02229cam a22003377a 450000100090000000300040000900500170001300800410003001000170007101500190008801600180010702000250012502000220015003500240017204000520019604200140024805000220026208200150028424501100029924600220040925000180043126000430044930000280049233600210052033700250054133800230056650000200058952012180060965000440182773000200187116663095OSt20180530111138.0110223s2010    nyu      f    001 0 eng    a  2011280362  aGBB0859662bnb7 a0156055242Uk  a9780312571344 (hbk.)  a0312571348 (hbk.)  a(OCoLC)ocn430839610  aUKMcUKMdBTCTAdYDXCPdIH9dJQJdZS3dCDXdDLC  alccopycat00aAG106b.N493 201004a031.0222204aThe New York times presents Smarter by Sunday :b52 weekends of essential knowledge for the curious mind.30aSmarter by Sunday  aFirst Edition  aNew York :bSt. Martin's Press,c2010.  aix, 550 pages ;c22 cm.  2rdacontentatext  2rdamediaaunmediated  2rdacarrieravolume  aIncludes index.  aThis book does exactly what it sets out to do: provide readers with “very basic information in a variety of subjects usually associated with what was once called ‘a well-rounded education.’” Divided into 52 sections—a weekend’s worth of reading for an entire year—the text explores the history of newspapers and magazines, English poetry from Beowulf to the Victorians, the Bible, American fiction, ancient Egypt, the history of computing, radio and television, American cinema, and much, much more. It reads like the kind of textbook you wish you’d had in school: succinct, easily digestible, even stylishly written. It’s also mostly free of political side-taking or editorial commentary; its goal is to inform and provide context but not to make moral or artistic judgments. Adolf Hitler, for example, is discussed in terms of his political and military actions, and the classic films Jaws and Star Wars are described as “action-driven narratives fueled by mechanical and special effects, which became blockbusters that attracted youth audiences and set box-office records.” Readers are left to assign their own moral and artistic values. A very informative, very useful book. --David Pitt 0aWorld HistoryvHandbooks, manuals, etc.0 aNew York times.