I read the book enough years ago to have forgotten a big part of it, yet I still saw that the movie omitted major topics, while dragging a lot on others (sumo and the experiment of bribing the 9th graders).
In general, the movie could have mentioned more convincing data and statistics, instead of dwelling on obscure bits. For example, the parenting chapter was massively abridged. The book talks about 10 factors that actually make a difference, like parents having lots of book in their home. The chapter on why drug dealers still live with their moms was omitted, and so was the chapter on Ku Klux Klan.
And here's an actually *useful* bit of information, as opposed to my opinions about this movie: You're much better off spending 5 minutes reading the summary of the book from Wikisummaries.org (short URL - http://bit.ly/haT4i2).
In general, the movie could have mentioned more convincing data and statistics, instead of dwelling on obscure bits. For example, the parenting chapter was massively abridged. The book talks about 10 factors that actually make a difference, like parents having lots of book in their home. The chapter on why drug dealers still live with their moms was omitted, and so was the chapter on Ku Klux Klan.
And here's an actually *useful* bit of information, as opposed to my opinions about this movie: You're much better off spending 5 minutes reading the summary of the book from Wikisummaries.org (short URL - http://bit.ly/haT4i2).