Who dug those canals on Mars? What was the biblical Star of Bethlehem? Were the pyramids built by extraterrestrials?

From the ancients who charted the heavens to Star Trek, The X-Files, and Apollo 13, outer space has intrigued people through the ages. Yet most of us look up at the night sky and feel totally in the dark when it comes to the basic facts about the universe.

Kenneth C. Davis steps into that void with a lively and readable guide to the discoveries, theories, and real people who have shed light on the mysteries and wonders of the cosmos....

• If Earth is round, why don't people on the other side of the world fall off? (see page 26)
• Is Mars red because it's embarrassed? (see page 49)
• If black holes are invisible, how do we know they're there? (see page 86)

Was Columbus the first European in the Americas?

What sport became more popular after the Civil War?

Were the Little Rock Nine a rock-and-roll band?

As best-selling author Kenneth C. Davis knows, history can be fun, fascinating, and memorable. When his don't know much about(R) history was published in 1990, it was a sensation. The book delivered a fresh take on history with its wit and unusual detail. Davis now does for young people what his earlier book did for adults. In his trademark question-and-answer style -- peppered with surprising facts, historic reproductions,...