Denunciations of the state of America’s educational system is * de rigeur*. You can hardly scan an op-ed page without reading a column decrying the results of some just-released study showing such-and-such a percentage of high school graduates can’t name 3 Supreme Court justices, or some number of college graduates can’t place the Civil War in the correct decade, or some other segment of the population has no idea who wrote Hamlet.
Usually, I shake my head in sympathy with these columnists. As a product of publik skoolz myself, however, I find that I can often count myself among those denounced. I went to an excellent public high school, and certainly an above-average college, yet (mainly because I was a poor student) I’m conscious of being ignorant of great swaths of history, literature, and science. I mean, I can name all the SCOTUS justices, since I follow current events, and I know when the Civil War occurred. But for every datum put forth in the aforementioned studies and columns as a yardstick of the quality of one’s education which I happen to know, there are three I don’t. Ones that come to mind right now include what the Magna Carta was, what Napoleon did, why the US was involved in WWI, who discovered the atom, what the Holy Roman Empire was… I don’t know any of this stuff.
I’d love to go back and live my life over, actually paying attention in school this time, but obviously that’s not an option. I’m an adult, supporting myself by working a full-time job, with limited time for study and reading. So is there any way for me to join the ranks of those undenounced by outraged newspaper columnists? I wish there were a book, or series of books, one could read in order to learn ‘the basics’ of a general liberal arts education (the most ‘important’ points of history, science, literature, math, philosophy, etc.)–a ‘Condensed History Of the World’ sort of thing. Any recommendations for resources that might meet this need? Have any of you ever been successful at doing what I’d like to do–giving yourself the ‘education you should have gotten the first time around’ as an adult, out of school, on your own?
“http://www.eastonpress.com/”]The Easton Press sells the 50-volume The Harvard Classics. In the words of Dr. Charles W. Elliot, the president of Harvard University when the series was developed (almost 100 years ago), the set…
The series contains the writings of “great poets. Explorers. Essaysists. Scientists. Religious leaders – including saints and prophets. Political thinkers and economists.”
I haven’t read them myself, but I’ve heard of them. I’ve been thinking of adding them to my bookshelf.
Another one-volume book similar to An Incompleat Education or The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy is Culturescope: The Princeton Review Guide to an Informed Mind. Incidentally, the spelling “compleat,” or by extension “incompleat,” derives ultimately from the book The Compleat Angler by Isaak Walton. There’s an explanation here:
For a multi-volume introduction to general knowledge, you might try reading the various volumes in the series X for Beginners or Introducing X (where X is the subject discussed in the book). Each volume is a 20,000-word introduction to a subject, available only in trade paperback, heavily illustrated with cartoons or clip art. These two series have about 200 books in them now. Each volume is sold separately. They concentrate on new, hipper subjects. I’ve read about 30 of them, and I recommend them.
For even longer introductions to liberal arts knowledge, try the multi-volume series The Great Books of the Western World or The Harvard Classics. Each of these contain something like 60 volumes. They’re only available if you buy the entire series for about $1,500 (or find it used for about $500). They concentrate on older standards from ancient Greek works to the late 19th century.
The Harvard Classics is not cheap, but it’s cheaper than going to Harvard! There are 50 volumes in that series. The first one is $9.99 (intro offer) and the others are $49.95 each. $5.95 postage per volume. So basically you’re looking at over $2,500 for the set. Nice set though. I have other Easton Press editions and they are the most handsome books I own. Nice leather, gilt edges, permanently attached maker ribbon, moire endpapers… Although the text is the same in an Easton Press edition as they are in paperbacks, I find it very pleasing to read a well-made book.
I’m going to have to wait until after Christmas before I start The Harvard Classics though. There are other things going on right now.
Thanks guys. I ordered two of the books mentioned on this thread via Amazon.com. I can identify with the OP—these books were just what I’ve been looking for!
