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America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation

 Rating 4
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80% Recommended by our customers.
Publisher: Collins
Catalog: Book
Release date: 2008-04-29
Media: Hardcover
Number of pages: 288
Ean: 9780061118180
Book Isbn: 0061118184
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Author:
Kenneth C. Davissee more Books by Kenneth C. Davis

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Professional 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:

  • The story of the first real Pilgrims in America, who were wine-making French Huguenots, not dour English Separatists
  • The coming-of-age story of Queen Isabella, who suggested that Columbus pack the moving mess hall of pigs that may have spread disease to many Native Americans
  • The long, bloody relationship between the Pilgrims and Indians that runs counter to the idyllic scene of the Thanksgiving feast
  • The little-known story of George Washington as a headstrong young soldier who committed a war crime, signed a confession, and started a war!

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 Reviews:
 Rating 3   Written on November 24, 2008
   Summary: I just never got into it
It was okay. Well written. Just never really grabbed me and made me say "Wow."

 Rating 3   Written on September 29, 2008
   Summary: 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.


 Rating 4   Written on September 8, 2008
   Summary: 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


 Rating 3   Written on August 27, 2008
   Summary: 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.

 Rating 5   Written on July 23, 2008
   Summary: 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.

Comparison map
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Our price$17.79$18.15$10.17$15.61$17.79$6.99
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Lowest used price$15.50$11.00$7.05$12.47$6.30$3.27
Lowest new price$16.80$14.90$8.00$12.36$6.71$3.34
Collectible price-$27.50$19.95-$144.88-
CatalogBookBookBookBookBookBook
Release date2008-04-292008-04-292004-04-132008-05-272008-04-082003-12-23
MediaHardcoverHardcoverPaperbackHardcoverHardcoverPaperback
Number of pages28846467835251264
Ean978006111818097808050760359780060083823978006143138897800607823449780064462310
Book Isbn0061118184080507603400600838240061431389006078234X0064462315
Reading level-----Ages 9-12
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