Rating: 
Summary: Yes, maybe, but . . .
Review: I would buy this book used, but not new.
It attempts, with partial success, to address the age-old problem of gain (amplification) vs. bandwidth (breadth) or specialization (learning more and more about less unless until one knows everything about nothing) vs. generalization (learning less and less about more and more until one knows nothing about everything). Since this problem can never be solved this book can never truly satisfy.
Certainly anyone with pretensions to general knowledge and literacy across many subjects will benefit from having this book available as a general reference piece. But the precious, self-conscious writing style is difficult to swallow, and editing out some of the resulting clutter would have made the entire book clearer and shorter and would have made room for other essential subjects.
Why am I being picky? Okay, look up 'sculptors' or 'Auguste Rodin' as examples of necessary general knowledge. Not there, not even hinted at. No Rodin. No sculptors at all!
Rodin reportedly died of pneumonia when he fell ill having asked the French authorities for living quarters heated as kindly as the space in which they kept his work, but was refused. Jones and Wilson have equal myopia in many areas. Maybe the lesson is that one should not attempt the impossible.
Maybe they'll include sculptors in the next (obviously they'll do it) revision. I hope so. I'd like them to research and verify my information about Rodin's death, among other things.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and Educational. Outstanding reading.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Educational. Outstanding reading.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: "Complete" Waste of Time
Review: If I had looked further beyond the promising dust jacket I would have noticed that this flippant tome is nothing more than Name Dropping 101. Packed with lists of knowledge that the authors think everyone "should" know, this book insouciantly prepares those lacking in depth to hobnob with their equally shallow brethren at the next swank cocktail party. Anyone who considers themselves even mildly intelligent should resent being told which scene in Citizen Kane they should claim as their favorite or why they shouldn't overtly admire Andrew Wyeth. A book such as this only contributes to our cultural "dumbing-down" by assuring that NOBODY really cares enough to know what they are talking about. The blithe conversational snippets of knowledge that Wilson and Jones promote in their book undercut true intellectualism while making the claim that it is fine to be ignorant as long as OTHER PEOPLE think you are smart.
Rating:
Summary: An Incomplete Book
Review: If the authors had spent half as much time giving information as they do being flippant, we'd have a book that covers twice as much material as this one does.
Rating:
Summary: Some Reviewers are Causing Raucous Laughter Themselves
Review: If you have little to no sense of humor -- don't read this book. The "flippant, sarcastic tone" is used by the authors for a REASON, and it isn't merely to "try to be funny." If you don't get THAT, then no -- you won't "get" this book. As far as it is possible to be an "admirer" of an inanimate object, then I suppose I am an "admirer" of _An Incomplete Education._ And, this may come as a shock to a few book critics, but I have fond memories of the _ample_ amount of time that I've spent in university library stacks. No "radical professors" or "P.C. activists" wounded me, or even irritated me enough to run me off campus. I love learning, and I love learning to look at things from others' perspectives, which is one reason this book "works" so well. One reviewer here asked, of the authors' statements regarding different types of art, if WE are not "supposed" to -- ultimately -- decide what we deem to be "worth looking at?" Ummmm -- that's rather the *point*. If you don't "get" that, then please don't "get" this book and then publicly look down your nose as you type snide remarks aimed in the direction of us "low-brows" who have the audacity to find this tome delightful precisely because of the "treatment" that all of the included subject matter is given. It's called "writing style" and "authors' voice," and if you don't grasp the style and voice of these two authors, you will miss practically every point being made. Please take this under consideration, and if this is YOU -- then *please* don't waste your time, and then "our" time, as you take out your literary frustrations in public pixels. Thank you for your support.
Rating:
Summary: The Makings of a Trivia Goddess
Review: it is largely die to this book that I was able to succeed in Teen Tournament Jeopardy tryouts, as well as my school's Scholastic Bowl team. The book is written in a wonderful, witty style, showing how to converse with accuracy about many subjects you had never even considered thoroughly exploring.The book takes a whirlwind tour through many subjects, simultaneously giving enough of an in-depth look at every topic it covers to give anyone with a good memory and a talent at extrapolation an excellent handle on the subjects covered. Essentially, this book is quick high cultural literacy for anyone aspiring to pass themselves off as an intellectual. The subjects covered are myriad (from silent films to superstring theory) and can make one sound more educated than one really is (I may be giving away one or two of my trade secrets here, but that's okay, you're trying to cheat at the intelligence estimation game too). I highly recommend this book to anyone of reasonable intelligence who wants to learn things outside of their normal interest. Who knows, it may help you strike up a conversation with someone remarkable, or at least keep you from looking like a fool when you suddenly become randomly involved in a discourse about bel canto opera. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Fills in the holes from college
Review: Let's say I was not exactally a model student once I'd discovered beer. I get the impression that the folks who wrote this book were not ideal students either; however, they seem to have figured out who knew and loved each subject. As a result, this book really clicks along. As a technical major, I would have liked if the authors had did a little better by including Newton's laws of motion and a basic explaination of statistics and calculus, both as crucial as being able to tell Keats from Shelly. Other than that, the book is a riot.
Rating:
Summary: There are better ways to fill the gaps in your education.
Review: 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. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt is right when he says there's "an astonishing amount of information." There is. The research for this book must have taken ages. And it is presented in a witty and sardonic manner, presumably to make it fun and palatable to the layreader. Yet, I got the sense that I was just kind of learning trivia. The book felt like a crash course and all I felt was that if a conversation about Shakespeare came up, I could pass on an interesting bit of information and look informed. Well, instead of looking informed I advise people to actually READ Shakespeare. He's not that bad. There are plenty of fun, readable books on every conceivable subject out there. Want to learn about religion? Read Huston Smith's "The World's Religions." Want to learn about physics? Read "A Brief History of Time." Want to know something about philosophy? "From Socrates to Sartre" is a good place to start. "An Incomplete Education" fancies itself as some sort of panacea for ignorant souls but it just doesn't deliver. A good reference book but that's about it.
Rating:
Summary: This is a must-have
Review: My one and only complaint is that the book is a tad heavy if one is reading it while nursing a baby (multi-tasking Mommy style).
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