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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.
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.

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.

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An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things...

Encyclopedias Reference - Judy Jones, William Wilson,Hardcover - 3RD, Edition: 3, English-language...

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An Incomplete Education: 3,684 Things...

Pages: 720, Edition: 3, Hardcover, Ballantine Books

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ProductReviews77/100 (96 Reviews)

Recent Reviews

4/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-24-2009
An Incomplete Education?

There are 678 pages of subjects. Jones and Wilson cover almost every possible subject. The book appears intimidating in size and scope. However, it is an easy read because subjects can be covered in one page. Just open to any page and...

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2/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-17-2009
Aptly titled in the wrong way...

I was highly disappointed with the first edition - glaring omissions and inaccuracies abound. For example: Gerard Manley Hopkins is not even mentioned in the section concerning the British poets and in the chapter on religion, the...

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2/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-14-2009
Poorly Written

Hard to read, the author injects sloppy humor and anecdotes into the history. Making fun of historical figures, joking about religions and using sentences that are broken up by multiple parentheses. Too bad I didn't read the reviews...

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2/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-10-2009
An 'incomplete education' after reading "An Incomplete Education"

Topic coverage is all too, too cutsey. Trades humor for viable information. Entertains rather than educates. Want simple useful information? Purchase an elementary textbook on the subject and you will come away better informed.

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Selected Reviews

4/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-24-2009
An Incomplete Education?

There are 678 pages of subjects. Jones and Wilson cover almost every possible subject. The book appears intimidating in size and scope. However, it is an easy read because subjects can be covered in one page. Just open to any page and...

read full review | report as inappropriate
3/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Jul-31-2009
A Sometimes Tongue in Cheek Review of a lot of the Knowledge we Should Know

Although it is very uneven, it is never dull. This irreverent review of everything we thought we knew, but didn't, is worth the plunge. However, a word of warning is in order: Better to enter with questions in mind than to read it from...

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2/5
From: Amazon
Posted: Sep-17-2009
Aptly titled in the wrong way...

I was highly disappointed with the first edition - glaring omissions and inaccuracies abound. For example: Gerard Manley Hopkins is not even mentioned in the section concerning the British poets and in the chapter on religion, the...

read full review | report as inappropriate
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