About Kenneth C. Davis
Who is Ken Davis?
Ken 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, which has a combined in-print total of 4.3-million copies.
Ken Davis has been dubbed “The King of Knowing” by Amazon.com because he becomes a subject expert in all of the areas he writes about – the Bible, Mythology, the Universe, the Civil War, for example. Ken has also been a “Wise Man” on Who Wants to be a Super Millionaire and a “Life Line” on the regular edition of the show.
Ken Davis’ success aptly makes the case 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-word letter word.
A somewhat well-kept secret – Ken Davis never graduated from college, but he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Concordia College in Bronxville, where he was also asked to give a commencement address.
Other points of note:
When Disney wanted a bonus book to package with the DVD release of the Nicholas Cage hit National Treasure, they bought 1.5-million copies of Don’t Know Much About American History, Davis’s book for middle-grade readers.
When a group of New York State Social Studies Conference teachers came together in December 2006, Ken Davis was the keynote speaker discussing how to enliven American history education – and why it matters.
He regularly makes visits to schools, and such venues as the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian, where he hosts “The Don’t Know Much About” game, played with student audiences.
Ken Davis is a frequent media guest. He has appeared on hundreds of television and radio shows, including NPR. The Today Show, Fox and Friends, CNN, and The Discovery Channel. He has been a commentator for All Things Considered, and has written for the New York Times.
A Conversation with Ken Davis
Question: You have written lots of books...seventeen to be exact. How did you begin writing?
Answer: “When I was a little boy, I loved to read, write stories and go to the library on Saturday mornings with my mother. We lived in Mount Vernon, NY, the home of E.B. White. But I never knew any writers personally - so the idea of writing professionally was as exotic to me as being an astronaut. I always saw myself becoming a teacher. Then I took a job in a bookstore - a great education, by the way - and a co-worker read my school work and told me I shouldn’t be selling books, I should be writing them. She was so smart, I married her! The fact is that I am lucky to have found a way do what I love and still keep my children in shoes. Writing combines my desire to know lots of stuff, with a passion to share what I know. I get to ask offbeat, irreverent questions and pass along what I discover in a way I hope is entertaining.”
Question: How do you pick your subjects?
Answer: “That’s simple. I write about what interests me and what I am curious about - which is why I haven’t done books on hedge funds or beekeeping. Since childhood, when our family took trips to Fort Ticonderoga and Gettysburg, and when I read a series of “one-minute biographies” about great people, I’ve had a fascination with history, biography and geography - subjects some people claim are boring - but which kept me daydreaming and excited when tortuous textbooks and tedious teachers threatened to put me to sleep. I have tried to share my fascination, enthusiasm and curiosity about those subjects with my readers, following my interests wherever they lead, into subjects like the universe and the Bible and mythology. I try to pick topics that educated people need to know about but may not have mastered in school. My approach has always been the same. Enjoy what I am doing and speak to readers in a language they understand.”
Question: Is there a thread that connects your books?
Answer: “Actually there are several. The first is my belief that what we were told in school and at home was often full of myths and misconceptions...everything ranging from who really discovered America to who wrote the Bible. One of my goals has always been to set the record straight, bust myths and present the warts-and-all truth, which is usually more exciting than the costume dramas and textbook makeovers they dished out in grade school. Another goal for me has always been to move away from the rote memorizing of dates and events that make every school child’s eyes glaze over. I try in my research to bring to light little-known but fascinating facts that force the reader to say, “Aha, I didn’t know that!”
Often these stories are about real people - be it Moses, George Washington, or Albert Einstein - whose humanity helps us to identify with them. When you hear that Columbus wrote in his journal that he thought the earth was “pear-shaped, like a woman’s breast,” you realize he was just a sailor too long at sea.
Another crucial idea for me is that many subjects are connected and related. You can’t understand our past without understanding geography. You can’t understand western history without understanding the Bible and the role older myth played in shaping the Bible. Part of my goal as a writer is to make connections for readers, introducing contemporary references as much as possible. In mythology, for example, I try to connect the dots between The Odyssey and Harry Potter, between the Iliad and the Matrix, to help modern readers see the relevance of what they are learning in today’s terms, why it matters.”
