Synopses & Reviews
Introducing the ingenious, addictive tool for judging everything under the sun: ENLIGHTENED BRACKETOLOGY, the new science that makes opinion a sport.
Political battles are won and lost by popular vote. Great movies are nominated and chosen by committee. The rest of the world is more or less up for grabs. As a cure for the resulting confusion, Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir have organized the world's most haunting and maddeningly subjective questions into a scheme of binary pairings that finally reveal what is truly the best in its class: What's the greatest American beer? The best Elmore Leonard novel? The most reliable economic indicator? In each bracket five Darwinian rounds of binary matchups leave a lone survivor; textual notes explain the details. Experts and subjects include: Ken Jennings on Game Show Catchphrases; Roz Chast on Animation Characters; Mo Rocca on Political Hot-Button Issues; Stefan Fatsis on Scrabble Words; Kurt Andersen on Conspiracy Theories; Jeff MacGregor on NASCAR Phrases; Will Blythe on Sports Rivalries; Henry Beard on Latin Grammar; the editors of The Bark on Dogs for the Ages; Jesse Sheidlower on Punctuation; Rick Meyerowitz on Dodosaurs; and many more - 101 in all. Go forth and adjudicate!
Review
Praise for The Enlightened Bracketologist: "The Cult of Bracketology"--
New York Times Magazine"The bracket is such a seductive means of portraying existence, and not just during March Madness..."--Forbes
"The second I opened my advance copy of "The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything", I knew that editors Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir were onto something big. I'm talking Barry-Bonds'-head big."--Adam Hofstetter, SI.com
"Clever....Though we may be creatures of ruthless logic, "The Enlightened Bracketologist" seems to be saying we still have a soft spot for Cinderella."--New York Times Magazine
"A delightful new book of lists"--Newsday
"In fact, if there were brackets established for current books that are just for fun, "The Enlightened Bracketologist" would edge out "The Cheater's Guide To Baseball" and move on to the next round."--Bill Littlefield, National Public Radio's "Only A Game"
Synopsis
ENLIGHTENED BRACKETOLOGY—MAKING OPINION A SPORTIntroducing the ingenious, addictive tool for judging everything under the sun
Political battles are won and lost by popular vote. Great movies are nominated and chosen by committee. The rest of the world is more or less up for grabs. As a cure for the resulting confusion, Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir present the new sport of Enlightened Bracketology: a universally adaptable tool for separating good from bad, right from wrong, black from white. What’s the greatest American beer? The best Elmore Leonard novel? The most reliable economic indicator? Five Darwinian rounds of binary matchups leave a lone survivor. Textual notes explain the details. Go forth and adjudicate.
Synopsis
Employing a system of brackets used in sports, this light-hearted and informative study looks at some of popular culture's most baffling questions in a series of double-page spreads, compiled by experts and celebrities, on topics ranging from popular songs and cookbooks to French phrases and wine. Original. 40,000 first printing.
Synopsis
Every March, the NCAA men's basketball tournament blankets newspapers and the Internet, and attracts millions of television viewers over the course of three weeks. Will a perennial favorite like Duke win? Or will it be a dark horse like Gonzaga? The phenomenon known as March Madness galvanizes a nation of viewers as few other sports events can. The reason? Bracketology. America eagerly watches as 64 teams become 32, then 16, then 8, then 4, then 2, and finally #1.
Now it's time to use the same rigorous method for everything that really matters in culture, people, history, the arts and more. In The Enlightened Bracketologist the editors have organized the world's most haunting and maddeningly subjective questions into a scheme of binary pairings that finally reveal what is truly the best in its class: La Tache or Chateau Latour? (1) Barry Bonds or Terrell Owens? (2) "Vissi d'arte" or "Dove Sono"? (3) OJ verdict or JFK assassination? (4) "Top of the world, Ma" or "Nobody's perfect"? (5) Two by two, The Enlightened Bracketologist pits our cultural mainstays against each other; only the finest survive. Every double-page spread of this book will contain a series of brackets compiled by experts and celebrities, with text call-outs that highlight the reason why one competitor moves on and another doesn't. Already committed are Elvis Costello on popular songs; David Bouley on cookbooks; Leon Fleisher on piano music; Renee Fleming on opera arias; Henry Beard on French phrases; Joseph Ward on wine.
Richard Sandomir is the award-winning sports television columnist for the New York Times. His previous books include Bald Like Me: The Hair-Raising Adventures of Baldman and, with Rick Wolff, Life for Real Dummies and Don't Worry, Stop Sweating...Use Deodorant.
Mark Reiter is a literary agent and writer who has collaborated on books with Twyla Tharp, Phil Dusenberry, Mark McCormack, and Marshall Goldsmith.
"1. Best Red Wines; 2. Most Hated Athletes; 3. Greatest Fe""
Synopsis
ENLIGHTENED BRACKETOLOGY--MAKING OPINION A SPORT
Introducing the ingenious, addictive tool for judging everything under the sun
Political battles are won and lost by popular vote. Great movies are nominated and chosen by committee. The rest of the world is more or less up for grabs. As a cure for the resulting confusion, Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir present the new sport of Enlightened Bracketology: a universally adaptable tool for separating good from bad, right from wrong, black from white. What's the greatest American beer? The best Elmore Leonard novel? The most reliable economic indicator? Five Darwinian rounds of binary matchups leave a lone survivor. Textual notes explain the details. Go forth and adjudicate.
About the Author
Richard Sandomir is the award-winning sports television columnist for the
New York Times. His previous books include
Bald Like Me: The Hair-Raising Adventures of Baldman and, with Rick Wolff,
Life for Real Dummies and
Don't Worry, Stop Sweating...Use Deodorant.
Mark Reiter is a literary agent and writer who has collaborated on books with Twyla Tharp, Phil Dusenberry, Mark McCormack, and Marshall Goldsmith.