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An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned But probably Didn't
When it was originally published in 1987, An Incomplete Education became a surprise bestseller. Now this instant classic has been completely updated, outfitted with a whole new arsenal of indispensable knowledge on global affairs, popular culture, economic trends, scientific principles, and modern arts. Here?s your chance to brush up on all those subjects you slept through in school, reacquaint yourself with all the facts you once knew (then promptly forgot), catch up on major developments in the world today, and become the Renaissance man or woman you always knew you could be!
How do you tell the Balkans from the Caucasus? What?s the difference between fission and fusion? Whigs and Tories? Shiites and Sunnis? Deduction and induction? Why aren't all Shakespearean comedies necessarily thigh-slappers? What are transcendental numbers and what are they good for? What really happened in Plato's cave? Is postmodernism dead or just having a bad hair day? And for extra credit, when should you use the adjective continual and when should you use continuous?
An Incomplete Education answers these and thousands of other questions with incomparable wit, style, and clarity. American Studies, Art History, Economics, Film, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Science, and World History: Here?s the bottom line on each of these major disciplines, distilled to its essence and served up with consummate flair.
How do you tell the Balkans from the Caucasus? What?s the difference between fission and fusion? Whigs and Tories? Shiites and Sunnis? Deduction and induction? Why aren't all Shakespearean comedies necessarily thigh-slappers? What are transcendental numbers and what are they good for? What really happened in Plato's cave? Is postmodernism dead or just having a bad hair day? And for extra credit, when should you use the adjective continual and when should you use continuous?
An Incomplete Education answers these and thousands of other questions with incomparable wit, style, and clarity. American Studies, Art History, Economics, Film, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Science, and World History: Here?s the bottom line on each of these major disciplines, distilled to its essence and served up with consummate flair.
720 pages, paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews
April 3, 2008
I really liked this book.
Its for those of us who read lots of books written in the 18th and 19th century (Jane Austin fans take note)
It answers those gaps in our education which come up when you want to know the differnce between a Vicar, Rector and Parson.
Did you ever wonder why they drink Port, Claret or Madeira in the drawing room after dinner?
What's higher in the British aristocracy? a Duke, Marquis or Barron? Why do they have Counts in Europe, but Earls in England? Why is the wife of an Earl a Countess? How do you address these people and do you bow?
Whats the differnce between a Barouche a Brougham and a Landau? These are carriages by the way.
Have you forgotten your Greek mythology? Who is married to who? How many women does Zeus or Jupiter seduce and who are his children from these unions.
The book is very easy to read. Written in small easy to digest segments with lots of illustrations; perfect if you ever want to pick up baco-bits of information for a cocktail party.
What ever your area of interest: literature, economics, philosophy, arts, film, music, political science; Im sure you will all find something to give you an A-ha moment.
If nothing else, this is a wonderful and insightful resource book to answer those nagging questions that creep up in our daily readings.
Its for those of us who read lots of books written in the 18th and 19th century (Jane Austin fans take note)
It answers those gaps in our education which come up when you want to know the differnce between a Vicar, Rector and Parson.
Did you ever wonder why they drink Port, Claret or Madeira in the drawing room after dinner?
What's higher in the British aristocracy? a Duke, Marquis or Barron? Why do they have Counts in Europe, but Earls in England? Why is the wife of an Earl a Countess? How do you address these people and do you bow?
Whats the differnce between a Barouche a Brougham and a Landau? These are carriages by the way.
Have you forgotten your Greek mythology? Who is married to who? How many women does Zeus or Jupiter seduce and who are his children from these unions.
The book is very easy to read. Written in small easy to digest segments with lots of illustrations; perfect if you ever want to pick up baco-bits of information for a cocktail party.
What ever your area of interest: literature, economics, philosophy, arts, film, music, political science; Im sure you will all find something to give you an A-ha moment.
If nothing else, this is a wonderful and insightful resource book to answer those nagging questions that creep up in our daily readings.
Read
February 5, 2008This is hilarious! I swear, I didn't know anyone could write such a comparative reference book that would make me laugh so hard that Cheerios almost came out of my nose.
How's that for a visual?
Highly recommended...if you have a witty sense of humor.
How's that for a visual?
Highly recommended...if you have a witty sense of humor.
August 20, 2008
Great for becoming an intellectual, or at least faking it very convincingly. It fills in those gaps you missed while throwing paper airplanes at your peers and then takes you beyond what most schools ever offered. Cleverly written and sure to make you laugh.
July 20, 2009
Half the fun of this book is arguing (admittedly a one-sided argument) with the authors about what's been included and what hasn't. Also, frankly, the smug satisfaction you get when you already know something that's presented in the book as arcane knowledge that needs careful explanation. Once you get over these tawdry pleasures and settle down to reading, however, you get what you came for: a wonderful compendium of lore in many fields, a great way to brush up your Shakespeare and everything else, and a good way to fall asleep reading.....
