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Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition
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- Narrated by: Brian Keeler
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 8
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3
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A Political History of the World
- Three Thousand Years of War and Peace
- By: Jonathan Holslag
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 13
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Political History of the World by Jonathan Holslag, read by Roy McMillan. In 3,000 years of history, China has spent at least 11 centuries at war. The Roman Empire was in conflict during at least 50 percent of its lifetime. Since 1776, the United States has spent over 100 years at war. The dream of peace has been universal in the history of humanity. So why have we so rarely been able to achieve it?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Concise summary of war and peace throughout history
- By Charlie Sammonds on 19-12-18
-
Don't Know Much About Geography: Revised and Updated Edition
- By: Kenneth C. Davis
- Narrated by: Kenneth C. Davis, Various
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6
Kenneth C. Davis, author of Don't Know Much About® History, Don't Know Much About the Civil War and Don't Know Much About the Bible, turns his inimitable wit and wide-ranging knowledge to the subject of geography, and proves once and for all that there is a lot more to it than labeling countries on a map. From often amusing perceptions people have had through the ages about the world and the universe to the changing map of today, Davis shows how geography is really a great crossroad of many fields: biology, meteorology, astronomy, history, economics, and even politics.
-
The Templars
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 575
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 517
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 520
The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful - and most secretive - of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story - encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall - has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists. Unabridged edition read by Dan Jones.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A very engaging account of the Templar's history.
- By Simon B on 20-12-17
-
The Silk Roads
- A New History of the World
- By: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 24 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,455
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,231
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,214
The sun is setting on the Western world. Slowly but surely, the direction in which the world spins has reversed: where for the last five centuries the globe turned westward on its axis, it now turns to the east.... For centuries, fame and fortune were to be found in the West - in the New World of the Americas. Today it is the East that calls out to those in search of adventure and riches. The region stretching from Eastern Europe and sweeping right across Central Asia, deep into China and India, is taking center stage.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History that is as entertaining as it is educating
- By Natalia on 03-12-15
-
Don't Know Much About the American Presidents
- By: Kenneth C. Davis
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Kirby Heyborne, Mark Bramhall, and others
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 27
For more than 20 years since his New York Times best seller Don't Know Much About History first appeared, Davis has shown that Americans don't hate history, just the dull version dished out in school. Now Davis turns his attention to what is arguably the most important and most fascinating subject in American history: our presidents. From the heated debates over executive powers through the curious election of George Washington in 1789 and, for more than 200 years, up through the meteoric rise of Barack Obama, the presidency has been at the heart of American history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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stunning...
- By Sam on 26-10-12
Summary
Here, celebrating the 20th anniversary of its debut as a New York Times best seller, 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.
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 9/11 and 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.
Critic reviews
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- Always here
- 09-05-15
Not convinced on its accuracy
What would have made Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition better?
The author calls Great Britain, England. Therefore it is very confusing. If the author doesn't know the correct name and terms of GB then it throws doubt on other facts. Really put me off that ignorance and lazy research has been used.
What could Kenneth C. Davis have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
See above
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
Narrator
1 of 4 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- William
- 17-05-13
A great history refresher
Would you listen to Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition again? Why?
I have listened to this book a couple of times. I originally purchased this book as a refresher on American history because my children were asking questions that I know I knew at one point but needed a quick refresher. Now I find myself skipping to the part of the book I am looking for more on.
Any additional comments?
The format of the book is a little odd and takes some getting used to. Once you get used to some of the book formatting that doesn't fit well in an audio book it is just fine. The other disappointment is that most of the United States Civil War has been removed and moved to it's own book. This was a pretty significant bit of history that gets glanced over.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 27-09-16
amazing amount of information very well presented
amazing history book. it helps to understand how the US developed. it explains major events in an exciting style that was very enjoyable. loved it. had a great time listening.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rusty504
- 26-09-16
One of the best history books I've read!
This book does a great job on getting you up to speed on the key points of American history, and it does so in an interesting and sometimes humorous way.
Highly recommend. One of the best history books I've read.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Courtney A. Stevens
- 09-10-13
Biased overview; Confusing chronology.
What disappointed you about Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition?
I was hoping for an objective overview. This was not it. (Note: I am by no means a staunch conservative--more of a middle-of-the-roader--but still thought the treatment of so many periods of history were inexcusably laden with liberal biased. E.g. the vilification of corporations and free enterprise and the utter glorification of unions.)
Although I applaud the ambition of the author in covering such a dense span of time, his frequent inability to portray events by facts, detached from agenda, was disappointing. Also, the fact that he chose to do it in a question/answer format, rather than in purely chronological order, made it confusing at times and difficult for the listener to put events in chronological context. (Though the chapters are in chronological order, the questions within them may hop between presidencies and may go forward and back in time 10 years or more from one to the next.)
Would you recommend Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition to your friends? Why or why not?
No. Not objective, poorly read, confusing format.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
I thought his manner of reading, especially in his tone and diction, sounded condescending and cynical.
Any additional comments?
The reading of all of the questions at the beginning of the chapter was tedious and unnecessary. It's like reading a textbooks table of contents before each chapter. Totally obnoxious.
10 of 15 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- melissa.weers
- 24-01-13
what you miss in school
Would you listen to Don't Know Much About History, Anniversary Edition again? Why?
i love the dont know much books davis has a great way of puting togather info that you might have missed in school due to many reasons once you read one of his books you well want to read them all
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cynthia L. Van Dam
- 27-09-18
Worth reading
Learned a lot about the history and workings of the U.S.A. government. Am surprised to see how we repeat the same errors. However, it seems that for each crisis there was a man (or men) who rose to the occasion.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MILTON JONES
- 28-11-17
Very informative book
I learned so much more about United States history than I read in college history books. Definitely an eye opener to some of the history taught in middle/ high school.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tom
- 14-11-17
Eye opening
Interesting to hear more details of our history. Changes perspective on a number of topics!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michel Pierre
- 10-11-17
The true history of America.
Loved it! True history, without the built-in propaganda. This is what our kids should be learning in school. Great work by the author.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Baron Cruelty
- 30-01-17
History in a format everyone can enjoy
If you're like me, history whether in college or high school was a perfect way to catch up on the sleep you forfeited studying for classes you cared about. This series of books "Don't Know Much About" has not only confirmed the suspicion I had before listening, I don't know much about, anything. These titles are as much fun to listen to as they are thought provoking. His way of breaking each topic down into segments makes the listening process much easier, you know you're not entering the knowledge abys. I love these books and they are a joy to use for topics of conversation and they've made a better citizen.