A book, just a book. Sad, isn't it?

Kenneth C. Davis' Don't Know Much About Geography was a book assignment for one of my high-school kids.  I obediently bought a copy, then I read the cover and decided I wanted to read it after he was done.   I don't think he ever opened the book, but I just did.

Good points: the famous people quotes.  The state names appendix.  The comparative measures appendix (wish it had been longer.)

 Bad points:  face it--it's boring.  It starts off with a 10-1/2 page introduction which is guaranteed to put any high-school kid to sleep.  The chapter titles are funny and the occasional joke spices it up, but in general, it didn't tell me a whole lot that I didn't already know.

In addition, the boundary between geography and history was breached so many times that I don't think it really taught the subject that it purported to teach.  Geography shapes history, molds history, and frequently even determines history--but that doesn't mean it's okay for one third of the book to recite clever historical facts that are only dubiously connected with geography.  Lots of times I'd think to myself, "Well, this is some interesting history here...but what's it doing in this book?"

So many times I wished he'd explained how geography had influenced history, social development, or even culture...but he seldom did.

Sorry not to like this better.   I hope my failure to appreciate doesn't mean that I'm such a know-it-all who I can't be taught.  I don't think so.