March 23, 2008
if i had to recommend only ONE book that would sit beside my bed.... everything you should know - about every subject imaginable. don't expect to be able to chat about Hegel with a scholar, but you will know the basics of the major world religions, be able to tell the differences between the Odyssey and the Illiad, and read about major Supreme Court cases... every time i open it up i learn something new... or something that i forgot already...
August 28, 2013
I was really looking forward to reading this book, and was excited when I began. I knew that it would take some time due to its length, but I didn't expect to be so disappointed in it.
It's divided into 12 chapters, plus a lexicon at the end. The chapters are: American Studies, Art History, Economics, Film, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Science, and World History. I'm going to share my thoughts on each below.
American Studies: I understand this book is written primarily for an American audience, so I was okay with it. I learned some things about history too, so it was cool.
Art History: I've always had trouble with art - I like beautiful paintings, but I'm not the kind of person who can tell what is painted by Picasso or by a no-name artist. This chapter had some useful information about the major artists and their most important - not most famous - works. The Leonardo/Michelangelo Crib Sheet was the most handy and cool in this chapter.
Economics: I suck at all things money-related, except for simple currency conversions, budgeting, and keeping track of my expenses - all of which is more math and/or life related than economics. It was good to learn a bit about this quite important subject.
Film: I consider myself a movie enthusiast, but upon reading this chapter I understood that I'm not, because most of the movies, directors, and actors/actresses mentioned here, I've never heard of - or at least encountered once before in my life. Perhaps because this was a more academic view of film and put a great deal of emphasis on film history.
Literature: As a voracious contemporary books reader, I surprised myself last year when I discovered that I really enjoyed reading Shakespeare and Austen as much as I enjoyed reading The Hunger Games. This chapter was cool, because we get to know more about some of the major works and authors out there. But the coolest was a handy list of British terms used in 19th century literature with explanations, for example: what moors, copses, and stiles are.
Music: I don't listen much to music, and I've never listened to people like Beethoven and Mozart. I've never been to an orchestra. Nevertheless, this chapter was okay, I managed to learn some new things.
Philosophy: I was first exposed to Philosophy in MITx's Introduction to Philosophy, and I enjoyed the course a lot. So I was expecting a lot out of this chapter. It didn't fulfill my expectations, but it did increase my knowledge slightly. The best part was Rating The Thinkers: A Consumer's Guide to Twenty Philosophers.
Political Science: Up until I started reading this chapter, I liked this book to some extent. However, the first part of this chapter, What You Need to Know Before Answering a Personals Ad in the International Herald Tribune: A Nervous American's Guide to Living and Loving on Five Continents; made me switch to not appreciating this book. Notice how it says Five Continents, and keep this in mind while reading the list of the countries mentioned: Argentina, Cambodia, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Turkey. Although this list comprises 5 continents, it hardly covers all the different cultures represented. I would've settled for a shorter version of these [insert country name] 101s if they managed to include more countries. In fact, I would've been happier if I were to learn at least 5 facts - and not the usual encyclopedic stereotypical ones - about every country on Earth. Don't forget that the subtitle of the book says 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn't. So what the writers are basically saying is that one should learn about Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico, but it's okay for one not to know anything about Algeria, Sri Lanka, and Suriname. Why this discrimination? At first, I thought, okay, maybe these countries are more important in some way or other than the rest of the world. However, there are plenty of other well-known countries that aren't mentioned, for example, India, Egypt, and the UK. Since this is written by Americans for an American audience, it just reinforces the worldwide view of Americans as people who don't care to learn except about a bunch of countries. I'm not an American, but I have quite a few American friends, and I'm pretty sure not all Americans are like that, but then I watch videos on YouTube about these topics and I'm forced to think of my friends as outliers.
At this point in the book, I couldn't wait for it to end so I could rant about this. XD
Psychology: Given my recent interest in the psychology of everything, I was looking forward to this chapter, but after my disappointment with the previous chapter, I wasn't expecting much. It was okay, but chock-full of complex information presented poorly. I think I'll stick to the popular books in the subject.
