Hartford Courant, Apr. 26, 2004

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Condensed Knowledge: Low-Carb, No-Fat Food for Thought
By Carole Goldberg, Courant Books Editor

Here's a money-saving tip.

If you don't have $40,000 or so a year for a good liberal arts education, or if you forgot everything you learned in college about five minutes after they handed you a diploma, shell out $14.95 for a copy of Condensed Knowledge and absorb the contents. (But don't add water; the pages will get all mushy.)

In no time at all, you'll be able to beef up your brain power, hold your own at parties and impress or annoy - your choice - your friends at work.

Condensed Knowledge, a 327-page trade paperback with a tomato-soupy-red-and-cream cover bearing a photo of Albert Einstein, is published by HarperResource. Just like food products, it sports one of those "Nutrition Facts" boxes, but this one boasts "100 percent daily value of fascinating trivia and pure entertainment," with just "25 percent bad humor." No carbs, no protein, no calories. Just information.

The book is a spin-off from mental_floss magazine. That's the six-times-a-year publication founded in 2001 that is dedicated to making readers "feel smart again."

Or, quite possibly, for the first time.

The book offers crash courses in what it calls "15 delicious varieties": literature, science, philosophy, psychology, art history, music appreciation, history, biology, physics, pop culture, religion and performing arts. Not to mention the stuff that's really hard to make tasty: chemistry and geography and economics.

mental_floss began life as a bright idea hatched in late-night bull sessions in a college dorm, but - rarity of rarities - this one was pursued and perfected. Its founders, Will Pearson and Mangesh Hattikudur met as freshmen at Duke University and they, along with Elizabeth Hunt, edited Condensed Knowledge. The magazine now has 20,000 subscribers and is sold at major bookstores. There's also a Web site, www.mentalfloss.com.

Each chapter offers lists, boxes and other eye-catching graphic devices that present a smorgasbord of facts and easy-to-digest explanations.

In Art History, besides a rundown of important styles and "Nudes You Ought To Know by Name (and Have as Fridge Magnets)," you also get a welcome primer on how to "Fake Your Way Through a Conversation at an Art Opening."

In the section on Biology, you get "4 Excuses To Get a Prescription for Chocolate" and "Things Your Boss Has in Common With Slime Mold." Well, maybe you already know what those are.

Music's chapter tells you "Why Les Paul Is God" and tips you to the three things you've got wrong about opera.

Clever presentation and funny headlines aside, this book serves up a nourishing meat-and-potatoes menu of cultural information. Chances are you'll find that reading it is "M'm! M'm! Good!"

Copyright © 2004 Hartford Courant.