When's the last time you thanked Cliff Hillegass?
By Kirsten Nelson
Daily Free Press Staff Writer

Students everywhere are indebted to Cliff Hillegass, and they don't even know why.

Hillegass, a salesman at the Nebraska Book Company in Lincoln, Neb., invented the infamous Cliffs Notes in 1958. He got the idea from a friend named Jack Cole who was doing fairly well north of the border selling a line of study guides that he called Coles Notes.

Hillegass thought Cole's idea was good enough to try in the United States, but when he brought the idea to the Nebraska Book Company, it wasn't interested.

But that didn't stop him, and with his employer's permission, Hillegass set off on his own to create a new study method. He borrowed $4,000 from the bank and started publishing the books called Cliffs Notes from the basement of his home in Lincoln.

He began with 16 Shakesperian titles and did so well that within two years, Hillegass was able to add 150 titles to his roster. Now Cliffs Notes are selling by the millions worldwide.

It's not just desperate college students who are buying the books, though. According to Cliffs Notes spokesperson Kelly Jo Henricks, Cliffs Notes sales are divided equally between high school and college students.

And from the looks of Cliffs Notes sales, students need help with some of the greatest works in fiction.

Out of the 250 Cliffs Notes that are currently available, the top selling study guide is for Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations." Following that are F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and the great Shakesperian tragedy "Hamlet."

At Boston University, Cliffs Notes sales show that education is lacking in the Elizabethan department.

At the peak of the midterm season last week, the guide to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was the top seller, says Marilyn Racette, fifth-floor manager at Barnes & Noble at BU. Following the classic tale of love were several other Shakesperian dramas, including, "The Tempest," "King Lear" and "Much Ado About Nothing."

Barnes & Noble has no bias in the cheat sheet department, however.

Shelved right next to the ever-present yellow and black Cliffs Notes are the Research and Education Association's MAXnotes. According to the display, MAXnotes offer a more contemporary perspective on the shortening of lengthy works. Other "student-friendly" aspects of MAXnotes are the use of contemporary language and the inclusion of an estimated reading time for the actual work.

The Research and Education Association also offers a green and white line of guides called The Essentials, which provide notes on entire subjects. The Essentials provide a complete listing of facts on topics ranging from calculus to art history.

Both Cliffs Notes and the other guides make a point to say that their guides are intended for use "as a companion to and not instead of" the books.

But as high sales around exam times show, that's another lesson.