Religion: Okay. I know most of the people out there don't know much about Islam and that it's quite a weird religion to most people, but it is a known fact that even if you read Wikipedia, you'll get some sort of vague picture about it. Unfortunately, the writers of this book seem to have been doing their research in the wrong places, because they even got a pillar - Islam is based on five pillars, five things that every Muslim should do no matter what sect they belong to - of Islam wrong. Zakat, the fourth pillar - not the fifth as this book claims - is sort of like a tax that wealthy people have to pay. It's quite complex, and as a normal person, I only know the rules that apply to paper money, gold, and silver. With regards to each, there is a certain threshold one should hit, called the nisab - 87.49 grams for gold, and 613.35 grams for silver, and the amount equivalent to the nisab of silver for paper money. Once you have money, gold, or silver, that has exceeded the nisab, then you have to determine the amount of time you've had it for. If one lunar year, the hawl, has passed from the day you first had this amount of money, gold, or silver, then you have to pay zakat. Zakat is 2.5% of what exceeds the nisab. Let's say you have $1000 in savings, and you want to know whether you have to pay zakat on it or not. First of all, you look at the nisab of silver. Today, it's value is 392.54. Subtract from $1000. You have to pay zakat on $607.46. That's 2.5% of 607.46, which is $15.19. And you don't necessarily have to take that amount out of the $1000, you can leave that in the bank and pay from whatever you currently have. This isn't giving alms, which the book claims is the fifth pillar. Yes, you give zakat to the poor, but there are specific types of people it can be given to. And the fifth pillar is the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, anyway.
At this point I was seriously pissed because it was clear that the writers weren't doing their job properly. Couldn't they consult an Islam 101 book written by Muslims?
Science: I skimmed through this chapter a lot, because it repeated a lot ideas from high school Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. A couple of things I didn't know about were Boolean Algebra, and the ancestors of humans - my courses focused on today's humans instead of yesterday's ones. :P What would've added to this chapter is little blurbs on different scientists. It would've been interesting.
World History: Another chapter that pissed me off. Also, it should be renamed to European History with a Couple of Blurbs on China, Japan, South Africa and Russia. But of course, those are the important nations, aren't they? Forget about the rest of the world and their history, those billions of people are irrelevant.
All in all, it was an okay book, because I did learn a few things from it, after all. However, I don't recommend it to anybody who wants to further their education - as the writers claim to have gotten their proper education through writing this book.
It's divided into 12 chapters, plus a lexicon at the end. The chapters are: American Studies, Art History, Economics, Film, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Science, and World History. I'm going to share my thoughts on each below.
American Studies: I understand this book is written primarily for an American audience, so I was okay with it. I learned some things about history too, so it was cool.
Art History: I've always had trouble with art - I like beautiful paintings, but I'm not the kind of person who can tell what is painted by Picasso or by a no-name artist. This chapter had some useful information about the major artists and their most important - not most famous - works. The Leonardo/Michelangelo Crib Sheet was the most handy and cool in this chapter.
Economics: I suck at all things money-related, except for simple currency conversions, budgeting, and keeping track of my expenses - all of which is more math and/or life related than economics. It was good to learn a bit about this quite important subject.
Film: I consider myself a movie enthusiast, but upon reading this chapter I understood that I'm not, because most of the movies, directors, and actors/actresses mentioned here, I've never heard of - or at least encountered once before in my life. Perhaps because this was a more academic view of film and put a great deal of emphasis on film history.
Literature: As a voracious contemporary books reader, I surprised myself last year when I discovered that I really enjoyed reading Shakespeare and Austen as much as I enjoyed reading The Hunger Games. This chapter was cool, because we get to know more about some of the major works and authors out there. But the coolest was a handy list of British terms used in 19th century literature with explanations, for example: what moors, copses, and stiles are.
Music: I don't listen much to music, and I've never listened to people like Beethoven and Mozart. I've never been to an orchestra. Nevertheless, this chapter was okay, I managed to learn some new things.
Philosophy: I was first exposed to Philosophy in MITx's Introduction to Philosophy, and I enjoyed the course a lot. So I was expecting a lot out of this chapter. It didn't fulfill my expectations, but it did increase my knowledge slightly. The best part was Rating The Thinkers: A Consumer's Guide to Twenty Philosophers.
Political Science: Up until I started reading this chapter, I liked this book to some extent. However, the first part of this chapter, What You Need to Know Before Answering a Personals Ad in the International Herald Tribune: A Nervous American's Guide to Living and Loving on Five Continents; made me switch to not appreciating this book. Notice how it says Five Continents, and keep this in mind while reading the list of the countries mentioned: Argentina, Cambodia, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Turkey. Although this list comprises 5 continents, it hardly covers all the different cultures represented. I would've settled for a shorter version of these [insert country name] 101s if they managed to include more countries. In fact, I would've been happier if I were to learn at least 5 facts - and not the usual encyclopedic stereotypical ones - about every country on Earth. Don't forget that the subtitle of the book says 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn't. So what the writers are basically saying is that one should learn about Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico, but it's okay for one not to know anything about Algeria, Sri Lanka, and Suriname. Why this discrimination? At first, I thought, okay, maybe these countries are more important in some way or other than the rest of the world. However, there are plenty of other well-known countries that aren't mentioned, for example, India, Egypt, and the UK. Since this is written by Americans for an American audience, it just reinforces the worldwide view of Americans as people who don't care to learn except about a bunch of countries. I'm not an American, but I have quite a few American friends, and I'm pretty sure not all Americans are like that, but then I watch videos on YouTube about these topics and I'm forced to think of my friends as outliers.
