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: $21.81
You Save: $13.19 (38%)
New (31) Used (18) from $15.99
Rating:  97 reviews
Sales Rank: 1598
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
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 92 more reviews...
 Received what promised. January 6, 2009
An Incomplete Education is just as it was described both in content and condition. It came in a timely manner. I would not hesitate to order again through amazon.
Interesting concept, many inaccuracies January 6, 2009
The concept and presentation of the book is great; however, (I believe in an attempt to be humorous), there are many inaccuracies and misrepresentations.
For the Person who Knows Everything January 6, 2009
I bought this book for my sister who is one of the smartest people I know. She loves trivia and little known facts. She loved it.
Excellent quality and service! January 5, 2009
The book arrived in pristine condition and I was proud to give it as a Christmas present. Thank you for the speedy shipment and care in packaging.
 elitist snobbery wrapped in infanitle humor and factually plain wrong January 1, 2009
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
a short skim reading of this interesting-looking book revealed several things.
First, they get their facts wrong. Small facts here and there for sure, but definetly just plain wrong. My field is religious studies, and they really do not know what they are talking about. They make silly, basic mistakes that my students would pick up.
Second, they are extremely left leaning and (to boot)intellectual snobs, which might be fine if you are as well, just do not go looking for a balanced view on anything like religion.
Their humor is childish because it makes fun of the material, reducing its importance (again depending on their enlightenment liberal sensibilities) and thus denegrates the cultural heritage. This shows that their ongoing humorous attempts to "popularize" include an agenda. They ridicule constantly those ideas and thinkers they do not seem to like. This betrays a lack of understanding of such thinkers as (for instance) Augustine, who managed to shape european culture for about 1500 years. Its weak humor at best. It is never witty, just cutting. That works for the Simpsons, but not for a book like this.
The slant is so ingrained in this book, it is hard to find something good to say about it. Christians , Muslims, Anyone who is proud to be an American, and many others would find this book very insulting.
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