Customer Reviews

Don't Know Much About Geography

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I love the title and the idea of the book--a fun, accessible introduction to geography. And, the book accomplishes what it sets out to do, to a large extent. However, as I read it I kept being jarred by errors; not just typos or minor errors, but really big, sloppy mistakes. Here are a few of them (from the 1992 paperback):

Page 175: Since it takes the moon a little more than a day to orbit the Earth . . .

Wrong, and in a way that suggests the author really doesn't understand the Earth-Moon system.

Page 212: . . . the white marble lighthouse stood 440 feet (1234 meters) high . . .

Let's see, are meters longer than feet, or shorter than feet? Do we multiply or divide?

Page 275: . . . meteorites strike at tremendous speeds--as much as 90,000 miles per second.

Hmmm. That's about half the speed of light. I don't think so.

Page 289: The spiraling winds may reach from 9 to 24 miles (15 to 20 km) up into the atmosphere.

At least try to keep the numbers consistent.

Page 312: Pluto may actually belong to another solar system . . .

Then what is it doing orbiting the sun?

Etc., Etc., Etc.

It's a very good idea, but one that deserved a lot more care.

Robert Adler, author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation; and Medical Firsts: From Hippocrates to the Human Genome.

A pretty good introduction to a variety of topics in geography, geology, astronomy (generally as it relates to the earth), and history as well. In part, the book is fairly basic, addressing some basic topics such as what are continents, addressing if Columbus "discovered" America or not, what is a light year, and listing the world's largest seas for instance. Some commentators called the book remedial I see, and at times, yes, it can be. Many of the questions that are answered (the information in the book is generally presented as a particular question followed by several paragraphs to several pages of answers for each) can be high school or even middle school level (though not written at middle school level).

By and large though, I found the book a really neat read, covering a lot of topics. While it might have been nice if some questions were gone into in more depth, all in all the author, Kenneth C. Davis, is to be commended by his well-written answers to a variety of questions in world geography. To me, many topics that were addressed were not remedial at all. What do tides and tidal waves have to do with one another? Isn't Europe just part of Asia? Why is Australia a continent? Where was the Garden of Eden, or was there one? Why are there no deserts on the Equator? Why is the Black Sea called that? How did Africa come to be called the Dark Continent? Are there Canaries in the Canary Islands? What the heck is a Hoosier? I don't know about you, but I wasn't able to answer all those questions, and I was intrigued to read the interesting and well-written answers to these questions. If want some fun light reading in geography and history, bone up on your trivia for the next time you watch Jeopardy! or play Trivial Pursuit, or just want to impress your familiy and friends, this book is one to get.

I thought this book might be interesting for my class (I'm a Geography High school teacher). Now, I've read many a dull tome on Geography in my many years. At least they were informative, mistake free and educational. Unfortunately, I cannot say say the same for this drivel. Not only is it dumbed down but, it is still dry and boring. I was drifting off while reading it (and I love geography - can't get enough of it!). There are mistakes a plenty. Not only the ones mentioned before, but I found 'facts' cotradicting themselves in the same chapter. In short; dry, boring, mistake ridden and dated.

Superficial, trendy, politically correct, and shallow.

Presents many theories and personal opinions as fact. Misrepresents views of the scientific community regarding the issue of global warming.

For a book about geography, contains far fewer maps than would be expected.

I found this book very fun to read. Kenneth C. Davis is a fine writer but I question the facts he gives. Also, at times this seems to be more of a history book the one on geography. Mr. Davis' view of historical events is very opinionated to put it mildly and he could have done more research when dealing with countries where he does not have first hand knowledge. You can throw out the whole section on Japan. It is just one big joke. Really, Mr. Davis, take a look at any supermarket in Japan. There are tons of dairy products. Also, there are large cow ranches throughout Japan. Also, his section on Hawaii was very one sided. He must have not bothered to reseach the material from a Hawaiian poin of view.

If you want an enjoyable read, this is a great book. But, take the facts with a grain of salt.

Mr. Davis has done a top-notch job of disseminating some very useful and needful information. Don't let the title fool you - more than just "geography" is covered here. You'll learn history, ecology, astronomy, and more. The only caveat, and it's not a huge one, is that he occasionally gets a bit preachy, especially about the environment and his liberal attitude comes through loud and clear. Overall, a good read and well worth the price.

I like the idea of a relatively easy, general-knowledge book about geography. The "facts" presented in such a book, however, should actually be factual. Throughout the reading of this book I was astonished by the number of mistakes concerning matters of common knowledge. The American Civil War started in 1861 not 1860 (page 242), and the Korean War started in 1950 not 1951 (page 261). My sister's birthday is July 20th, so I know Apollo 11 landed on the moon on that date, rather than on July 11th, as stated on page 324. It's not only a matter of erroneous dating. According to the author, Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, is cold (page 312)!!! With daytime temperatures as high as 800 degrees fahrenheit, hot enough to melt lead, I guess one must be sure to pack warm clothes if planning a trip there. These are just some of the numerous examples of mistakes in a book that was clearly very poorly researched and written. The title is appropriate, in that Mr. Davis certainly does not know much about geography.

I actually listened to this book on tape. The initial voice on the tape (for the first 20 minutes) made me dread having to listen to the WHOLE tape, but fortunately a pleasant well-spoken voice stepped in and completed the book! This was a fun geography review, with interesting stories to go along with the places being described. There was also a little weather, astronomy, and human history thrown in to further describe the location.

This was a concise highlighted look at Geography, covering several dozen places with just the right amount of information on each. I very much enjoyed listening to this tape.

One of the more memorable times in my school life was in college when a professor actually made history fun to learn. I learned more in that class than I think I did in all the rest of my history classes throughout my life. Mr. Davis is able to do the same with geography in this wonderful book. I recommend this to anyone wishing to learn more about the world we live in.

I must admit that it can be bit embarrassing how little I knew about geography. Davis pulls everything together with facts of old and new. This book forced me to pull out the some maps a few times, which expanded my understanding. He answeres the questions I had always wondered (and a few that I should have already known),an easy and intersting read. Reasonably priced.