At this point in the book, I couldn't wait for it to end so I could rant about this. XD
Psychology: Given my recent interest in the psychology of everything, I was looking forward to this chapter, but after my disappointment with the previous chapter, I wasn't expecting much. It was okay, but chock-full of complex information presented poorly. I think I'll stick to the popular books in the subject.
Religion: Okay. I know most of the people out there don't know much about Islam and that it's quite a weird religion to most people, but it is a known fact that even if you read Wikipedia, you'll get some sort of vague picture about it. Unfortunately, the writers of this book seem to have been doing their research in the wrong places, because they even got a pillar - Islam is based on five pillars, five things that every Muslim should do no matter what sect they belong to - of Islam wrong. Zakat, the fourth pillar - not the fifth as this book claims - is sort of like a tax that wealthy people have to pay. It's quite complex, and as a normal person, I only know the rules that apply to paper money, gold, and silver. With regards to each, there is a certain threshold one should hit, called the nisab - 87.49 grams for gold, and 613.35 grams for silver, and the amount equivalent to the nisab of silver for paper money. Once you have money, gold, or silver, that has exceeded the nisab, then you have to determine the amount of time you've had it for. If one lunar year, the hawl, has passed from the day you first had this amount of money, gold, or silver, then you have to pay zakat. Zakat is 2.5% of what exceeds the nisab. Let's say you have $1000 in savings, and you want to know whether you have to pay zakat on it or not. First of all, you look at the nisab of silver. Today, it's value is 392.54. Subtract from $1000. You have to pay zakat on $607.46. That's 2.5% of 607.46, which is $15.19. And you don't necessarily have to take that amount out of the $1000, you can leave that in the bank and pay from whatever you currently have. This isn't giving alms, which the book claims is the fifth pillar. Yes, you give zakat to the poor, but there are specific types of people it can be given to. And the fifth pillar is the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, anyway.
At this point I was seriously pissed because it was clear that the writers weren't doing their job properly. Couldn't they consult an Islam 101 book written by Muslims?
Science: I skimmed through this chapter a lot, because it repeated a lot ideas from high school Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. A couple of things I didn't know about were Boolean Algebra, and the ancestors of humans - my courses focused on today's humans instead of yesterday's ones. :P What would've added to this chapter is little blurbs on different scientists. It would've been interesting.
World History: Another chapter that pissed me off. Also, it should be renamed to European History with a Couple of Blurbs on China, Japan, South Africa and Russia. But of course, those are the important nations, aren't they? Forget about the rest of the world and their history, those billions of people are irrelevant.
All in all, it was an okay book, because I did learn a few things from it, after all. However, I don't recommend it to anybody who wants to further their education - as the writers claim to have gotten their proper education through writing this book.
July 27, 2016
This book is highly out of date, gives half true cultural stereotypes about countries that aren't even valid anymore. I would not recommend this book to anyone. I would even recommend reading Wikipedia over this book because at least Wikipedia would be less biased and more accurate.
August 22, 2007
I actually read this enormous reference book, and I tried to learn something from it, but the main thing I learned was thatI should've paid attention in school.
July 4, 2022
I finally finished it! After over 6 months of slogging through (although it was some enjoyable slogging) I finally buckled down and made myself power through to the end. Woohoo!
And it was pretty good too! I learned some interesting things (that I've mainly forgotten now) and I'm not mad I read it.
Also the writers were really funny and they're honestly what kept me going and kept me liking it. They just kept making me laugh!
I picked this up as I was leaving my grandma's house that she was selling, because everything in the house was going to go. We had to take with us anything we wanted and the rest would be sold, so I saw this book and decided I'd give it a shot, and I'm happy I did. It kept me entertained on a long car ride so I count that as a win.
And it was pretty good too! I learned some interesting things (that I've mainly forgotten now) and I'm not mad I read it.
Also the writers were really funny and they're honestly what kept me going and kept me liking it. They just kept making me laugh!
I picked this up as I was leaving my grandma's house that she was selling, because everything in the house was going to go. We had to take with us anything we wanted and the rest would be sold, so I saw this book and decided I'd give it a shot, and I'm happy I did. It kept me entertained on a long car ride so I count that as a win.
