- Hardcover: 683 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books Inc.; Revised edition edition (15 Mar 1996)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345391373
- ISBN-13: 978-0345391377
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 19 x 5.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 648,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in An Incomplete Education for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Product Description
"An astonishing amount of information."
--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times
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. Here's your chance to fill in the gaps left by your school years, reacquire all the facts you once knew then promptly forgot, and become the Renaissance man or woman you always suspected you could be!
What was so important about the Dred Scott decision? Why aren't all Shakespearean comedies necessarily thigh-slappers? What happened inside Plato's cave? What's the difference between a fade-out and a dissolve? Fission and fusion? Shi'ites and Sunnis? The apostles and the disciples? Is postmodernism dead or just having a bad hair day? And for extra credit, how do you tell deduction from induction?
An Incomplete Education answers these and thousands of other questions with incomparable wit, style, clarity, and brevity. 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 new edition you'll find up-to-the-minute analyses of the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe, Indochina, and the Horn of Africa; the latest breakthroughs in cloning and gene splicing; brand-new takes on the economy, from disinflation to global competition; a look at the recent upheavals surrounding abortion rights, free speech, and the death penalty; and much, much more.
Ponder the legacies of eight American intellectuals (a couple of whom aren't even dead yet). Get a handle on 350 years of opera; the central ideas of Freud and five of his famous followers; the meanings of eighteen inscrutable-looking adjectives, from jejune to heuristic, numinous to otiose. Bone up on entropy and evolution. Take a whirlwind tour of English poetry from Chaucer to Yeats. Learn what to look for in Rubens or Rembrandt, The Birth of a Nation or Citizen Kane.
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.
--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times
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. Here's your chance to fill in the gaps left by your school years, reacquire all the facts you once knew then promptly forgot, and become the Renaissance man or woman you always suspected you could be!
What was so important about the Dred Scott decision? Why aren't all Shakespearean comedies necessarily thigh-slappers? What happened inside Plato's cave? What's the difference between a fade-out and a dissolve? Fission and fusion? Shi'ites and Sunnis? The apostles and the disciples? Is postmodernism dead or just having a bad hair day? And for extra credit, how do you tell deduction from induction?
An Incomplete Education answers these and thousands of other questions with incomparable wit, style, clarity, and brevity. 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 new edition you'll find up-to-the-minute analyses of the geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe, Indochina, and the Horn of Africa; the latest breakthroughs in cloning and gene splicing; brand-new takes on the economy, from disinflation to global competition; a look at the recent upheavals surrounding abortion rights, free speech, and the death penalty; and much, much more.
Ponder the legacies of eight American intellectuals (a couple of whom aren't even dead yet). Get a handle on 350 years of opera; the central ideas of Freud and five of his famous followers; the meanings of eighteen inscrutable-looking adjectives, from jejune to heuristic, numinous to otiose. Bone up on entropy and evolution. Take a whirlwind tour of English poetry from Chaucer to Yeats. Learn what to look for in Rubens or Rembrandt, The Birth of a Nation or Citizen Kane.
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.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The people here who gave this book a negative review clearly just didn't get it. This book is not intended as an education itself (hence the title), but as an introduction and overview that will hopefully send you off to learn more. But the best thing about this book is its wit. Saying that the authors should have dispensed with the comments and gotten down to information misses the whole point! I love this book, and recommend it to all my friends.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm buying this book to replace the 2 copies that were "borrowed" by "friends" who "forgot" to return them. I've learned my lesson -- I'm going to hide this copy. Simply put, I love this book. I don't understand the customer reviewers who didn't appreciate the fact that this isn't simply a dry compendium of facts. There are plenty of books out there (can you say encyclopedia?) that fit that bill. In fact, this book is specifically designed for people who don't like to read serious books full of dry information because, well, think about it; if you liked serious books full of dry information, you wouldn't be reading this book because you'd already know all the stuff that's in it. Does that make sense? No? O.K, try his: buy the book. You'll like it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book was given to me as a gift upon completion of my MBA to "round out" my education. I read it cover to cover and enjoyed it very much (I am ordering a new copy because a friend "borrowed" it). I had great fun with the witty commentary. In fact, at times, I thought that absurd analogies actually helped explain esoteric and abstract concepts in a more simple and understandable manner (maybe my philosophy prof should consider these methods). I understand the criticism of many people who claim that the book is a shallow and "incomplete" coverage of the topics - it absolutely is. Reading the section on opera by no means makes one an expert or replaces the experience, nor does it intend to. Instead, I think it either gives a novice a fun introduction or presents the expert with a funny perspective on what they already know. So, having been to both Wagner and Mozart operas, I enjoyed reading how they could contrast the two in layman's terms (a great chapter, I might add). Simply put: If you are capable of not taking it too seriously, you'll love this book. If not, don't take yourself too seriously, and then buy it!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
There are better ways to fill the gaps in your education.
Like reading books (PLURAL), for example. I bought this book because I was a programmer and didn't have much in the way of a liberal education. Read more
Published on 7 April 1999
This book gets an A+!
This book had all the information I needed to fill in the gaps of my education.
Published on 17 Feb 1999
Interesting facts - Annoying presentation
Reading this book reminded me of dining at a fine restauraunt with an excellent menu and, unfortunately, extraordinarily annoying waiters that buzz about my head like flies -... Read more
Published on 3 Dec 1998
A painless way to learn
This book was given to me by a friend who hoped to beef up my recollection of all things philosophical. Read more
Published on 29 Oct 1998
Wonderfully witty and informative
Though some may find the tongue-in-cheek presentation too light for a "complete reference", the authors have found a good mix of information and whimsy that gives you a... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 1998
So Good It Was Stolen!
I bought this book about 2 years ago and couldn't put it down! I could always refer back to it to find something that isn't in a regular encyclopaedia, but not since I told my... Read more
Published on 16 Sep 1998
Great book to read while exercising
I read this book while exercing on my Ellipse. Very enjoyable. I found the explanation of entropy much clearer than any I had in thermodynamics courses, and a lot more amusing. Read more
Published on 3 May 1998
Really annoying presenters!
The two people who present this book on the audiotape version are really annoying. I did listen to the whole tape, but fought the urge to turn it off the entire time because I... Read more
Published on 29 April 1998
A disappointment
As someone looking for a concise "adult's encyclopedia", I found this extremely disappointing. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 1998
Excellent for both answers and suggestions.
This is a fantastic read if you didn't get the breadth you were looking for in your schooling. Covering pretty much all the stuff they don't have in engineering school, "An... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 1997
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
