The Intellectual Devotional – Biographies

The fifth installment of this best-selling series features 365 captivating entries about the most celebrated personalities in history. Like its compulsively readable predecessors, The Intellectual Devotional Biographies is organized into seven categories, one for each day of the week. With their trademark wit and style, authors David Kidder and Noah Oppenheim offer an array of fascinating facts about major figures from Atilla the Hun to Desmond Tutu.

In this daily devotional, you’ll learn about Authors and Artists, from Homer and Ovid to Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf; Leaders, such as Queen Elizabeth I, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, and Napoleon Bonaparte; Innovators, from Johannes Gutenberg to Isaac Newton to Werner Heisenberg; Philosophers, including Socrates, Epicurus, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean-Paul Sartre; Rebels and Reformers, from Joan of Arc and Spartacus to Galileo and Che Guevara; Preachers and Prophets, including Lao-tzu, John the Baptist, Martin Luther, and Gandhi; and Villains, such as Benedict Arnold, Genghis Khan, Ivan the Terrible, and Jack the Ripper.

This volume shares the personal histories, accomplishments,and troubles of 365 people who have left an indelible mark on the world.

The Intellectual Devotional – General Edition

Millions of Americans keep bedside books of prayer and meditative reflection-collections of daily passages to stimulate spiritual thought and advancement. The Intellectual Devotional is a secular version of the same-a collection of 365 lessons that will inspire and invigorate the reader every day of the year. Each nugget of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: History, Literature, Philosophy, Mathematics & Science, Religion, Visual Arts, and Music.

Impress your friends by explaining the meaning of Plato’s “Cave Allegory,” pepper your cocktail party conversation with opera terms, solve math problems using the FOIL method. These lessons range from important passages in literature to basic principles of physics, from pivotal events in history to images of famous paintings with accompanying analysis. The book’s goal is to refresh knowledge you’ve forgotten, bring to light fresh insights, and exercise modes of thinking that are ordinarily neglected once our school days are behind us. Offering an escape from the daily grind to contemplate higher things, The Intellectual Devotional is a great way to awaken in the morning or recharge oneself before retiring in the evening.

The Intellectual Devotional – American History

United States history is an epic tale nearly three centuries long, and the American History edition of The Intellectual Devotional provides lessons in nearly every aspect of it. After devoting a year to the 365 entries in our latest edition, you’ll be conversant with our nation’s past as it has unfolded in seven diverse fields: Politics & Leadership, War & Peace, Rights & Reform, Business, Building America, Literature and Art.

Refresh your memory on the details of the Watergate scandal; review the sometimes tragic and sometimes triumphant history of the conflicts that have shaped America; watch the progress of civil rights from the Middle Passage to the Voting Rights Act; and reacquaint yourself with the fruits of American ingenuity-its extraordinary inventions, great art and innovative literature. The newest Intellectual Devotional provides lessons in all of these topics and many, many more. A great addition to your shelf, and another year of instruction and inspiration.

The Intellectual Devotional – Modern Culture

There are few more powerful sources of influence than the popular culture-those people, works of art, ideas, and phenomena that capture the collective imagination. With the advent of mass media in the twentieth century, that influence has only grown-the television shows we grew up with, the films that touched us, the music that formed the soundtrack of our lives. The study of our modern culture is essential to understanding common frames of reference. These readings offer a nostalgic and entertaining immersion in the most enduring cultural touchstones of the past 100 years.

Like our previous devotionals, these readings offer regular stimulation for the mind, a refreshing escape, and an education in critical realms of knowledge. Each entry is an in-depth treatment of the subject, yet easily digestible in one sitting. From the Slinky to Star Wars; Beatlemania to Babe Ruth; flappers to fascism-refreshing your memory and dazzling your friends has never been easier, or more fun.

The Intellectual Devotional – Health

In this fourth installment in the bestselling Intellectual Devotional series authors Noah Oppenheim and David Kidder team up with Dr. Bruce Young to offer a year’s worth of medical knowledge and wellness wisdom. Each daily dose is drawn from one of seven health categories: lifestyle and preventive medicine; the mind; medical milestones; drugs and alternative treatments; sexuality and reproduction; disease and ailments; and children.

From Typhoid Mary to the human genome, Vitamin B to penicillin, these 365 informative and infectious entries will both revive the mind and rejuvenate the body. Sure to please devoted intellectuals and newcomers alike, this timely volume sheds new light on an endlessly fascinating subject: ourselves.