An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn't | 
 enlarge | Authors: Judy Jones, William Wilson
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $21.52
You Save: $13.48 (39%)
New (31) Used (17) from $17.74
Rating:  85 reviews
Sales Rank: 2614
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 720
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 7.5 x 1.8
ISBN: 0345468902
Dewey Decimal Number: 031.02
EAN: 9780345468901
ASIN: 0345468902
Publication Date: April 25, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Amazon.com
You'll find everything you forgot from school--as well as plenty you never even learned--in this all-purpose reference book, an instant classic when it first appeared in 1987. The updated version takes a whirlwind tour through 12 different disciplines, from American studies to philosophy to world history. Along the way, Judy Jones and William Wilson provide a plethora of useful information, from the plot of Othello to the difference between fission and fusion. It's not a shortcut to cultural literacy, the authors write in their introduction, but it's an excellent "way in" to the building blocks of Western civilization: the "books, music, art, philosophy, and discoveries that have, for one reason or another, managed to endure." Think of it as finishing school for your brain; study up and you'll gain a lifetime's worth of cocktail conversation--as well as a new list of books you simply must read.
Product Description
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.
In this revised edition you’ll find a vitally expanded treatment of international issues, reflecting the seismic geopolitical upheavals of the past decade, from economic free-fall in South America to Central Africa’s world war, and from violent radicalization in the Muslim world to the crucial trade agreements that are defining globalization for the twenty-first century. And don’t forget to read the section A Nervous American’s Guide to Living and Loving on Five Continents before you answer a personal ad in the International Herald Tribune.
As delightful as it is illuminating, An Incomplete Education packs ten thousand years of culture into a single superbly readable volume. This is a book to celebrate, to share, to give and receive, to pore over and browse through, and to return to again and again.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 80 more reviews...
 Glib, clever, cynical, and nearly empty; May 18, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is that rare book that is not merely bad, but despicable. Sadly, it serves as exemplar of the very problem it claims to attack, which according to the glib introduction, is "a world of bits and bytes, of reruns and fast forwards, of information overloads and significant shortfalls."
The authors are too much in love with their own cleverness to provide the curious reader with lucid information, preferring to sabotage clarity with cynicism and loading the text with parenthetical references to pop culture, to the reader, and of course, to the authors themselves.
"Five Composers Whose Names Begin with the Letter P" is a pithy chapter head for bookstore browsing, but should a more complete education really include Poulenc and not Debussy? And if Puccini was lucky enough to have the right initial, why not explain what makes his music perennially popular, rather than making the gratuitous observation that Verdi fans may find him vulgar? Now in its third presumably profitable edition, this book is that most vulgar of accomplishments, the triumph of marketing over content. Puccini's operas, in contrast, are awash in gorgeous melody.
 Afraid I Lost It April 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I recently had to move and I lost a couple boxes of books. The first book I thought of was An Incomplete Education. Finding it wasn't lost made my day all by itself.
A definate must read! March 29, 2008
Chock full of stuff that you shoulda learned in school but didn't. I wasn't interested in it at first, but it was recommended to me by a family member and I'm glad it was. Funny And informative.
 Will this book make me a smarter person? March 28, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is not a "breezy little book of interesting facts" you will have hours of fun reading. It actually assumes you know a great deal more about the items it intends to teach you than you probably do.
I would say it is as much fun as reading a text book, but in truth, it is as much fun as reading 3,684 text books. Yes, that much fun.
Warning: Higher Level Humor March 11, 2008
This is my favorite book. I am so looking forward to the update. The best way to read this book is to know just a little bit about a subject then use it to fill the gap. It is not detailed but just enough that you get the "gist" of things.
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