When The Intellectual Devotional debuted in the fall of 2006, it became an instant national bestseller. NBC?s Today show judged it a "great book to give as a Christmas gift." A year later, The Intellectual Devotional: American History also leaped onto bestseller lists. Now, an avid readership of "devoted intellectuals" will be eager to build on the knowledge base it acquired in the first two books, and what better way to do so than to dive into the complex and vital world of Western culture? Here, the authors turn to the fascinating world of our contemporary culture covering the essential artists, works, icons, and consumer products that have defined the way we live and express ourselves. From War and Peace to Catcher in the Rye, from Beethoven to John Lennon, from H. L. Mencken to Marilyn Monroe, from Andy Warhol to American Idol?the defining events and figures from literature, music, film, sports, and pop culture are served up in morsels of daily wisdom that will revive forgotten knowledge and open new horizons of intellectual discovery.
An Information Bonaza November 22, 2008 This collection of cd's is really quite more that I could have ever expected. I love to know interesting things about society and culture and this collection is amazing. I find myself listening to and from work everyday and then sharing my new little bits of info to co-workers. For anyone who enjoys quiz shows this is a worthwhile collection. For anyone who prefers listening over reading you will become quite an informed individual at the end of the day...
Good as a book - but the CD version just isn't the same November 20, 2008 There is no doubt that the book is valuable for learning new little pieces of trivia and such. Unfortunately, it's not suited for the audio format. This is really a bedside book to pick-up and read a "devotional" a night, or to read one with breakfast each morning. Hearing them all, one after another, as you do in the audio version is tedious and takes something away from what the book is really all about. 4 Stars for content, 1 star as an audio book.
Boring! Could not get past the first CD. November 20, 2008 I guess I had the wrong expectations. If you are pretty good with arts and culture stuff already, you will find this monotoned verson unbearable. But it could be good for someone looking for quick facts and innuendos.
Devotionals are too short for car listening. November 20, 2008 I love listening to books in the car, and I was excited to get this one and learn some things in the process. I like the idea of learning something while I am driving myself and others around. I have to drive, so why waste time being mindless? And this book seemed promising. However, I think it would be better as a bedside book or bathroom book rather than on CD. The little devotionals were too short for a car ride and it was all scattered information that didn't link. I need something in the car that flows and is easy to follow. There are too many distractions on the road to really concentrate on short snippets of information. Maybe I would feel different about it if the information linked to itself and flowed. It would be better to listen to it while you are doing some short kind of activity around the house. I appreciate the information, but it would be better in book form.
short articles that are self-contained, perfect for medium-length commute November 20, 2008 I've read the original Intellectual Devotional book, which was organized in a 365 daily article format. I've also read the book on American history, from the same series. Based on my familiarity with the past volumes, I was looking forward to the new addition to the series. Like Mental Floss publications, the Intellectual Devotional series is all about short, bite-size trivia. The daily format makes it easy to pick it up, read for 10 minutes, and feel mildly satisfactory from the newly gained trivia knowledge. You are not going to become a polymath from reading these trivia books, but it will certainly make you feel more knowledgeable, and should some new trivia information interests you, you can always devote more time into researching/reading more about the subject. The audio book format for this series actually makes sense, the articles are not connected, so you can pick up any one of the set and listen whenever and wherever. There will be no pressure to listen to the entire audio book from start to finish. In fact, there will be no pressure to even finish listening the entire book. Perfect for medium-length commute! Recommended.
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