Question: How did “Don’t Know Much About Anything” come about?
Answer: “Back in 1999, I wrote a “quick quiz” for USA Weekend magazine about the Bible. It was well received and we launched a series of weekly quizzes on a broad range of topics, everything from Houdini to hotdogs, often tying into news events or holidays. The concept was just what the Don’t Know Much About series tries to do—educate and have fun.
Over the years, I contributed hundreds of short quizzes to the magazine and they eventually became a sort-of offbeat encyclopedia of fascinating information about everything from famous people to inventions to food and civics. A little shop of knowledge, if you will, great for family car trips and kitchen table learning for kids of all ages.”
Question: What were you like as a boy?
Answer: “Don’t laugh, but I see myself as this incredibly ordinary little boy living the “Leave it to Beaver” life. But I was definitely very curious. I loved to read and I had a passion for maps and organizing information. When we went on a car trip, I would keep a map out and then trace the route we had taken. And I always remember being a reader and loving games— ‘jumbles’ and crosswords in the daily paper. Or Jeopardy on TV. I always thought I learned more from Jeopardy than I did in school - and that is an important point. People like game shows because they feel like they are learning while they are entertained. That speaks to what I do. People don’t hate history. They hate the dull version they got in school. So if we can make it fun and lively, they will come.”
Question: How come you did not finish college?
Answer: “The honest answer is that once I started writing as a freelancer, nobody asked about what degree I had. I was judged on the merits of my work. Curiously, I was a horrible student in high school, but did very well in college and was close to being done when I took a break. Once I started writing, I kept going to make a living. That’s why it was so very gratifying to receive an honorary doctorate in 1998 from Concordia College, in Bronxville, N. Y., which I attended for several years. It seems the Ivy Tower decided to lower down the rope! But like most parents, I have told my kids to do as I say not as I did - and our daughter finished Harvard last year and our son will be a senior at USC next fall.
And while I didn’t finish college, it doesn’t mean I don’t value an education. I learned a tremendous amount in my college years and had great experiences. But the bigger lesson is that we don’t have to stop learning once we are outside those “Ivory Towers.” Your education is too important to leave to school and teachers. It’s your own responsibility to ask questions worth answering and search for answers until you find satisfying ones.”
Question: They call you the King of Knowing? Are you?
Answer: “Please curtsy as you ask that....Seriously, Amazon.com posted that once on a page about one of my books and it has stuck. It is very gratifying but always makes me a little nervous. You know, ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown . . .’ The subtitle of my books say, “Everything you Need to know” which is different from ‘knowing everything.” The most important thing to remember is that we can all learn something new - every day - and that is a lesson all too many people don’t get.”
Question: Do you have advice for parents and teachers who want their children to love learning?
Answer: “I can only reflect back on the things that got me where I am… Our summer vacations were camping trips to places like Valley Forge and other historical sites ... That gave me the sense from a young age that history didn’t just happen in books but in real places. I remember standing in the fields of Gettysburg - I was probably 9 years old - and feeling a palpable sense of something extraordinary. When you touch history that way, it makes a difference. So get them out of the house and away from the TV. And you can find history and learning everywhere - in supermarkets, museums, baseball stadiums. It doesn’t have to be “In places” like Washington, DC.
Teachers will tell you to be involved with their education. Know what they are doing. Participate. Help make those mummies when they are studying Egypt - the dirty secret is that it be fun.
Another crucial thing is to surround them with books and other good materials. We didn’t own many books when I was a kid. But we went to the library every week. It was practically a sacred ritual. And it made me love reading.
And finally, answer their questions. If you don’t know the answer, say, “Let’s look it up.” Curiosity is the key and parents can kill it or make it blossom. The motto of my series is borrowed from Yeats: ‘Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.’ Every parent should help keep the fires of creativity and curiosity burning bright. Then we can all be “Kings” - or at least Little Princes - of Knowing.”