He rescued generations of both high school and college students alike from reading hundreds of literary masterpieces. But after years of boiling down the basics of works such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” Cliff Hillegass — the 83-year-old inventor of CliffsNotes — died Saturday at his home in Lincoln, Neb.
“I go to the store and look for the black and yellow label because it promises understanding and success. Cliff is the king of cheating — hell yeah,” sophomore architecture major Marie Malpass said. “It’s sad that he died; good old Cliff.”
Hillegass’ story started in 1958, when he created the clear and useful product that still aids students today in critically evaluating texts. He got the idea from a friend, Jack Cole, who had been successful selling guides called “Coles Notes” in Canada.
Hillegass took out a $4,000 loan and started publishing CliffsNotes from the basement of his home. Starting with 16 William Shakespeare titles, Hillegass added 150 more titles to the roster within the next two years. His study guides are now sold worldwide.
Malpass said she used CliffsNotes in high school English classes to better understand material such as Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” because the notes helped her to contribute more to class discussion.
“I don’t think I could have read the books without the CliffsNotes. They were just too hard to understand,” she said.
CliffsNotes are intended as a supplement to reading the text, Malpass said. Hillegass himself warned readers by writing on the inside cover of every product: “These notes are not a substitute for the text itself.”
University professors agreed and discouraged college students from relying exclusively on CliffsNotes.
Henry Alley, a literature professor in the Honors College, said he recommends that his students read the introduction to the work itself.
“It never hurts to know the summary of a work, but it’s never a substitution for the whole thing,” Alley said.
Louise Bishop, a medieval literature professor in the Honors College, said she does not recommend that students use CliffsNotes as a substitute for “their own thinking.” She said the notes can be a useful reminder of the plot, but they also prevent direct communication with an author.
When Bishop teaches literature such as Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida,” she said she writes her own synopsis of the play so that her students do not rely on CliffsNotes.
University history professor David Luebke, who grew up in the same part of Lincoln, Neb., as Hillegass, said he remembers how Hillegass, a salesman at the Nebraska Book Co., was respected for producing an important resource for students.
“He was just a famous local personality I was aware of [while] growing up as a teenager,” Luebke said.
The high sales of CliffsNotes at the beginning of every term and around exam times demonstrate that students do not always use Hillegass’ product as he intended.
The University Bookstore carries more than 200 CliffsNotes titles, and book buyer Doug Cross said the bookstore sells an average of three to 10 CliffsNotes per day.
Cross said CliffsNotes can serve as “an easy way out” or a valuable, concise guide to subjects — if used alongside the text. Cross also pointed out that exam aids, advanced placement test preparation books and quick guides for various subjects followed behind the success of CliffsNotes.
Nancy Smith, a book buyer and the eldest daughter of the family that runs Smith Family Bookstore, said she has seen alternative guides spring up in competition with CliffsNotes, including those that have been written for a more academic audience.
But many students have stuck to the original.
Sophomore journalism major Leah Wyatt said CliffsNotes have helped her dig deeper and read between the lines of complicated works. And for that, Wyatt said she was grateful.
“Thank you, Cliff,” she said.