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Loading... The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in…by A. J. Jacobs
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Jacobs makes the encyclopedia fun. I thoroughly enjoyed his quest from a-ak to zywiek and felt I was making the journey along the way with him (when someone asked how far he was and he said he was in the C's, I couldn't help but think "Me too!"). His sense of humor and his self-referential tendencies give you a sense of fun and excitement as he reads, tries to find his place in the intelligence world, and prepares for the coming of his first child. A great read. (  )Alliebadger | Jul 6, 2009 |  1   An encyclopedia-lite with daddy issues. This book was an enjoyable enough read, with an abundance of weird factoids to share with unlucky friends and family, but it wasn't terribly meaty. I particularly liked the ways in which the author tried to engage the topic of intelligence, such as trying out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire? or joining Mensa. Still, I felt as though the book had about as much depth as a copy of Esquire (Jacobs' regular writing gig). (  )The_Kat_Cache | Jun 26, 2009 | A good coming-of-age type memoir by the post-adolescent. The author develops a personal story of development through his coverage of Britannica entries as he reads them through the course of a year. At times, I was more interested in the Britannica entries than his family stories, though I can't say that's a bad thing. (  )breakerfallen | May 29, 2009 | 1 Having tried to read a 1957 set of Funk & Wagnall's at the age of 8 and a 1970 set of World Book Encyclopedias at the age of 10, I can understand the mindset of someone attempting to tackle the all encompassing Britannica. In my own case I don't seem to have made it past the Ds and consequently retain a lot of disjointed information about dogs and the goddess Diana, so I have to respect Mr. Jacob's effort to slog through from A-Z in the course of a year. He is an editor for Esquire magazine and brings a pop culture sensibility to his observations. The serendipity of the intersection of his real life as it meshes with his reading takes interesting and thought provoking turns as he humorously reflects on human nature, learning and he and his wife's pursuit of parenthood. Though not for everyone, The Know-it-All is a fun and enlightening read. ( )varielle | May 17, 2009 | 1 Excellent read, for those in search of more than just common knowledge. It will help you throw away your accepted notion of ignorance in certain area of your life and therefore you shall thirst to be a more well rounded individual. ( )Czarblaximus | Apr 24, 2009 | 1 0.044 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0743250605, Hardcover)33,000 pages44 million words 10 billion years of history 1 obsessed man Part memoir and part education (or lack thereof), The Know-It-All chronicles NPR contributor A.J. Jacobs's hilarious, enlightening, and seemingly impossible quest to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z. To fill the ever-widening gaps in his Ivy League education, A.J. Jacobs sets for himself the daunting task of reading all thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His wife, Julie, tells him it's a waste of time, his friends believe he is losing his mind, and his father, a brilliant attorney who had once attempted the same feat and quit somewhere around Borneo, is encouraging but, shall we say, unconvinced. With self-deprecating wit and a disarming frankness, The Know-It-All recounts the unexpected and comically disruptive effects Operation Encyclopedia has on every part of Jacobs's life -- from his newly minted marriage to his complicated relationship with his father and the rest of his charmingly eccentric New York family to his day job as an editor at Esquire. Jacobs's project tests the outer limits of his stamina and forces him to explore the real meaning of intelligence as he endeavors to join Mensa, win a spot on Jeopardy!, and absorb 33,000 pages of learning. On his journey he stumbles upon some of the strangest, funniest, and most profound facts about every topic under the sun, all while battling fatigue, ridicule, and the paralyzing fear that attends his first real-life responsibility -- the impending birth of his first child. The Know-It-All is an ingenious, mightily entertaining memoir of one man's intellect, neuroses, and obsessions and a soul-searching, ultimately touching struggle between the all-consuming quest for factual knowledge and the undeniable gift of hard-won wisdom. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:52 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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