- Hardcover: 386 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (18 Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743250605
- ISBN-13: 978-0743250603
- Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.8 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,206,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Know-It-All
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"* 'The Know-It-All is a terrific book. It's a lot shorter than the encyclopedia, and funnier, and you'll remember more of it. Plus, if it falls off the shelf onto your head, you'll live.' P.J. O'Rourke * 'A jape of a book...with Jacobs...coming across as a slightly younger and Jewish Bill Bryson. Some of his quips are worthy even of Woody Allen... Hilarious' Guardian * 'For those who enjoy learning about some of the stranger facts about the world in which we live and who appreciate having a guide of some charm, The Know-It-All will be something of a treat.' Sunday Times * 'The Know-It-All is one of the most informative humorous books and one of the funniest collections of information that I have seen in a long time. (Note to publishers: that's the sentence you can put on the back of the next edition if you like).' Daily Express"
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Daily Mail
'...frequently funny and sometimes downright hilarious'
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
a-ak That's the first word in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
a-ak That's the first word in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"If things continue at this rate, by my fortieth birthday, I'll be spending my days watching 'Wheel of Fortune' and drooling into a bucket." It's hard to imagine that a book about reading the encyclopedia could be one of the funniest books of 2004, but AJ Jacobs' tongue-in-cheek journey of knowledge is just that.
Feeling that he was too stupid, AJ Jacobs decided to read the encyclopedia from A ("a-ak") to Z ("Zywiec"), and gain huge gobs of knowledge along the way. His wife thinks it's a waste and his friends think that he's starting to crack ("I guess you're not up to P, for 'Please shut up'"). His father doesn't think he can do it, because he once tried, and stopped somewhere in the mid-Bs.
Undaunted, Jacobs reads determinedly through the encyclopedias, finding out various facts: Absalom ("has the oddest death so far in the encyclopedia"), how Hollywood stole "Planet of the Apes" from the Aztecs, Queen Victoria's musical bustle, the metric system, a hippie-Christian sex cult, and the delinquent antics of teenage Gandhi. Not to mention "Addled Brain Syndrome," which comes from too much encyclopedia reading.
As he slowly but faithfully slogs through the encyclopedia, Jacobs finds out quite a few intriguing new things -- not just about himself, but about the difference between being smart and knowledgeable. And as he offers his wacky thoughts on the various encyclopedia entries, he often strays into tangents about his family, his childhood (he had a phobia about people touching his head), and his struggles with his wife to have a baby.
"The Know-It-All : One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" -- the title says it all. The book is basically the encyclopedia, filtered through the thoughts of a thirtysomething guy with quite a sense of humor. It's certainly understandable that Jacobs would want to be smarter -- everyone feels intellectually insufficient at one time or another.
What makes Jacobs so funny? His self-deprecating humor, for one thing -- he isn't afraid to make fun of himself (and his brain capacity) constantly. One of the funniest scenes of the book is when he goes to a party and tries to display his newfound knowledge, only to make his pals very nervous. When told "I can't wait to get some sun. Look how white I am," Jacobs simply blurts out, "Albinism affects one in twenty thousand Americans." Nice try, but no cigar.
And... Jacobs is just funny. He has a knack for adding his own thoughts about the entries; when reading about Rubens, he comments, "Now I know: I don't have to yell and scream and throw artichokes at waiters to qualify as an artistic genius." And it takes someone with a real sense of comic timing to say "In the 18th century, everyone smelled like salad" and make it seem not only funny, but logical.
"The Know-It-All : One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" is an apt title for a wildly entertaining book. Stranger than fiction, and a heck of a lot more entertaining. And educational.
Feeling that he was too stupid, AJ Jacobs decided to read the encyclopedia from A ("a-ak") to Z ("Zywiec"), and gain huge gobs of knowledge along the way. His wife thinks it's a waste and his friends think that he's starting to crack ("I guess you're not up to P, for 'Please shut up'"). His father doesn't think he can do it, because he once tried, and stopped somewhere in the mid-Bs.
