The New York Times Presents Smarter by Sunday: 52 Weekends of Essential Knowledge for the Curious Mind

by The New York Times

A handy, smaller, and more focused version of our popular New York Times knowledge books―organized by weekends and topic

Fell asleep during history class in high school when World War II was covered? Learned the table of elements at one time but have forgotten it since ? Always wondered who really invented the World Wide Web? Here is the book for you, with all the answers you've been looking for: The New York Times Presents Smarter by Sunday is based on the premise that there is a recognizable group of topics in history, literature, science, art, religion, philosophy, politics, and music that educated people should be familiar with today. Over 100 of these have been identified and arranged in a way that they can be studied over a year's time by spending two hours on a topic every weekend.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, History, Education

560 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. Founded in 1851, the newspaper has won 112 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization. Its website receives 30 million unique visitors per month.

Reviews

[Mary Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a shallow paddle rather than a deep dive. Gives a general overview of a wide variety of subjects in two daily readings. Time has marched on in some of the subjects since 2010, but still basically up to date. I liked some weekends better than others, but did indeed usually feel smarter by Sunday!

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What did you sleep through in school?

In “The New York Times Presents Smarter by Sunday” the book presents 52 weekends of essential knowledge for the curious mind. I consider this a cultural literacy that for better or worse was forced down our throats during school. At that time some people were ready for it and some people were not. But now is your chance to catch up on what you might’ve slept through.

These essential knowledge presentations are by no means complete however they make a good starting point and if you never go any further you are now aware. You should be able to converse with other people that are aware of these pieces of essential knowledge.

“And what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversation?” Well, there are no pictures or graphs; however, there are great conversations. The presentations do not seem to be in any order.

It only took the first weekend to get me hooked on the book. I may have known a tad ahead of time. However, that way I know that it is not a bunch of made up hodgepodge. It covers The Iliad and the Odyssey | Homer | Origins of Theater: Greek Drama | Aeschylus | Sophocles | Euripides. Which seems like a good chunk. But it is just right for a weekend.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still working on this one! Some weeks are harder than others to read...classical music weekend was a tough one for me, but this week is the computer revolution-hoping that it will be really good. My favorite so far was the weekend of Ancient Egypt.

Officially given up on this one...some chapters were ok, while others were a complete bore.

[Janene]

So far, so good. I've only read the first few pages so far, but how nice to have Homer's "Iliad" summed up in three pages! I'll be brilliant by the time I finish this book -- or at least, I'll be rockin' Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy.

[Mike Hohrath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting compendium of various subjects from poetry to the roman empire to nuclear physics. This gives you just enough information to be aware of a subject, and opens various opportunities for further exploration. For example, American Film Directors or great classical music, and provides for the biggest names and their major pieces to look into further. Each section could be explored over the course of days or weeks to provide for a full exploration of the subject, using the book as a guide. For that, it is beneficial. It is a good bathroom read or introduction, and serves it's purpose well. Each of the 104 sections can be read in 20-30 minutes, so I enjoyed reading 1-2 before bed over the course of a couple of months. This is not a must read by any means, but is not a waste of time either. It is what it is and no more, but it does it well enough.

[Wil A Emerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smarter by Sunday has proven to be the best book I've ever read. Not a fan of New York Times, the newspaper, but this is a stunning a compilation of history, science, medicine, music, literature, etc.
The goal, as written, is to read a segment every weekend. My journey through time and historical facts ended in October. Some information so interesting, it's hard to put down.
Highly recommended from high school age on. If only our public schools would take a look at this offering.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

The NYTimes put together a bunch of topics that they felt everyone should have been exposed to. Turns out I was exposed to all of them, some more than others. It was interesting to read about topics covered long ago in grade school and more recently in newspapers. Looks I like a I know a little about a large number of topics.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the 52 topics were more interesting than others; the drier subjects seemed like homework and were not as enjoyable to read. Nevertheless, I am enriched by spending a year learning diverse stuff!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

🧐 Some topics I was happy to complete, others I could’ve read more about it. Overall, a fun read (52 weekends) with my husband. We challenged ourselves to grow our brains a bit in 2025 and challenge completed! 🤓

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts interesting. Some topics I knew well and skipped. Some parts were slow reading if the topic didn't really interest me. Overall glad I read it

[Elaysee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outdated in places (we didn't get the James Webb telescope in 2013, say!) and everyone will value some weekends more than others, but a good concept well-executed overall.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today’s post is on Smarter by Sunday: 52 Weekends of Essential Knowledge for the Curious Mind by The New York Times. It is 500 pages long including an index. The cover is white with an apple cut into sections on it. The intended reader is someone who is very curious. There is no language, no sex, and no violence in this book. Because of the complex themes teens and adults would get the most out of this book. The chapters are told in third person. There Be Spoilers Ahead.