August 25, 2009
I nicknamed this book "the book that is making me smarter". Co-written by a Smithie (yay!), it is an incredibly comprehensive overview of just about everything, divided into the categories of: American Studies, Art, Economics, Film, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Science, World History, and a bonus Lexicon. I feel much better equipped to play Trivial Persuit, assuming that I've absorbed enough. I got this out as a library loan, so I ended up on a strict schedule of at least 20 pages a day. It's probably much better to have this around as a reference book, but don't let that stop you from doing a thorough first reading! I learned a bit about nineteenth century America poets, I enjoyed a labeled drawing of the architectural components of Gothic churches, I added classic films to my Netflix queue, I laughed and learned quite a bit from the section entitled, "A Bedside Companion to the Nineteenth-Century English Novel"; included were breakdowns of topographical references such as moors, copses, dales, glades, and shires; and a breakdown of Britain's aristocratic system. The music chapter included a great introduction to opera. Philosopher bios, briefs on the state of affairs of about twenty countries, overviews of various international agreements and organizations, maps, Freud, his hangers-on, comparison of 10 different versions of the Bible, in chart form, chaos theory, string theory, a humanoid family tree (Ardipithecus ramidus set off quite the little shitstorm by a certain Mr. Leakey),so so so much. Amazing. And everything, EVERYthing, is clever, witty, tongue-in-cheek goodness. Definitely made me feel smarter, and stronger, because it's about a ten pound book.
February 9, 2010
Probably the best free-in-a-curbside-box book I've ever owned. It was odd to get that please-don't-end feeling from what's basically just a collection of random facts & info, but it was just so damned entertaining. It's all very well organized, with chapters devoted to literature, music, philosophy, economics, film, etc., and the knowledge is dispense with cleverness and wit - but not overwhelmingly so. The Lexicon section was probably my favorite, with its lists of Latin abbreviations, popular French sayings, obscure English words, mnemonic devices, and remedial spelling lessons. Again: presented with humor and charm. Irresistible.
I read this book twice, in a way. First off I bounced around looking for the most entertaining tidbits, then I fell in love with it so thoroughly that I read it cover-to-cover.
If you consider yourself a nerd in any way shape or form, I suspect you'll enjoy this book. Even if you've already heard about all 3,684 Things, you'll likely find these authors present them in a more charming manner than you've ever before encountered.
I read this book twice, in a way. First off I bounced around looking for the most entertaining tidbits, then I fell in love with it so thoroughly that I read it cover-to-cover.
If you consider yourself a nerd in any way shape or form, I suspect you'll enjoy this book. Even if you've already heard about all 3,684 Things, you'll likely find these authors present them in a more charming manner than you've ever before encountered.
March 25, 2019
This book manages to be pretentious, cutesy, snobby, annoying, distracting, and even offensive (as when it refers to a certain poem as "faggy"), all at once. Its biggest problem is its assumption that the only reason anyone might want to learn about a subject is to fit in at a party, not because the subject is interesting. And almost everything it "teaches" isn't unbiased information at all, it's stupid, petty gossip on a subject, like when it dismisses Andrew Wyeth, an artist whose bad reputation stems not from his work but from his politics.
The shame about it is that if it were done well, something like this could actually be useful and interesting to read. As it is, however, it is truly awful. Read one of Isaac Asimov's non-fiction books instead. This one is an endless abyss of stupidity.
The shame about it is that if it were done well, something like this could actually be useful and interesting to read. As it is, however, it is truly awful. Read one of Isaac Asimov's non-fiction books instead. This one is an endless abyss of stupidity.
March 17, 2009
An Incomplete Education is a bit like Cliff Notes for Everything. I picked this up in the bargain rack at my local Borders. It's been a bedside mainstay ever since and still is.
It reads easily with a voice as playful as it is pedantic as it covers a range of topics (differences of the major religions, art movements you ought to be aware of, the science you snoozed through, geography of 19th century literature, etc.). If you feel you missed out on certain topics in the classroom or the lecture hall, it's a great pick up. Don't get discouraged by its depth or size. It's a great one just to pick through as you please.
It reads easily with a voice as playful as it is pedantic as it covers a range of topics (differences of the major religions, art movements you ought to be aware of, the science you snoozed through, geography of 19th century literature, etc.). If you feel you missed out on certain topics in the classroom or the lecture hall, it's a great pick up. Don't get discouraged by its depth or size. It's a great one just to pick through as you please.
June 11, 2021
This isn't a book to either complete your education or to read as humor. It has something negative to say about virtually every aspect of American culture. If I wanted additional information on Edgar Allan Poe I would be looking for interesting material, maybe something he wrote I didn't know about. A guy who wrote such scary stories as the "Murders in the Rue Morgue" or "The Cask of Amontillado," beautiful rhymes like "The Bells" and who invented the Detective story, doesn't deserve to be supplemented with remarks like: "a poverty-stricken alcoholic who married his 13 year old cousin" Besides, everyone know that anyway, so who cares.
