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America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation Review
Kenneth C. Davis, author of the phenomenal New York Times bestseller Don't Know Much About History, presents a collection of extraordinary stories, each detailing an overlooked episode that shaped the nation's destiny and character. Davis's dramatic narratives set the record straight, busting myths and bringing to light little-known but fascinating facts from a time when the nation's fate hung in the balance. Spanning a period from the Spanish arrival in America to George Washington's inauguration in 1789, America's Hidden History details these episodes, among others:
Full of color, intrigue, and human interest, America's Hidden History is an iconoclastic look at America's past, connecting some of the dots between history and today's headlines, proving why Davis is truly America's Teacher. User Submitted America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation ReviewsDecember 19, 2008 good book I got this book for my birthday and was not sure what to make of it before i read it. After i was do i thought it was well written and i enjoyed it very much December 6, 2008 Cute, Overblown, Light, With Erroneous Sweeping Statements This is the first book I've read by author Kenneth Davis and it will be my last. He has chosen six stories, but meanders far off the point in telling them and runs fast and loose with his facts and sweeping statements. This is a cute book for 8th graders, but does not add to the literature of colonial days or the beginning of our country. The first story is really about the Spanish Catholics exterminating the French Protestant presence in South Carolina to the last man, woman and child. OK, that happened and illustrates one of the worst features of Catholic dogma in that heresy must be ruthlessly stamped out, not by converting people, but by killing them, but his account is a popularized one that never scratches the historical surface. The second tells the story of the Puritan versus Indian confrontation in New England, sympathetically to the Indians. After the first two chapters I concluded that Davis was a anti-religion zealot. He cherry-picks his facts to put the colonists in a bad light, and makes sweeping and sarcastic statements that are only partially correct. The truth is much more complex, but then that wouldn't be as interesting and wouldn't sell books. The author's style is that of a muckraking journalist (are there any other?) rather than that of an historian. The third essentially says that Washington was a criminal, made unforgivable mistakes as a 21-year old, and caused the Seven Years' War through his fecklessness. Again, the truth is much more complex, although adoring historians have indeed skipped over this part of Washington's life. His responsibility for the Jumonville masacre has been debated for years, but the most telling tidbit that the Davis overlooks was that when Jumonville's brother had Washington in his power, he did not extract vengeance. The fourth focuses on Dr. Warren, an often overlooked patriot today because he was killed at Bunker Hill in 1775. However, in many respects the author makes out the revolution to be more about money for the merchant class than for the farmers who fought the war. And, of course, the role of the Scotch-Irish in all this is missed, even though most of the principal actors in the 13 colonies on the patriot side were Scotch-Irish. Gee, why? Oops, the author doesn't know. Aah, then comes a far-foreshortened story of Benedict Arnold. The author attempts to cover in 33 pages what many historians have been unable to capture in extensive tomes. And the author fails miserably except to point out that Arnold accomplished great things for the Patriot cause before he went over to the British. As if no one knew that. And last comes Shay's Rebellion. Yes, being a soldier in the Continental Army was unrewarding and power and money rapidly went to the lawyers and businessmen in the eastern cities. So, how is that different today? Our country has NEVER rewarded its servicemen adequately for their sacrifices, but it still has done better than any other country. Lawyers, bureaucrats, odious politicians and businessmen always control things in peace time -- soldiers and patriots are only needed in times of national emergency. Then the non-lawyers are called upon to sacrifice for the good of those in power. Still, we're better than all others. This story was perhaps the most egregious chapter in which the author ran fast and loose with pejorative statements, misstatements of fact, and overblown rhetoric. In addition, the author diverts himself to the story of James Wilson, and tends to tar the founding fathers as greedy and unprincipled. The best treatise in this book was one in the last chapter that almost makes up for the garbage earlier. Unfortunately, this was by Akhil Reed of Yale, but kudos to the author for including it. The earth-shaking fact was that, "... before the American Revolution, no people had ever explicitly voted on their own constitution." Of course, I would direct the reader to look closely at the Pennsylvania Constitution made before the US Constitution for a real appreciation of a people's government. There are also other nuggets such as that most states had taxes that went to supporting