Undaunted, Jacobs reads determinedly through the encyclopedias, finding out various facts: Absalom ("has the oddest death so far in the encyclopedia"), how Hollywood stole "Planet of the Apes" from the Aztecs, Queen Victoria's musical bustle, the metric system, a hippie-Christian sex cult, and the delinquent antics of teenage Gandhi. Not to mention "Addled Brain Syndrome," which comes from too much encyclopedia reading.
As he slowly but faithfully slogs through the encyclopedia, Jacobs finds out quite a few intriguing new things -- not just about himself, but about the difference between being smart and knowledgeable. And as he offers his wacky thoughts on the various encyclopedia entries, he often strays into tangents about his family, his childhood (he had a phobia about people touching his head), and his struggles with his wife to have a baby.
"The Know-It-All : One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" -- the title says it all. The book is basically the encyclopedia, filtered through the thoughts of a thirtysomething guy with quite a sense of humor. It's certainly understandable that Jacobs would want to be smarter -- everyone feels intellectually insufficient at one time or another.
What makes Jacobs so funny? His self-deprecating humor, for one thing -- he isn't afraid to make fun of himself (and his brain capacity) constantly. One of the funniest scenes of the book is when he goes to a party and tries to display his newfound knowledge, only to make his pals very nervous. When told "I can't wait to get some sun. Look how white I am," Jacobs simply blurts out, "Albinism affects one in twenty thousand Americans." Nice try, but no cigar.
And... Jacobs is just funny. He has a knack for adding his own thoughts about the entries; when reading about Rubens, he comments, "Now I know: I don't have to yell and scream and throw artichokes at waiters to qualify as an artistic genius." And it takes someone with a real sense of comic timing to say "In the 18th century, everyone smelled like salad" and make it seem not only funny, but logical.
"The Know-It-All : One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" is an apt title for a wildly entertaining book. Stranger than fiction, and a heck of a lot more entertaining. And educational.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Reading the Brittanica from a-z is not a task many people have completed and this excellent book is the story of one man who did and what effect it had on his life.
Witty, fun and informative, this book is written in a great style and the only thing that annoyed me is Americanisms like "math", etc. (Though the author is American I may add!)
Witty, fun and informative, this book is written in a great style and the only thing that annoyed me is Americanisms like "math", etc. (Though the author is American I may add!)
It's fun and easy to read and you will learn some bizarre facts along the way.
Give it a go!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I was a kid I owned an encyclopedia that my grandpa had given us. My family owned many other reference works as well, and a little nerd that I was I had spent many hours reading and browsing those thick books that contained more knowledge than I could ever hope to absorb. There was something really appealing about the idea that all of the knowledge can be systematized and presented in a coherent, all-encompassing whole. And yet, the sheer size of those thick volumes made me wonder if I will ever be able to read it all. Apparently, there are a few brave souls out there who had stopped wondering and decided to undertake the task of reading the entire encyclopedia, and not just any old encyclopedia. Alan Jacobs, the author of this book, decided at the ripe old age of thirty five to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, the gold standard of encyclopedias. This was a monumental task by any measure. Thirty three thousand pages, spread across thirty or so big hard-bound volumes, is probably more text than most of us will absorb in our lifetimes. He chronicles his adventure in this book, interspersing mostly entertaining and curious bits of information from Britannica with personal stories and anecdotes. He recounts meeting Alex Trebek (and mistaking him for a gardener), his (mis)adventure on "Millionaire," and many very personal tales about his very accomplished family. It is precisely through these vignettes that we are able to truly relate to his adventure with Britannica. Jacobs makes it seem that almost anyone could do this, just wake up one morning and read the whole encyclopedia. His writing style is very fluid and entertaining, and he is very good at endearingly deprecating himself. He makes vivid the very human side of knowledge, even when it is at its driest.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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