Customer Reviews:
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 Essential Knowledge! December 26, 2007
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
Maybe not all essential, but interesting things throughout! A nice gift and coffee table occupant.
 Good collection of information, yet nothing unique November 24, 2007
26 out of 28 found this review helpful
In response to the previous post: Please don't feel alarmed about the missing information. I am certain hundreds of people were contributing to this vast publishing. If there was "an omission" in the history department, science material was not affected. One book will never be able to capture everything considered "essential". Essential for a European is not essential for, say, an American. No one book will make you "essentially informed".
I found the depth of this knowledge to be just right, though. I don't care to shine on Jeopardy. My goal is to become aware without getting too deeply into it unless I am really passionate about a particular subject.
Instead of noticing what's not there, I've noticed what IS there, and what's there is PLENTY. For example: we all heard about Sunni and Shiites Islaam, but I doubt many, including, and especially, George Bush know the difference. How many of Seven Wonders of the World can you name? Do you know who Pygmalion was? Did you know television was invented in 1927? Did you know that America has the highest rate of STD's of all industrial nations? Do you know why? Do you care? If the examples did not evoke some sort of curiosity, this book, in all likelihood, will seem useless to you. But if you found that your brain lit up with tingly wonder, this book would probably be a good place to start.
On the negative side, truthfully, there is nothing unique or incredible about this book that sets it apart from others. It's just like any other almanacs published every year by New York Times. It's just another information-filled book, not better or worse....
This book has over 1300 pages without a single illustration, and of course, is basic, but don't let it fool you, you can still find something new that can send you to the library or the web to satisfy your curiosity. If you are an average American, (not a geek, who probably already knows all this stuff anyway), if you are curious about the world you live in, and would like not to appear dumb when others discuss world's events at a party, you will surely find something fascinating about this "everyday" stuff. Something you probably had heard mentioned as recently as today without really realizing how little you knew about the subject in point. Each category contains 10-15 pages. Topics: philosophy, psychology, Broadway, geology, geography, eath science, history, world wars, music, political science, pop culture, world events and so on...
My New Year's resolution: one section a week.
 Great information, but glaring omissions November 6, 2007
17 out of 36 found this review helpful
I am a high school history teacher and I found this book to be a great source of all kinds of information, but was stunned to find no chart of all the U.S. Presidents with term dates, political party, etc! This must have been just a mistaken omission-- there is a complete list of all Speakers of the House and Supreme Court Chief Justices. The fact that such an obvious chart was left out makes the entire book suspect--- what other 'essential information' was carelessly forgotten?? I would have been interested in this book, but instead will get my information elsewhere.
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