They go on to rip every heroic or famous person from Benjamin Franklin to Thoreau and Melville with sarcasm and bad jokes. Their description of Chomsky's prose as " a flat and humorless affair that left many readers hankering for ... Doonesbury" is a good description of theirs. That they have a Leftist bent is no surprise and their description of Republicans and Democrats clearly show that they are preaching to a warm and receptive choir.
What is the advantage of spending so much time reading a huge book that only tries to humorously tell you either what you already know or provide a negative Leftist view of what you may have missed without any positive addition to your basic knowledge? Since they have supposedly witty criticism of virtually everything from Plato to Machiavelli to John Locke. It is hard to see how anything in this lengthy book can supplement anyone's knowledge. Every brief statement is criticism or ridicule so that if they really are dispensing accurate information in an easily readable form, you don't know if it is true or just part of a joke.
If they were telling me that 9/11 was not the first time muslims attacked the US. That they did this before and we paid enormous extortion to make them quit attacking our ships, killing and enslaving our men and women. If they told us how Thomas Jefferson refused to pay and formed our first Navy which went after them and that our Marines song came from those battles, "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.." and that Marines were called "leathernecks" because they wore leather to prevent the muslims from beheading them. If they said Democrats comprised 100% of the KKK and that every Jim Crow Law was passed by Democrats or that Republicans passed the Civil Rights Acts not Democrats, they might be adding to our education facts that we are prevented from learning as conflicting with Leftist dogma.
When they speak of religion it's worse. They say very little about the actual tenets of different faiths but enumerate the followers and joke about how they behave. If by this time you haven't decided that the book was written, not to supplement knowledge but as a huge anthology like "The Whole Earth Catalog" about everything, except neither funny nor useful, you haven't been paying attention or you just skimmed part of it to feel enlightened and superior.
Ridiculing Chemistry, Physics and Math yields very little more of importance. Concepts as complex as Relativity and String Theory can’t be handled in a couple of sarcastic paragraphs regardless of how clever and funny you think you are. I must admit I have never heard anyone discuss Tom Lehrer and his song about Lobachevsky for more than 20 years and that HE was really, really funny although he had much better stuff than Lobachevsky.
In all I don't see the use of the book except leave on your coffee table to impress someone or to somehow organize and put on your cell phone in order to respond to someone's serious argument by using a snappy comeback that ridicules them, distracts everyone from the real issues and makes you an enemy for life.
They go on to rip every heroic or famous person from Benjamin Franklin to Thoreau and Melville with sarcasm and bad jokes. Their description of Chomsky's prose as " a flat and humorless affair that left many readers hankering for ... Doonesbury" is a good description of theirs. That they have a Leftist bent is no surprise and their description of Republicans and Democrats clearly show that they are preaching to a warm and receptive choir.
What is the advantage of spending so much time reading a huge book that only tries to humorously tell you either what you already know or provide a negative Leftist view of what you may have missed without any positive addition to your basic knowledge? Since they have supposedly witty criticism of virtually everything from Plato to Machiavelli to John Locke. It is hard to see how anything in this lengthy book can supplement anyone's knowledge. Every brief statement is criticism or ridicule so that if they really are dispensing accurate information in an easily readable form, you don't know if it is true or just part of a joke.
If they were telling me that 9/11 was not the first time muslims attacked the US. That they did this before and we paid enormous extortion to make them quit attacking our ships, killing and enslaving our men and women. If they told us how Thomas Jefferson refused to pay and formed our first Navy which went after them and that our Marines song came from those battles, "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.." and that Marines were called "leathernecks" because they wore leather to prevent the muslims from beheading them. If they said Democrats comprised 100% of the KKK and that every Jim Crow Law was passed by Democrats or that Republicans passed the Civil Rights Acts not Democrats, they might be adding to our education facts that we are prevented from learning as conflicting with Leftist dogma.
When they speak of religion it's worse. They say very little about the actual tenets of different faiths but enumerate the followers and joke about how they behave. If by this time you haven't decided that the book was written, not to supplement knowledge but as a huge anthology like "The Whole Earth Catalog" about everything, except neither funny nor useful, you haven't been paying attention or you just skimmed part of it to feel enlightened and superior.
Ridiculing Chemistry, Physics and Math yields very little more of importance. Concepts as complex as Relativity and String Theory can’t be handled in a couple of sarcastic paragraphs regardless of how clever and funny you think you are. I must admit I have never heard anyone discuss Tom Lehrer and his song about Lobachevsky for more than 20 years and that HE was really, really funny although he had much better stuff than Lobachevsky.
In all I don't see the use of the book except leave on your coffee table to impress someone or to somehow organize and put on your cell phone in order to respond to someone's serious argument by using a snappy comeback that ridicules them, distracts everyone from the real issues and makes you an enemy for life.
September 11, 2019
Goodness knows I luv me some trivia. One of my favorite books of all time is Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts. When asked the inevitable question of what three books I would want with me on a deserted island, Isaac is one of them. (The other two would be How To Survive On a Deserted Island and How To Get Off Of A Deserted Island.)
