The New York Times Presents Smarter by Sunday: 52 Weekends of Essential Knowledge for the Curious Mind Hardcover – October 26, 2010

Highly recommended. This book covers a very wide variety of subjects which are of interest to anyone who values information not only on current events but all the major happenings in the history of mankind. It contains more detail than other books I have read which offer a breadth of subject matter but not as much detail as covered in this book. A must buy!

"Smarter by Sunday" serves as a easy introduction to many subjects you may think you know or more likely knew. The 10 page per subject limit makes it a perfect read for the bathroom, unless you have a large family and only one "throne."The material is accessible, wide ranging, and fairly well written. If after reading any of the selections you are stimulated to delve deeper, the book has more than served its purpose.On the downside, it would probably not be prudent to enter a deep discussion with a "cocktail party" expert based on ten pages of background material.

I would like to start off by saying I loved the book. Yes,it is not an in-depth review of all the topics under the sunbut, one should obviously not expect it to be so.In my opinion, this book is for those who do not have decentgeneral knowledge but are looking for a great place to start.I know all the information is readily available on Wikipediabut, for some body who is just starting off, it may be toooverwhelming[It was for me!].For example, I wanted to know about the American Civil War[ I am a foreignstudent in US :P] but found the information on the internet too elaborate.I started looking for a source that would first give me the 'big picture'on important topics and once I understood the basics, I found articles onthe same topic on Wikipedia, Encarta and Britannica much easier to comprehend.What I usually do is after reading about a certain topic inthis book, I read the corresponding or relevant material from'The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge'. These twobooks complement each other very well. And no, I am in no wayaffiliated with or work for New York Times!!I wish I had these books 15 years ago! Sigh!Cheers!

Fast delivery & book in good condition. Lots of fun info too! Pleased.

i enjoyed exploring some interesting topics but had to (in some of the week's topics) struggle to read past the blatant bias and agenda that is very present. Also, some of the historical inaccuracies actually limit the books during some topics which pull you into a direction based on a biased view of the historical record. All of that one would expect of a publication such as The New York Times, but it does disappoint none-the-less. It just wasn't needed but was inserted.

My sister wanted this as a birthday gift and after having to reorder it it finally arrived, a little late but not this seller's fault. She decided that she needed to keep her brain active and reads a bit every day. She loves all the information.

Easy read for historical information. I the book format allows the reader to finish in one year, just by reading one section/chapter each week. I hope that a second edition will be published.

Nice collection of educational essays on a multiplicity of topics ranging from history to culture to science. Everyone will learn something from reading a topic now and then.