Episode for October 6, 2024
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My interview with Kenneth Davis begins at 39 mins after the news
52 Works of Great Short Nonfiction
One of the “Most Anticipated” books of Fall 2024 (The Millions)
“A wealth of succinct, entertaining advice.” (Kirkus Reviews)
A delightful, inspiring, and idea-rich selection of fifty-two of the best, most important short nonfiction works of all time—from Plato to Michael Pollan and Dante to Joan Didion—chosen by historian, lifelong reader, and bestselling author of Don’t Know Much About History.
From ancient times to the present day, The World in Books offers a wide-ranging historical education through pleasure reading—and a fantastic introduction to some of the most thought-provoking, profound, and interesting nonfiction works of all time. From Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to bell hooks’s All About Love, as well as such recent classics as Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists, Davis’s guide suggests a world of nonfiction books and explains just why they’re so historically meaningful and culturally relevant today.
The perfect guide for the modern-day reader, these fifty-two selections provide an ideal way to explore some of the most enduring, influential books ever published, introducing us anew to world-shaping historical figures, events, and ideas.
Kenneth C. Davis is the author of Don’t Know Much About® History, which spent 35 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list, and gave rise to the Don’t Know Much About® series of books and audios, which has a combined in-print total of some 4.7-million copies.
In September 2020, Don’t Know Much About® History: Anniversary Edition was released by HarperCollins. A revised, updated, and expanded edition of the book that started the series thirty years ago, it presents a complete survey of American history, from before the arrival of Columbus in 1492 right through the events of the past decade –from 9/11 through the election of Barack Obama and the first years of his administration. This 30th anniversary edition included a new preface, “From the Era of Broken Trust to the Era of Broken Democracy.”
Davis is also the author of the New York Times bestseller America’s Hidden History: Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation.
In September 2016, his book IN THE SHADOW OF LIBERTY: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives was published to critical acclaim. In May 2018, MORE DEADLY THAN WAR: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and The First World War was published. In October 2020, STRONGMAN: The Rise of Five Dictators and the Fall of Democracy was released. In November 2022, Scribner published Great Short Books: A Year of Reading–Briefly.
For more than 30 years, Kenneth C. Davis has proven that Americans don’t hate history, just the dull version they slept through in class.
But many of them want to know now because their kids are asking them questions they can’t answer. Davis’s approach is to refresh us on the subjects we should have learned in school. He does it by busting myths, setting the record straight, and always remembering that fun is not a four-letter word.
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