An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned but Probably Didn't - Books

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
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.

Customer Reviews: Read 84 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A great gift item October 4, 2008
I purchased one for my husband who loved it. It is a general overview of many topics and is as much fun as it is educational.
I will be purchasing 3 more as Christmas gifts for those on my list who "have everything."

2 out of 5 stars

Not Accurate September 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

There are things in this book that are inaccurate. I can only speak to the religious section because it is a subject I know well but I know others who have complained about the inaccuracies in the science section. For example, the author mentions that the Hadith (written traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) are widely accepted to be unauthentic. In fact, there is a whole science of deciphering whether or not a hadith is authentic, with many books rating thousands of Hadith. These books are so detailed as to include the character, education, public opinion, etc. of all the people who have transmitted a particular hadith. Needless to say, the subject isn's as simple as the author would have the reader believe. There were also some problems in the Zorastrian section that I don't really want to go into now. I think that with a book of this nature, accuracy is paramount so I would consider such mistakes unacceptable. I would venture a guess and say that perhaps the authors themselves have an incomplete education.

2 out of 5 stars

Very Disappointing September 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

As someone who has read and loved history for many decades, I thought this book would make a great addition to my collection, but I was very disappointed. Much of the information is piece-meal and incomplete, just enticing the reader a bit and then leaving them wondering where the rest of the story is. I was also surprised by the frequent and glaring anti-conservative messages, which were often unrelated to the topics being discussed. I understand that historians are human and have political leanings, but in this book too much opinion tainted the historical message. I was hoping for an informative new take on the topics included, and as I say, I was disappointed.

Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything is a much better read.

2 out of 5 stars

not very useful July 20, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful

i was very dissapointed with the information in this book, it was a boring read as well.

1 out of 5 stars

Glib, clever, cynical, and nearly empty; May 18, 2008
19 out of 28 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.

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