The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge, Second ... (ISBN 0312376596)

if this is knowledge, I prefer ignorance:
A masterpiece of Orwellian titling, this book contains over 1000 pages of trivia wrapped in a pretty dust jacket that promises a thorough review of "essential" knowledge. Now I like trivial knowledge as much as the next guy (more, probably), but let's be honest: if you didn't know a single one of the facts in this book, you'd get through life just fine. Maybe if the book told you how to change a tire on a car or something, it'd be worth the price, but it doesn't (I looked in the index, so I know.) All this book will do is help you avoid looking uninformed at cocktail parties... perhaps this is what qualifies as an "essential" skill in the modern era. To quote Lisa Simpson, this book "gets the facts right, but misses the point entirely."

Great Source For Information:
The essential book of knowlege is an easy reference book and jam backed with useful information. It can answer those quirky questions that you forgot the answers to quickly and easily. When was the last time you read the Declaration of Independence? What are those wine regions in France? How do I correctly punctuate this sentence? Faster than the internet.

The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge:
Readers interested in or curious about Latin American literature should get their money back from the editors and a letter of apology. The Latin American entry under the "World Literature" section is simply grotesque and unacceptable in a book of this nature. Check out the spelling of Manuel Gutierrez Najera's paternal last name on p. 56 and the unbelievable mauling of Mariano Azuela's given name (spelled as "Matriana...!") But that's not all. Alejo Carpentier comes across as "Alfonso" Carpentier and Mexican author Gregorio Lopez y Fuentes's novel "El indio" is somehow transposed to Peru and retitled ""Peru and the Indian." I would hate to have to rely on this book for information on any literature that is not written in English.

A big boost toward being informed:
This book doesn't cover everything, but it's a great start toward in-depth study of the world around us. I wouldn't view it as the alpha and omega of reference books, but each section inspires the reader to do outside reading. Take a year or so to go through it and you'll come out with a well-rounded and broad perspective-- and you'll be pretty good at Jeopardy! too :)

a taste of everything:
This book has been a lot of fun and has me reading about things that I wouldn't normally pick up a whole book on. Instead I get some solid information and it has prompted me to check out other topics in more detail. For example, it starts with a great introduction to architecture. I have been looking online and in other books to learn more about Gothic architecture which is something I wouldn't have done before. Obviously it can't cover everything but it is worth the time if you are interested in learning new things, expanding your education to fill some of the holes left from school etc.