This book presents the Humanities in small, digestible bits with pictures as well (which I appreciated). I had gotten to the 62% mark and by that time we had covered art, literature, philosophy, music, politics and were heading into the psychology branch. So why wasn't I able to force myself to finish it? I would say the writing is what held this book back. There was simply no joy here. The authors didn't seem to like the subjects they were writing about. (Isaac adored his trivia.) There's important stuff to learn here and I can't help but think how much more I would have learned if this had been written by a better author. Like Isaac.
This book presents the Humanities in small, digestible bits with pictures as well (which I appreciated). I had gotten to the 62% mark and by that time we had covered art, literature, philosophy, music, politics and were heading into the psychology branch. So why wasn't I able to force myself to finish it? I would say the writing is what held this book back. There was simply no joy here. The authors didn't seem to like the subjects they were writing about. (Isaac adored his trivia.) There's important stuff to learn here and I can't help but think how much more I would have learned if this had been written by a better author. Like Isaac.
October 12, 2007
I loved this book! My parents gave it to me when I graduated college and it had been following me around ever since (all two pounds of it). Broken into manageable sections with just about every topic you'd want to know more about, this massive tome of a book is full of interesting tidbits as well as the facts everyone should know. The writing is conversational, without being dumbed down, and the information is well-chosen.
I read it precisely the way they don't recommend reading it: straight through, page 1 to page 679. I actually thought it was a fabulous read that way, but was content to devote myself to no other books while reading this -- and taking my time so that some of this actually sunk in.
I read it precisely the way they don't recommend reading it: straight through, page 1 to page 679. I actually thought it was a fabulous read that way, but was content to devote myself to no other books while reading this -- and taking my time so that some of this actually sunk in.
May 22, 2021
I'll give this book 3 stars for the sheer volume of information it contains. I feel like I've been reading it forever - which is almost accurate when you read a 1k page book in small doses. The tone of the book was clearly trying to be playful and funny, but a lot of it came across to me as derisive and cynical - and not really in a funny way. More like disrespect for the topic. And, as always with books like this, the small amount of info on each topic really only serves as a teeny tiny introduction, but I felt that they could have chosen those small amounts of information better in many cases to provide a clearer or more accurate message. All that said, there was a lot of stuff here that I didn't previously know much about.
March 30, 2020
Lots of important/useful content, but somewhat oddly organized and delivered with attempted humor that repeatedly failed to land for me. My biggest criticism, however, is the editorializing of the content - particularly given that part of the premise of the book is that traditional education is not only complete, but skewed toward a certain viewpoint. Of course it is very difficult to compensate for our own biases, but I would have rated it higher had it delivered content more factually/objectively.
December 7, 2009
The content is considerably outdated, there is far too much emphasis on American culture, and it simply was not that interesting.
It's an interesting browse if you want to figure out what you don't know, but drop it once you find a subject and look up a more comprehensive book on that field.
I also knew most of the information contained in the science section from my High School and College education... =/
It's an interesting browse if you want to figure out what you don't know, but drop it once you find a subject and look up a more comprehensive book on that field.
I also knew most of the information contained in the science section from my High School and College education... =/
December 12, 2008
I LOVE this book. It appeals to the Trival Pursuit geekiness in me that always wants to know the whys of things without having to resort to the encyclopedia.
This book is excellent in offering little nuggets of information in an interesting and entertaining method.
This book is excellent in offering little nuggets of information in an interesting and entertaining method.
April 17, 2021
This is a delightful book -- I love the authorial attitude -- take nothing too seriously -- and the jackdaw inclusiveness of topics. Two weeks from the public library wasn't enough: I needed this book in my home library, and found a used copy in great condition for a very attractive figure. I am hoping it is never too late to become educated.
Can't say I "finished" the book; it just graduates from "a book we're reading" to "an often used reference book."
Can't say I "finished" the book; it just graduates from "a book we're reading" to "an often used reference book."
May 3, 2021
This is a weird book. It is probably targeted for western audiences. I say that because for the most parts, I had almost no clue what the fuck I was reading. Didn't know who those guys are, never heard of the references which were made, and many difficult words too.
I skimmed/skipped most sections of the book. I'm not even sure whether to put it on the Read shelf or not.
I skimmed/skipped most sections of the book. I'm not even sure whether to put it on the Read shelf or not.
August 10, 2025
It's nice now, to feel a little less incomplete.
November 24, 2017
I read this book after college and always find it an interesting book to flip through for interesting things we all "should know".
October 22, 2018
This book would give you a tour of authors from the West in Liberal arts. It's a repertoire of facts.