From the dust jacket- Fell asleep during history class in high school when World War II was covered? Don’t know much about William Shakespeare? Always wondered who really invented the World Wide Web? Here is the book for you, with all the answers you’re been looking for: The New York Times Presents Smarter by Sunday is based on the premise that there is a recognizable group of topics in history, literature, science, art, religion, philosophy and music that educated people should be familiar with today. Over one hundred of these have been identified and arranged in a way that they can be studied over a year’s time by spending two hours a weekend. Each weekend covers a single, larger topic and is divided into two days. Each daily entry consisted of 1,500-2,00 words on related subjects.
Sample topics include:



· The Big Bang, stars, and galaxies



· The French Revolution



· The Bible



· China



· The Internet



· The American Civil War



· Rome



· The Renaissance



· American writers



· Modern medicine



· Genetics



· Global warming



· Philosophy



· Nuclear weapons



· American popular music



· Nineteenth-century painting



And many others. Smarter by Sunday is perfect one-year crash course during which the reader will cover a wide range of subjects to attain a solid level of knowledge and a well-balance understanding of the world.



Review- This was an interesting read. I did not know so much about many of the topics and now I think that I could at the very least follow someone who knows a lot about them. The writing is very readable. It is for the general person who just wants to know more about a topic to pick up and read. This would a great book to start with if you are looking for a nonfiction subject to learn more about. It gives you a little bit of everything; like it says on the jacket. I liked that it give a good grounding in all the topics without overwhelming the reader. I have a very curious mind and I have some new topics that I am going to have to read up on. Like women painters in the 19th century. I hope that the New York Times does another book like this one because there is just so much to learn that they did not cover enough for me.



I give this book a Five out if Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.

[Lafatm3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, composed by The New York Times, consisted of a series of 52 summaries of essential topics that a personal ideally should have some knowledge of. Each summary was between 1,500 and 2,000 words broken down into two applicable sections. As someone coming from an education background, I remember having discussions in my foundations of education class about the best way to both identify and implement a common body of knowledge that all our students should have before they graduate. I was actually impressed by how much I knew (or at least was aware of) in reading about these fifty-two topics and I felt that somehow I was able to amass at least a surface understanding of the majority of topics that an educated adult should be aware of. There was very little I did not know, so I owe a debt of gratitude to all my teachers for properly educating me along the way.

One of the reasons this book gets four stars is simply the fact that it was apparent that some of these chapters simply weren't reviewed or properly edited, specifically some of those relating to history. There were a handful of obvious grammatical errors (like unclosed parentheses) that should have been caught by an editor right away. I don't know if publication was rushed but there really should be no excuse for a ten-page section on a given topic not to be properly proofread. In addition, some of the chapters were a little dry which seems inevitable when you bring together a wide variety of topics to one single publication. Overall though, it was an enjoyable book and as someone who enjoys engaging in trivia nights from time to time, the book has already come in handy on a couple of occasions which is always a good thing.

[Molly Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would give this 2.5 stars...I enjoyed a lot of it and the chapters were a manageable size for what it is attempting to do. But I was disappointed in the errors I found sprinkled throughout the book. I doubt they were errors in research, but were more likely the result of sloppy, careless or non-existent editing which is an all-too-common problem these days. None of the errors were earth shattering (except for maybe the location of Buddy Holly's death) but if someone like me can catch some mistakes, it makes me wonder how many other errors went zooming right past me. I guess I expect a lot more from something with "The New York Times presents..." in the title.

[Elaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read only the first few chapters. I was disturbed and amazed by the number of factual errors. You would think the New York Times would be able to afford a fact checker. You would think the editor would have caught these simple errors. For example, Buddy Holly did not die in Wisconsin, General George Pickett did not lead Pickett's Charge. These and other errors made me wonder how many I missed, so I gave up on the book. Maybe a future edition will include better fact checking/editing.

[Stacy]

Extremely detailed and very interesting. You really can't get through a chapter in one sitting unless you are already more than familiar with the subject.

[Doug Reith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. Little short reads on topics I learned a long time ago in school, but completely forgot.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't finish - what I read was OK but it's not the kind of book I can read quickly - if I owned it instead of checking it out of the library I would have kept reading.

[Daisy]

Incredibly American centric but good summaries.

[dallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I actually do feel smarter. The red ribbon book marker was a nice touch for this book that has stayed on my nightstand for 52 weekends.

[Obiora Okwudili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

[Mysteryfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Smartly-chosen topics and all the essential information

[Morgan Bresko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't quite finish the whole thing, more of a work in progress. :) Fun to check out though.

[Constance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of history I missed in school…… or I forgot.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters were really good, but most were just too broad to be of any use.

[Laura Pattee · Rating 4 out of 5]

informative and entertaining.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot reading a chapter a week.

[Dick Brautigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book....great reading ........