between. The quizzes are well crafted and easy to read.

While I don't know if Don't Know Much About Anything Else is the magic key to the Jeopardy kingdom, my son will at least have a few laughs while absorbing, for example, the history of Leap Day. As Davis puts it, "fun and education can mingle."

Don't Know Much About Anything Else is highly entertaining and should be required reading for any would be Jeopardy contestant.

4.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING STUFF, June 27, 2010

By 

Joseph H. Race "Jose Mango" (SAIPAN, MP United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Don't Know Much About Anything Else: Even More Things You Need to Know but Never Learned About People, Places, Events, and More! (Paperback)

What you might have missed in school, you can find it here. Want to know about Clara Barton, Ansel Adams, Nostradamus, famous spies, etc., it's all here and written in an "easy reading" style. It is also probably a good reviewer when you expect to go on a quiz show and win a million dollars, or when you want to throw out some trivia that no one knows about or maybe doesn't care - remember Cliff on "Cheers?" It's fun reading and definitely worth a few shekels. It's also a good way to stimulate memory enhancement and reach back into the hidden recesses of your brain for something you once knew but it got lost...and then you found it again.