It's a great reviwm for the A.P. History examn

Want to look up cultural references in Denis Miller's rants? Can't remember what the Byzantine empire did? Feel like your loosing your memory? This book can help!

Yes, I'll admit the title does have a certain haughtiness and presumptiouness to it, but this book is packed with information. The topics covered are quite broad, and I guess it would HAVE to be if the goal is to ensure cultural literacy. Including all the things you should have learned in highschool had you been paying attention, this book is a great refresher course in everything from History, to Literature, to proverbs and idioms in the English language.

It has a bit of a western bias, which is sort of what I'm getting at when I say the title presumes alot. Perhaps an alternate title (and I mean this without cynicsm) would be "what most Americans don't know about America but should." I include myself in that category, by the way.

The best thing about this book is it's organization. At first, I was wishing it was all alphabetical, but then you realize that grouping entries in catagorized chapters is better. Additionally, the bites of data are concise and easily digested, enough to answer a question and provide enough information for you to look elsewhere if you want in depth explainations.

Some of the editorial and customer reviews seem to be confused by what they mean when they call Hirsch a "conservative."

Hirsch is only a conservative in the sense that he is confortable with the status quo and is cautious about accepting change but not unwilling. The political right-wing of today calls itself "conservative" but is actually ULTRA-conservative, wanting to turn back the clock on cultural changes and has an almost paranoid view of the left. According to interviews, Hirsch sees himself as more an old New Deal liberal, and while he may often disagree with contemporary radicals on some cultural matters, he does not treat them with utter contempt like today's right-wing movement tends to do.

(For examples, of the type of far-right "conservatives" I was mentioning above, think Allan Bloom or Philip Johnson.)

As for the book itself, it's a good list, but none of the authors ever intended to make it comprehensive of the entire culture. (The main reason Germaine Greer and Sherman Alexie are not mentioned may simply be space limitations. They even had to cut some stuff from the last edition.)

New Dictionary Of Cultural Literacy provides a basic, working knowledge of cultural changes and ltierary topics which range from concepts of the digital divide and Kwanzaa to pheromones, spam, and different cultural icons which have changed over the centuries. Chapters are organized by general topic (world history, American history, politics, psychology and sociology) and provide an A-Z reference for each chapter. Browsers and students alike will find it handy.

Yes. That's right - i said a place to *start* your research journey.

This is in no way, shape, or form a book that will help you write a paper, pass a history course, or understand some obscure literary reference in a poem.

If you read it, however, you may just impress Jay Leno when he does his "Jay Walking" segments on the Tonight Show.

For what it is - an all purpose guide to Western / american culture - it does a good job. I've referenced my copy many times over the years. ie When I'm watching a movie set during the life and times of Horatio Nelson, I've looked up Nelson in the book. When I'm reading a book that takes place during the Napoleonic Wars, I've referenced quite a few things.

Is this the entire history of Western / American culture? NO. It's a thumbnail sketch with many, many holes.

It is however, quite informative and interesting.

As long as you understand what it is and what it isn't - I'd recommend the book.

I was given this book as a birthday present about 8 years ago. It is still on my shelf, and it still gets used every once an awhile. It is a wonderful book for people who are very curious, people who would like a little refresher on general knowledge, and for people who love jeopoardy and triva pursuit. The book is divided into different categories which cover a broad base of knowledge, including history, religion, mythology, social science, and literature. I would like to see a new edition with more current event information, however, I still believe that this is a good buy, especially for students, teachers, or trivia buffs, because it is an excellent (and quick) reference guide to just about everything.

Everytime I read a novel, poem, or essay, there is invaribly a literary illusion, historical mention, or theme that I know nothing about. At this point, out pops the good old Dictionary of Culteral Literacy. Its a book of knowledge that quickly covers many different topics that one day in your life you might need to know a quick fact about. I use this book as my general Cliff's notes.

I am an AP US History student and I foud this text was hard to read and study. Many pages are devoted to social issues and signifigant political events often recieve little or no attention. Trying to study for the AP test from this book is difficult because of the lack of information on some areas. The text does include many interesting details, but is not recomended for AP History students.

I am using this book as a reference in my high school history class, and it is clearly a well-researched, well-written, and easy to use resource. It is obvious that many people think it is too wordy and difficult to understand, but it is a college text and should be treated like one. I would definitely recommend it to anyone preparing for a college American history class.

I used The Enduring Vision as a text for my AP US History class in high school. The organization, development, and discussion in the book increased my understanding of each era of our history. When used as one of two or three texts for the AP class (which I do recommend), The Enduring Vision provided me with insight into the major aspects of our history. The Student Manual to accompany The Enduring Vision was also a helpful tool in preparing for the AP Exam.

If you are taking American History and are using the Enduring Vision text, you MUST get this book to accompany it. Not only does it have a summary, but also key terms and sample questions to help you pass the tests in class. I would deffinately recomend it!

I think that this is a terrible book. It is boring, lengthy, and worded so that you will fall asleep after 10 minutes of reading

This book is the best text book for AP U.S. History classes!

The book has lots information. It's just organized poorly. It has several spelling mistakes in a couple of the chapters in the beginning. I haven't looked at the rest yet. It is a shame that this is the quality of educational material that people are satisfied with.