I’ve long lamented about how “ignorant” I am. Not quite as ignorant as some of those folks Jay Leno interviews on Melrose Ave. (you know who I mean…) but pretty pathetic at times. And I don’t consider myself stupid, or dull-witted, not at all. I blame my miserable high school experience. It was so hellish, all I wanted to do was do my time and GET OUT. I must have been pretty clever to have passed all my classes, as I don’t remember doing any homework, or anything; I’ve blocked out so much of that time in my life. Therefore, there are big gaps in my education now.
Being educated has nothing to do with what you took in University. Being educated means well, constantly educating yourself.
I know lots of people who graduate from college, never crack a book again, then go around acting like their brains hold the wisdom of the ages. If all you know is what you learned in college, you’re not particularly well educated. College will teach you research skills, give you academic discipline, and give you exposure to a breadth of topics. It’s what you do with that preparation that will determine whether you are educated.
Thank you for pointing that out. I’ve met a few people like that, as a matter of fact.
<slight hijack> You know, I’ve encountered people with art degrees who also have the same problem. They parade their art degree around like a badge, yet many don’t actually create any more art, and are not actively being an artist. Yet they somehow think that they deserve more respect than the artist (who may be self-taught or whatever), yet is actively working on their art, getting into art shows, and really doing something. What’s up with that?
</ slight hijack>
Check out the Story of Art by Ernst Gombrich for a terrific introduction to the history of painting with some material on architecture and sculpture as well.
The history of the world by JM Roberts (not sure this is the exact title) for a great overview of world history.
You might want to supplement it with the Harper Collins Atlas of World History.
Bertrand Rusell wrote a history of Western Philosophy which makes for a great read (though I have also read that not all his judgments are completely accurate)
If you don’t have the time to read full books on various subjects and an encyclopaedia is always a good back-up. Britannica articles are usually the best and most comprehensive. The World Book, though it is written at a much lower level of sophistication, is still useful for quick introductions to various subjects which you feel ought to know a little ,but only a little, about. (like say the 1812 war).
Thanks, everyone. I’ll check out some of the books mentioned here.
Wouldn’t you know it; just today in the mail I got a brochure from an organization called The Teaching Company, touting their “Great Courses” series. They’re peddling series of taped lectures on philosophy, history, literature, science, math, religion, art, music, etc. They list as their “faculty” professors from respectable universities. I’m thinking one of these might make a good companion on my daily commute. Anyone ever order one of these?
I’ve worked my way through 25 or so of The Great Courses on Tape courses from the Teaching Company. I found them very interesting. Note that they have a couple of different prices for the courses. When a course is new, it sells for a price which works out to about $10 to $12 for each hour of lecture. However, each of the courses get discounted about once a year to approximately $4 to $6 an hour. If you’re going to listen to a number of them anyway, you might as well wait until the one you want gets discounted.
I liked From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun. It’s a history of the arts and literature from 1500 to the present, and quite interesting (mostly) although it did take me forever and a half to read it (it’s the only rival Rise and Fall of the Third Reich has in the competition for Biggest Book on Kyla’s Shelf). But I’d recommend skipping the last chapter, it’s mostly a lot of complaining about how the arts today are nothing compared to when Barzun was a kid, back in the 17th century (approximately).
I think it was Carl Sagan in Demon-Haunted World who dissed the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy for totally lacking in science stuff. So, it’s not the be-all and end-all, although I personally like it.
I was extremely disappointed with An Incomplete Education, although I just checked Amazon and see that there is an edition newer than the one I borrowed from the library. It had a section on American history (great) and a section on World history, which really should have been called European history. There wasn’t the slightest tidbit of history outside of Europe. The ethnocentrism I inferred annoyed me enough to lose all faith in the book and return it to the library unread.
There are 50 volumes in that series. The first one is $9.99 (intro offer) and the others are $49.95 each. $5.95 postage per volume. So basically you’re looking at over $2,500 for the set. Nice set though. I have other Easton Press editions and they are the most handsome books I own. Nice leather, gilt edges, permanently attached maker ribbon, moire endpapers… Although the text is the same in an Easton Press edition as they are in paperbacks, I find it very pleasing to read a well-made book.