The History of CliffsNotes + Its Current Endeavors

CliffsNotes (formerly known as Cliffs Notes, and often, erroneously called CliffNotes) are study guides for students that condense and explain literary words in pamphlet form (and now online). As one can imagine, CliffsNotes are not well-liked by most educators, because they encourage the avoidance of reading a book in its entirety. While I myself love reading and know that nothing can truly be a substitute for a great book, I must admit owning a few yellow and black CN booklets myself back in high school (shhhhh).

CliffsNotes was started in 1958 by Cliff Hillegass. At the time, he worked at Nebraska Book Co. in Lincoln, Nebraska and there met Jack Cole, who was the co-owner of Coles, a book business in Toronto, who was the publisher of Coles Notes, a series of Canadian study guides. Coles offered the American rights to Hillegass and it was then that Cliff and his wife, Catherine, started the business in the basement of their home and began with sixteen William Shakespeare titles.

A New York Times obituary of Hillegass noted that "the phrase CliffsNotes has entered the language as a shorthand for shortcut, often used in a way that implies a lack of nuance or thorough understanding." But apparently, the publisher never intended the guides to be used as "cheat sheets" by students who never read original texts.

John Wiley & Sons bought CliffsNotes in 2001 from IDG Books. In the early years, Wiley was best known for publishing the works of Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and other 19th-century American literary giants. By the turn of the century, Wiley was established as a leading publisher of scientific and technical information.

Today, the CliffNotes website offers book synopses for free, as well as CliffsNotes CramCasts which they describe as: " ...a fun and free way to review popular literary classics on the go. Each CramCast is a three-to four-minute overview of a classic work of literature and gives you background on the author, a brief summary of the book or play, and ends with the top three things you should know about the work. CliffsNotes CramCasts are easily downloadable to your iPod® or MP3 player, so whether you're on your way to class or studying for an exam, CramCasts go where you go!"

Wow, how times have changed, eh?