Book Review: Don't Know Much About the American Presidents by Kenneth C. Davis

Don’t Know Much About The American Presidents by Kenneth C. Davis
Unabridged, 23 hr. 52 min.
Random House Audio
Arthur Morey, Kirby Heyborne, and Mark Bramhall (Narrators)
September 18, 2012
★★★★☆

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Purchased audiobook through Audible

"Which president broke the law to prevent enslaved people from being freed? Who said, "When the president does it,that means it's not illegal"? Why does America have a president? From the heated debates among the framers of the Constitution in 1787 over an "elected king," to the creation of the presidency, and on through rich profiles of each man who has held the office, New York Times bestselling author Kenneth C. Davis takes readers on a guided tour of American history. Examining each chief executive, from the low lights to the bright lights, the memorable to the forgettable and the forgotten, Davis tells all the stories, offering rich anecdotes about real people. He also charts the history of the presidency itself, debunking myths and grading the presidents from A+ to F. For history buffs and history-phobes alike, this entertaining book may change your understanding of the highest office in the land throughout more than two hundred years of history."

After having enjoyed the initial installment of the Don’t Know Much About… series I was excited to read Kenneth C. Davis’ take on the American Presidents. Davis breaks his narrative down into three major sections: The Making of the President; Presidential Profiles; and What Should We Do With the President?. The first section focuses on what the Constitutional framers intended the role of the President to be (or not be). The second, and admittedly where the bulk of the book takes place, is a look at each individual President and a grading/ranking of their place in American history. The final section is a wrap up that looks at where the role of the President goes from here. A complete, well-rounded view of the presidency.

The first and final sections were utterly forgettable – honestly, I didn’t pay any attention to these sections. The main action transpires in the individual biographies of the Presidents, from George Washington up through the first term of Barack Obama. If you have read widely within the Presidential biography realm, there wasn’t much new material presented here; a general scope of their presidencies. What was interesting for me was to read about some history that I have actually lived through with regard to the late 1980’s through the present. There were some great appendices presented at the back of the book as well. Short on time? Check out the Milestones in each President’s life at the beginning of each chapter or the Milestones in the Presidency of each Presidents as the chapter wrap up.

Davis presents his content in his traditional, easy to digest, question and answer format. Ultimately if you are in the market to learn a little something about each of the Presidents, this could be the book for you.

★★★★☆

The three narrators were presented in the same manner as his prior book. There is one narrator for the questions, one for the answers, and a third who reads the other material. This worked well for the style of the material being presented and the change of narration kept it from being monotonous.

Author Kenneth C. Davis also has written the following for adults: Don’t Know Much About the Bible, Don’t Know Much About the Civil War, Don’t Know Much About Geography, Don’t Know Much About Mythology, and Don’t Know Much About History. He also has a series of books for kids focused on specific topics such as the Pilgrims or Space. You can view the whole children’s list here. You can visit the author’s website for additional information about the book. Check out this audio excerpt.

My reviews of other books by this author:

• Don’t Know Much About History

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court

Audiobook Review: Don’t Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis

Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About American History But Never Learned 
Part of the Don’t Know Much About series
by Kenneth C. Davis
Unabridged, 29hr. 26min.
Random House Audio
Arthur Morey, Zach McLarty, and Cassandra Campbell (Narrators)
June 21, 2011
★★★★½☆

Genre: Non-Fiction, History

Source: Personal collection

“Here, celebrating the twentieth anniversary of its debut as a New York Times bestseller, is the revised, updated, and expanded edition of the classic anti-textbook that changed the way we look at history. 

First published two decades ago, when the "closing of the American mind" was in the headlines, Don't Know Much About^® History proved Americans don't hate history—just the dull version that was dished out in school. With wit and irreverence, in question-and-answer form, Don't Know Much About^® History took readers on a rollicking ride through more than five hundred years of American history, from Columbus's voyages to recent events. The book became an instant classic and has sold more than 1.6 million copies. 

Now Davis has brought his groundbreaking work up to the present, including the history of an "Era of Broken Trust," from the end of the Clinton administration through the recent Great Recession. This additional material covers the horrific events of 9/11and the rise of conspiracy theorists, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the New Orleans levees, the global financial meltdown, the election of Barack Obama, and the national controversy of same-sex marriage. 

For history buffs and history-phobes alike, for longtime fans who need a refresher course, and for a new generation of Americans who are still in the dark about America's past, Davis shows once more why People magazine said, "Reading him is like returning to the classroom of the best teacher you ever had."”

Where to start with this review – there are so many things that I want to tell you about this book that they are all fighting to be first on the page. So I apologize if the structure is a bit off.

I always thought that I knew a lot about American history – certainly more than my peers in school, that much was obvious. But, reading this book certainly showed me the areas where I was weak, but also reinforced that I did indeed know a decent amount about history. The edition that I read was a revised edition which actually took events up through 2011 – so it was great to be able to read something that was very up to date and for once included some history that I have actually lived through (that was a first!). The topics that were chosen for selection were a mix of the commonly discussed (ie. Civil Rights Movement and American Revolution) and the not-so-often (ie. the Pumpkin Papers and the Mormons).

The structure of this book will be hit or miss for readers in my opinion. The author sets it up in a question and answer format – so each topic is opened with a question (as if someone was asking it in class) and then he provides a discussion. To give you an idea of the questions: Why did Aaron Burr shoot Alexander Hamilton? or Why was President Johnson impeached? I thought that the format worked really well because it made it easier as a reader to focus on a particular subject instead of it just reading as a continuous narrative. The book was broken down into chapters and then there would be approximately 20 questions or so in each chapter that related to the overall topic.

There are also two subsections peppered throughout most chapters – “American Voices” and “Must Read”. I appreciated both of these additions to the text. American Voices usually helped set the reader up for the next topic by providing an excerpt from a document, book, or speech that pertained to it. Must Read is just as it sounds, extended readings about the topic previously discussed. I can tell you that I added all of these to my reading list as his introductions have encouraged me to want to know more!

If all history texts were presented in this engaging of a manner, I don’t think we would have students trying to skip history period. I can’t wait for his newest book that comes out this fall which is right up my alley – Don’t Know Much About the American Presidents.

★★★★☆

The narration was very well done – with non-fiction of this span of time it could have the potential to fall into bouts of boring, but that did not happen here. The questions were proposed by two different narrators alternating back and forth – sort of a simulation of a classroom. The explanations were provided by a third narrator – representing the teacher. The format worked well enough on audio, but I think it would have been better appreciated in print – it took me awhile to figure out if the American Voices was related to the previous topic or the upcoming. There is also a great appendix in the back of the book on the Amendments to the Constitution and the Presidents which would be great to have on hand.

If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this audio excerpt of the book?

Other bloggers who reviewed this book:

• Parent at the Helm
  
• Booking Mama

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

Also by Kenneth C. Davis:

Don’t Know Much About the Bible

Don’t Know Much About the Civil War

Don’t Know Much About Geography

Don’t Know Much About Mythology

Don’t Know Much About Anything

Don’t Know Much About Anything Else

Don’t Know Much About the Universe

Don’t Know Much About Literature

America’s Hidden History

The Hidden History of America At War

In the Shadow of Liberty

A Nation Rising

Find Kenneth C. Davis: Website | Twitter | Youtube 

Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court