Don't Know Much About Anything: Everything You Need to Know But Never Learned About People, Places, Events, And More! [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Kenneth C. Davis (Author, Introduction), Jeff Woodman (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2007 | Series: Don't Know Much About...

Don't Know Much About Anything: Everything You Need to Know But Never Learned About Famous People, Exceptional Places, Historical Happenings, Holidays and Traditions, Everyday Objects, Remarkable Inventions, Space, Sports, Food, Entertainment and More! is a compendium of around 275 columns, sorted into the subject categories listed in the subtitle. Quizzes on the atomic bomb, hamburgers, football, andThe Wizard of Oz are included, along with the Emancipation Proclamation, cold weather, and Mother Theresa, to name a few.

Like all of Ken Davis' Don't Know Much About audiobooks, Don't Know Much About Anything will educate and inform listeners while allowing them to have fun.

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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739342835
• ISBN-13: 978-0739342831
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,330,243 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

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars needs a better fact checker, July 7, 2008

By 

wagmc - See all my reviews

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

Although most of his info probably checks out, the first page I turned to incorrectly stated that only 10 men have walked on the moon. Actually a total of 12 men did on 6 lunar landing missions. Not a good way to start a book.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst history/trivia book I've read, August 26, 2008

By 

William Kerney (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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

Right now, I'm trying my best to control my hatred for Don't Know Much About Anything... which is an unintentionally true title. The author not only does a very sparse job covering a variety of topics from Helen Keller to Gandhi, but omits key facts which are crucial to understanding the person (Helen being a socialist is a key fact about her, which DKMAA omits in favor of reporting who played her in The Miracle Worker) and worse, repeats false facts and urban legends, which just drives me nuts.

If you're writing a history book, please do some basic fact checking before repeating something you read about in a chain email letter. JFK did NOT call himself a jelly donut in his Ich Bin Ein Berliner speech, but Kenneth C. Davis reports it as fact. The book is just pretty sad - when you walk away from a history or fact book feeling like you could give spontaneous lectures off the top of your head that are better than the book, the book is just useless and aggravating.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If Alex Trebek Wrote a Book, March 4, 2008

By 

Julie Merilatt "julzddm" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

I have read all of Mr. Davis' other (adult) books except Don't Know Much About the Civil War. Don't Know Much About Anything is written in a different format than his others. It is more of a Trivia book, tackling a wide range of topics in quiz-like form. Topics include Famous People, Historic Happenings, Food, Sports and Entertainment. Subjects include Mother Theresa, The Nuremburg Trials, Volcanoes, and Valentine's Day. Davis opens each subject with an introductory paragraph followed by a series of questions whose answers can be found on the following page. Some of these are tidbits you may have heard along the way, but many are obscure and interesting. Davis' writing can be very humorous, but I find he wears out his use of puns in the paragraphs preceding the quizzes (Don't Know Much About Playboy: Bare all in this quick quiz). Otherwise, a fast, fun book to read (took me just a few hours to get through) and full of trivia to share.