Be warned -- the latter half of the book's title has been chopped off of the webpage! This is the second volume of a two volume set, covering (if I recall correctly) 1861 onwards.

This book is read in my AP US History class at school. It gives a very clear picture as to what was going on historically in the United States. It is easy reading for the class and is great preperation for the AP US History Exam. The only problem with the book is it gets out of chronological order at times. For example at one part the presidency of Jefferson is talked about before a president who came before him chronologically. Despite the book being somewhat out of order it is good reading material for preparation for the AP Exam.

I am currently using this textbook for my AP United States History class. While it is definetly factual and a good general knowledge book for people interested in History, it's difficult to study from. The wording is not easy and often gets extremely flowery. Also, the text focuses on specific incidences and doesn't cover concepts very deeply, if at all. I often find that I'm left to draw my own conclusions from it and then I have to go to other sources for the information I need for tests.

This book provides a complete description of US History. All the importaint facts are covered in the book, but not any more in depth than a paragraph or two on a subject. Occasionally, though, the text does become difficult to follow. Topics aren't presented cronoligically, but instead are grouped together in a approximate time span. IE.. The culture of the United Stated in the 1860s and 1870s was discussed before there was any mention at all about the Civil War. However, the high level of knowledge that can be gained by treading this book in its straight forward approach far outweigh any problems that may be encountered.

IT WAS INTERESTING BUT VERY LENGTHY IN DETAIL. I THOUGHT IT WAS UNNECESSARY TO HAVE ALL OF THE EXTRA STUFF. OVERALL I THOUGHT IT WAS OK.

After having read The pursuit of knowledge under difficulties: From self-improvement to adult education in America, 1750-1990 by Joseph F. Kett (1994), I can only describe it as an analysis of historical developments in adult education/learning from a white middle to upper class, male, Protestant perspective. Granted, I do not know enough about the author to determine either his race, socioeconomic status or religious affiliations, however, the tone of this work along with the examples which are cited represent the perspectives inherent in the above mentioned groups. While he has clearly attempted to include other perspectives in this work, his attempts are mediocre at best. The subtitle of the book "From self-improvement to adult education in America, 1750-1990"" says a great deal about the author's bias. Coming as it does as an elaboration of how knowledge was pursued under difficulties, it is ironic that he would choose to identify the progression as one springing from self-improvement. In fact, for many groups adult education was simply a survival and self-preservation tool rather than a simple desire for self-improvement. For many within these groups, mere self-improvement has just recently begun to be a true objective (if at all). Thus the fact that he has chosen this approach betrays his male, middle to upper class paradigm. For, as he so eloquently conveys in the book, it was the elite from whom the catalyst for self-improvement was to come rather than the poor. As he says: "By 1750 literature and philosophy in the Anglo-American world rested on several clear but narrow foundations.... knowledge still led, as in the Renaissance, to the ideal of the gentleman....The cultivation of knowledge could complement dress, manners, and furnishings." (p.4) In all fairness to the author, there is always a limit to the scope of any work and the possibility of exploring every aspect of all groups is not possible. However, the error of omission in the case of this historical analysis communicates the erroneous idea that all modern forms of adult education sprang exclusively from the efforts of those gentlemen he so eloquently describes. This is an idea to which I vehemently object. It is curious that in a work dealing with developments within American society, not a single mention is made of those individuals who are native to this country and whose presence predates the arrival of the early immigrants. Research in other works provides evidence that there was certainly activity within the Native American tribes that can, by Kett's definition, be labeled as adult education. Another group that has been given unfair coverage within this work is that of the African American. Although Kett does make some mention of the noted African American Booker T. Washington, he does not do justice to the struggle for advancement that existed within this group. For example, there is no mention made of individuals such as T. Thomas Fortune, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. Du Bois. Another example of Kett's unfair omission of the voice of this group is in the fact that he does not discuss the role of self-education within this group. His discussions in the early chapters of the book talk about self-education and its role for those within the middle and upper strata of society, but make no mention of self-education efforts by African Americans. While it could be argued that his discussion does not preclude this possibility, the fact that it is not even addressed (particularly given the fact that it was highly unlikely that blacks would be prominent within the groups Kett does discuss) serves to further reinforce the idea that activity in this realm was the privilege of white America. Another group that is not mentioned is that of the Jewish people. While I do not have substantial evidence to show that adult education efforts existed within Jewish communities, the fact that institutions such as the Hebrew Union College were in existence as early as 1873 indicates that this effort did, in fact, exist.. While Kett does make mention of this group of people (such as in his fleeting reference to the Jewish People's Institute in Chicago and the School for Adult Jewish Education in New York (p.391)), it is fleeting and within the larger societal context. Coming as this does after his extensive discussions regarding the development of adult education as an outcome of Protestant religious efforts (e.g. the Chautauqua movement), it does nothing in terms of representing the Jewish voice. I must confess that my own knowledge of American history or the history of the different groups is limited at best. However, even with this limited knowledge I was able to find out about American adult education developments not even touched upon by Kett. As such, this book is lacking. While it is a reasonable survey of developments as seen from a white middle to upper class, male, Protestant perspective, it leaves much to be desired in terms of its representation of the development of adult education in America.