DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY: Everything You...

DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY: Everything You Need to Know About American History but Never Learned by Kenneth C. Davis (Avon: $10.95). This wisecracking overview of American history, from Columbus to the Iran-Contra scandal, stresses the differences between the whitewashed version of events given in textbooks and the often less attractive realities. Davis wins points for debunking the shibboleth that American history was created solely by white males, and for emphasizing the important roles played by women, African Americans, Latinos and other minorities. He deplores the mistreatment of the Amerindians, and notes that the practice of scalping enemies was introduced by Europeans. But he fails to put the Salem witch trails in any context: The persecution of witches was not just a question of local religious intolerance or hysteria in New England but also a common practice in 17th-Century Europe. (Witch-burning continued until the end of the 18th Century.) He also tends to accept familiar, if superficial, reasons for important events. It’s true Ferdinand and Isabella were eager to acquire gold and spices, but Davis doesn’t mention that one of their principal reasons for sponsoring Columbus’ voyages was the desire to open a second front in the war against Islam: When he landed in the Bahamas, Columbus was carrying letters of introduction to Prester John, the mythical Christian ruler of an opulent Central Asian kingdom.