Two Books that Will Make You Smarter

1. The Intellectual Devotional by Kidder and Oppenheim . This book has 1-page summaries on each of the seven different fields of knowledge (history, literature, visual arts, science, music, philosophy, and religion). I came across it on a clearance rack at a bookstore and bought it after shuffling through the pages. It has encyclopedic entries about topics important to that particular field. For example, one of my favorite pages was about Bertrand Russell (Philosopher) and his contributions to science and logic. What makes this book great though is that it’s not cut-and-dry information. It also has personal details about the person/event/topic. At the bottom of each page is an “additional facts” section but I like to think of it as the “juiciest facts” section. This is where most of the interesting and personal facts are. I recommend this book to anyone any educational level that has a curiosity to learn. The Intellectual Devotional book was, I think, my luckiest find ever.

1. 50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know by Ben Dupre is the second book. This book contains 4-page entries about 6 fields of knowledge: philosophy, religion, politics, economics, arts, and science. I like to think of this book as a little more practical that The Intellectual because, while being as objective, it deals with more dynamic aspects of society. At the end of every topic, there is a question posed to make you reflect on what you’ve just read. Being a bookworm, I took notes on all the sections. It’s like a college course all over again, except you get to learn at your own pace.

These two books are the ones I recommend for now. As I discover more I will write about them. They are both very dear to me (I would not take the cover price for them) and will reread them for eternity. I hope you enjoyed the review. I have some links on where you can find these book at the bottom.