World Famous Comics: Don't Know Much About Geography: Everything You Need to Know About the World but Never Learned
Don't Know Much About Geography: Everything You Need to Know About the World but Never Learned
By: Kenneth C. Davis Publisher: Harper Paperbacks Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Harper Paperbacks Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 400 Publication Date: November 01, 1993 Release Date: January 01, 2001
Who Killed The Dead Sea? Where was the Garden of Eden? What's So Bad About the Badlands?
Get on board as Kenneth C. Davis, author of the acclaimed national bestseller Don't Know Much About® History, takes us on a fascinating, breathtaking, and hilarious grand tour of the planet Earth -- opening our eyes and imaginations to a wide, wild, and wonderful world we never knew.
Amazon.com Review: You might think you need to look at a map to learn "everything you need to know" about geography, but Kenneth C. Davis proves otherwise. In this hugely entertaining and informative program, Davis takes a different approach to learning about the world by pointing out its relevance--and importance--in every sphere of human life. Geography, Davis explains, has been sadly misunderstood, which accounts for the fact that Americans consistently score lowest among peoples of industrialized nations when it comes to "knowing where we are." He sets out to show listeners how this "mother lode of sciences, the hub of a circle from which all the other studies radiate" informs disciplines ranging from meteorology, climatology, and oceanography to economics, ecology, and political science. Rather than looking at geography as a parade of facts about where things are located, he encourages an approach that considers human and natural history in its larger context--and the universe as a large canvas upon which the fascinating story of life is drawn. Using his familiar question-and- answer method, Davis offers interesting anecdotes to explain, for example, who invented the compass; why wars are always fought over geography; the differences between country, republic, nation, and state; why the tallest mountain in the world is getting even taller; and much more. Succinct discussions coupled with Davis's lively writing style makes this a perfect candidate for audio presentation. Indeed, listening to this program without the aid of visuals underscores the sense conveyed that geography is as much about how we think about the world as where things are in physical space--that it is about the "tender connections that keep the earth alive." (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --Uma Kukathas
"Don't Know Much About.." Series is Excellent! I've read all of the books in the "Don't Know Much About.." series. If you're interested in getting a rather thorough overview without becoming an expert, these books are for you. They are so easy to read, that I couldn't but them down.
Research Anyone? I like the idea of a relatively easy, general-knowledge book about geography. The "facts" presented in such a book, however, should actually be factual. Throughout the reading of this book I was astonished by the number of mistakes concerning matters of common knowledge. The American Civil War started in 1861 not 1860 (page 242), and the Korean War started in 1950 not 1951 (page 261). My sister's birthday is July 20th, so I know Apollo 11 landed on the moon on that date, rather than on July 11th, as stated on page 324. It's not only a matter of erroneous dating. According to the author, Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, is cold (page 312)!!! With daytime temperatures as high as 800 degrees fahrenheit, hot enough to melt lead, I guess one must be sure to pack warm clothes if planning a trip there. These are just some of the numerous examples of mistakes in a book that was clearly very poorly researched and written. The title is appropriate, in that Mr. Davis certainly does not know much about geography.
This is Fun Fiction Why do I call it fun? It's a rollicking good read, chock full of interesting mini-essays. A good bed-time read, easy to pick up and put down when necessary. The index goes from Abreu to zircon, with lots of stuff in the middle.
Why do I call it fiction? In the cat mysteries I write, I made up an entire county in northeast Georgia, but it never occurs to anyone (I think???) to assume they could find it on a map. Just so Davis gives us an exercise in critical thinking -- as in, I'm thinking that a meter is longer than a yard, and certainly longer than a foot. Wonder why he (or an editor) didn't catch that?
So, let the buyer beware -- read it, enjoy it, but be careful.
Too much personal bias for a purported factual book Let me start by saying that I enjoyed Don't Know Much About History, and some of this author's children's books such as Don't Know Much About the Presidents. They present facts in a fun way, and provide interesting details that are little known to many. I began eagerly reading Don't Know Much About Geography expecting the same format and writing style. Unfortunately, this book (and Don't Know Much About the Universe) were laced with just enough insults and left-leaning commentary to take the enjoyment out of these books.
Mr. Davis was, too often, injecting his own, clearly patronizing opinions about what can loosely be termed the Judeo-Christian religions. He is obviously entitled to his opinions, but in a book that is supposedly factual - even a humorously factual book - these jabs seem unneccessary and frankly, annoying. He speaks of those people of the past (both famous and not) that had a religious faith as being "chained" to it or somehow held down/held back, both intellectually and literally because of their faith. In fact, he is blatantly condescending towards "religion" in general.
In addition, he often insults those who can be termed "conservative" leaders of the past such as former President Ronald Reagan. Again, he is the author and can write was he pleases, but why add politics in this fashion into a book of this type?
Mr. Davis has small sections in the book entitled "Geographic Voices" which contain interesting and humorous quotes from the past. I wish he had placed all his political commentary into sections entitled "Liberal Voices" so I could have just skipped this nonsense.
Other reviewers correctly pointed out scientific and historical errors which were presented as facts. I tried not to focus on these things because others had already described these issues in detail. Let me just say that besides the handful of just plain inaccuracies, some theories (or at a minimum, debatable points) are presented as FACTS. The mainstream media often employs this tool - "If we printed it/reported on it/broadcast it, it is true" - which in turn is accepted as fact by many of the nation's viewers/readers, without even the slightest question as to its accuracy. Perhaps most people don't have the time to verify every piece of information for its accuracy; but that is why, in my humble opinion, those who DO report/write/broadcast have a duty to the public to be accurate.
If you can get past the insults and left-leaning politics, you may still find this book an interesting read. For me, these things were too instrusive.
Don't know much about Davis The moment I saw this book in our local bookstore, I quickly grabbed it. The title is very eye-catching since I'm very interested about the sciences, and Geography is one fascinating subject. The book is written in simple terms and easy to understand. What I didn't like about the book is that it's explicitly very biased against the creation theory. On the earlier pages, the author clearly stated that science is dynamic which I or presumably anyone will understand that when it comes to the sciences nothing is certain. Yet the author appears to be preaching the THEORY of evolution as a fact. I thought books like this calls for unbiased and unpartial content. So I scanned the back pages looking for his credentials. And I found my evidence, "don't know much about Davis".
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