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America's Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation | 
| Author: Kenneth C. Davis
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $16.95
You Save: $10.00 (37%)
New (17) Used (6) Collectible (2) from $16.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 413
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.7 x 1
ISBN: 0061118184
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.2
EAN: 9780061118180
ASIN: 0061118184
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 No Myths Allowed November 26, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
 I just never got into it November 24, 2008
It was okay. Well written. Just never really grabbed me and made me say "Wow."
Rambling, but good September 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
Pleasant Afternoon Read, But Nothing Special September 8, 2008
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
Below My Expectations for Ken Davis August 27, 2008
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.
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