each state's approved religion -- something later expressly prohibited in the Constitution. That goes far to understanding the off quoted principle (but inaccurate) of separation of church and state. Also that Washington ad-libbed "so help me God" when he was sworn in as our first president. All in all, this is a quick one-night read when bored, and hardly worth the price of admission. December 2, 2008 America Hidden History America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation This is a very interesting book and sure opens up a lot of what really went on in our early history. Not all was as well as we were told in school, or what the history books we had told us. November 26, 2008 No Myths Allowed All nations and religions have basic myths. They don't need to be true. They are meant to teach values and unite people. What myths would this author have at the foundation of the United States? It seems to me that a myth of Thanksgiving, unity, and cooperation with people of different cultures is about as good as a foundation myth gets. But his Op-Ed in the New York Times clearly calls us all fools for celebrating our national myth of Thanksgiving rather than celebrating French pilgrims who were wiped out by Spanish savages, and who left absolutely no cultural legacy. The United States is no longer allowed to enjoy any positive myths. Profit seekers like Mr. Davis want to destroy any positive mental picture, any ideal for which Americans can strive. Please tell us how Santa Clause is a tool of the evil capitalists and how Rover didn't really go to doggy heaven. That would be really useful journalism. November 24, 2008 I just never got into it It was okay. Well written. Just never really grabbed me and made me say "Wow." September 29, 2008 Rambling, but good In this interesting history book, author Kenneth C. Davis tells six "untold" stories from American history. The six stories are: 1) Isabella's Pigs, which discusses Reconquista-era Spain, and the birth of Spanish America; 2) Hannah's Escape, which discusses early colonial America and the relations between the colonists and the Native Americans; 3) Washington's Confession, covering George Washington's early and not-so-glorious military career; 4) Warren's Toga, which discusses the beginning of the American Revolution; 5) Arnold's Boot, the story of that all-American villain, Benedict Arnold; and 6) Lafayette's Sword, which moves past the Revolution to discuss Shay's Rebellion. Hmm. Even in trying to write the above description, I had to leave out a lot. In fact, this book is rather rambling, as the author moves from event to event, frequently moving off on tangents. The stories have no overarching theme, but were apparently selected at the author's whim. But, that said, Mr. Davis does tell an interesting story, and quite often I found myself learning something new. So, overall I found this to be a good book, not a great one by any means, but one that I am glad that I read. September 8, 2008 Pleasant Afternoon Read, But Nothing Special This collection is really mini-biographies of different people who made major impacts on early colonial history that most people know nothing about. We learn a little more about George Washington and Paul Revere but also about Joseph Warren and Benedict Arnold, the first settlements in North America (the Spanish and French in Florida) and about the first true dissidents in America. The story about Anne Hutchinson and her family as they tried to live a non-Puritan life tell us a lot more about the original settlers in New England than you usually read in history books. Specifically that they brooked no dissent and treated the Indians badly. The story of the first two settlements in Florida is a story I had never seen before. Some French Huegenots had first settled near modern Jacksonville and were doing pretty well until the Spanish decided to settle further south at St.Augustine. Feeling that all of the New World belonged to Spain, the Spanish go and massacre all of the French colonists (mostly because their 'Lutheranos') who are heretic Protestants. Nice to know the Spanish didn't leave the Inquisition behind in Old Spain. All in all it's very likable, sort of McHistory. Zeb Kantrowitz August 27, 2008 Below My Expectations for Ken Davis I was disappointed. I am a big fan of the author, having enjoyed a number of his other works - especially "DNMA History" and "DNMA Civil War" and "DNMA Bible" over the years. This work, as other reviewers have noted, is odd. A collection of unrelated stories, disturbingly bloody at times, it is littered with dates and facts that distract from the tale, and the writing is not nearly as clear or engaging as the author's other works. While some of the stories are interesting, I found most to be either already known to me, or no different from hundreds of other interesting and important odd stories relating to America's history. July 23, 2008 Amazing If you're into history, this book will open your eyes to what the time was like during early America. Very enlightning and interesting. July 10, 2008 America's Hidden History The book was a very good read & our book club members really enjoyed learning about America's unknown hidden history. For more America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation reviews click here.
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