Basically an outline of Western Liberal education. I appreciated Literary and Poetry chapters. I never took literature or poetry classes. I would recommend this to high-schoolers or someone who skipped education.
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
Basically an outline of Western Liberal education. I appreciated Literary and Poetry chapters. I never took literature or poetry classes. I would recommend this to high-schoolers or someone who skipped education.
Deus Vult,
Gottfried
August 21, 2011
(This review is of the first edition)
This is a great book for reminding the reader of the things they learned in high school and college. It is also pretty good at teaching you the things that you should have learned. So, it really does as it promises -- fills in the gaps in your education.
That said, it in itself is incomplete, but that is probably how it must be. Some sections give short shrift to various subject areas and really don't give the reader enough information at all. For example, this was apparent in the sections on Psychology, which focuses exclusively on analysis and leaves out important formative scholars like Skinner and all social scientific approaches to psych. However, most chapters give you exactly enough to get the basics of a subject down -- but they are the basics. Which again, is exactly what this book is about.
I agree with the other reviewer that anything you don't know will take you several re-reads to get it down pat. However, getting the fundamentals of whatever subjects you are weak in is easy as the chapters are nicely organized into smaller, clearly marked, fact paragraphs.
Overall, I recommend this book highly for anyone who wants to learn the basics of some subject they do not know or remember the subjects they have forgotten years out of school.
This is a great book for reminding the reader of the things they learned in high school and college. It is also pretty good at teaching you the things that you should have learned. So, it really does as it promises -- fills in the gaps in your education.
That said, it in itself is incomplete, but that is probably how it must be. Some sections give short shrift to various subject areas and really don't give the reader enough information at all. For example, this was apparent in the sections on Psychology, which focuses exclusively on analysis and leaves out important formative scholars like Skinner and all social scientific approaches to psych. However, most chapters give you exactly enough to get the basics of a subject down -- but they are the basics. Which again, is exactly what this book is about.
I agree with the other reviewer that anything you don't know will take you several re-reads to get it down pat. However, getting the fundamentals of whatever subjects you are weak in is easy as the chapters are nicely organized into smaller, clearly marked, fact paragraphs.
Overall, I recommend this book highly for anyone who wants to learn the basics of some subject they do not know or remember the subjects they have forgotten years out of school.
January 28, 2012
A big, chunky thick book that looks intimidating. But ... the type is big. There are lots of illustrations. This is a tongue in cheek, irreverent, humorous attempt to provide an abbreviated college education. It reads like a cross between Cliff Notes and MAD Magazine. Its audience might be those students who stumbled to the podium after a hazy four years of keggers and bongs and were handed a degree and are compelled to ask "What did I learn?". A great refresher course, this book is filled with tidbits, trivia and anecdotes. It reminds me somewhat of the Peoples' Almanacs by David Wallechinsky which I devoured as an adolescent. It took me 3 months to read through this book but then it is meant to be digested in small doses. Nicely organized like a college curriculum, you can skip the stuff you have absolutely no interest in, but given the entertaining style of this book, you might want to read it anyway. The authors might illuminate a subject you had hitherto considered dull and unworthy of your attention.
July 11, 2014
As with many Cliff Notes-type books of this sort, this book excels in its breadth, but lacks in its depth. On some subjects, these seemed more questions raised than answered. As would be expected, it skims surface and focuses on the “what” and not the “why” (i.e. Emerson was a great human being, but you wouldn't want to spend time with him???)
It is irreverent to the point of being entertaining. And the book is definitely made for browsing as there is much diverse knowledge contained therein and it is unlikely that one would be interested in every single subject matter.
At its best, the book acts as a sampler for several books and ideas ranging from history and ideology to literature and science that one may have heard of but never had time to delve into. It is also a book that one completes over time in small chunks rather than hunkering down and reading over several continuous hours.
It is irreverent to the point of being entertaining. And the book is definitely made for browsing as there is much diverse knowledge contained therein and it is unlikely that one would be interested in every single subject matter.
At its best, the book acts as a sampler for several books and ideas ranging from history and ideology to literature and science that one may have heard of but never had time to delve into. It is also a book that one completes over time in small chunks rather than hunkering down and reading over several continuous hours.
July 30, 2008
This book is so sweet. It's kind of like a textbook, but written my people who know about pretty much everything and have a sense of humor. It covers things like american studies (12 supreme court decisions worth knowing by name) art history (six -ism's, one -ijl, and Dada), economics (Now, what, exactly, is exonomics, and what do economists do, again?), film (remedial watching for the baby-boom generation), literature (guess who's coming to dinner? Twelve ficitonal characters with whom you should have at least a nodding acquaintance), music (eleven arias to sing in the shower), religion (bible baedeker: a mercifully brief who-what-and-where guide to the holy land), science (two trendy theories that may revolutionize our worldview--or may not make much difference at all), and more.
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