Customer Reviews

Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was easily my favorite book of 2004. The author is witty, endearing and hilarious. As I worked my way through the book, I found myself laughing at nearly every turn, and picking up unusual facts that I can't wait to drop at future cocktail parties. Who would have thought that a journey through the Encyclopoedia could be so entertaining? A must read!

This is a subperb book. The author is witty and entertaining, and his story is touching. The book reveals a great deal about the world that I probably ought to know by now, and it made me appreciate history and my surroundings in a new way. I couldn't put it down until I reached zywiecz! Can't wait for this guy's next work.

This is a great book. I learned about it after reading a few other books in the same "let me temporarily devote my entire life to a marginal activity and then write about it" genre. (Word Freak, Crossworld) This is not meant to be the Reader's Digest abridged version of EB. It's humour, nothing more, nothing less. But as humour, it's hilarious.

In the text, he alternates between tidbits of info from EB, how he uses his newfound knowledge in social situations, his relationship with his wife, and odd side trips that sometimes seem surreal: crossword competition, MENSA meeting, EB headquarters and most improbably, a meeting with Alex Trebek and an appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?*

The subjects in EB that fascinate him definitely lean towards the juvenile and sensational. Some might say Jacobs is immature for focusing on such subjects. I don't agree. In my mind, the fact that EB felt it necessary to mention Rene Descartes's fetish for cross-eyed women is so sublimely absurd it's hard to fault him for mentioning it numerous times. The weird stuff is also what's easiest to make jokes of. Like I said above, that's the point of this book: humour. Lastly, with the proliferation of tabloids and rags on newsstands I'd argue an obsession with the lurid simply makes him an average member of our society.

The structure is refreshing, appropriate and most importantly, effective. He starts at A and ends at Z. Within each chapter there are headings taken from EB. Some headings have interesting facts about them included, while others are arbitrary to provide a break to switch topics.

When I got this book for Christmas I read almost non-stop until P and had a minor anxiety attack when I realized I only had 1/3 of the alphabet left, that it would be over too soon. I only hope others will get as much pleasure from this book as I did.

*Curiously enough, having previously met Alex Trebek disqualified him from being a Jeopardy! contestant.

Picked this up in the airport to pass the time while travelling, and found it to be a most enjoyable read. This is not meant to be a condensed version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, rather the story of one man's quest to do something unique, to achieve an unusual goal, to assert his identity within his family and, perhaps, his place in the world. The author's writing is witty and intelligent, a most entertaining look at life, the world, and who we are. Definitely an intelligent read.

It is hard for me to imagine that anyone would rate this less than 5. Okay maybe I'd understand 4 to a 4.5 - but any less would be dumbfounding.
Although this book came out before Biblically, I read it after Biblically. I read it simply because I wanted more AJ Jacobs. He is hilarious. He is articulate. Precise, almost compulsively...which after you've read him, you understand. Within these pages you feel as though you've spent a weekend with him. Him and his wife - who, from how he writes her, is just as hilarious.
I have read everything David Sedaris and when there was no more...AJ Jacobs seemed to knock at my door. I'm so thankful Mr. Sedaris hadn't anything else published that I had to feast my eyes on, because Mr. Jacobs entered the building.
Few do it better than either of the authors I mentioned, but since this is a review of The Know-It-All, let me just say: if dry, self-effacing, off-the-wall humour is your taste with a hint of sentimental schmuckery (for his family) is anywhere within the smallest realm of interest to you...you will laugh out loud and want to keep this book forever; the way you might hang on to memorabilia from better days.
Enjoy!

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.

I remember as a child reading the encyclopedia from A-Z. I have to say that A.J. Jacobs probably got more out of it than I did.

The Know-It-All is a hilarious book. But it is also a very human book. A.J. Jacobs invites us to live a part of his life with him. All of it, the good and the bad.

It is humbling, and beautiful....

Unfortunately, this is one of those books where the only reason you finish reading it is because it was started in the first place. You keep waiting for some high degree of insight, some comical exhange, or some outflow of knowlege; But it never happens. I labeled this as being a good book for the waiting room because you can allow the on-going distractions that take place in such a setting to occur and you won't miss a great deal through your lack of reading concentration. His jokes fail to be funny and his ongoing competiveness with his father become very troubling. The author strikes me as being a man who is basically unhappy with himself, his job and his future. He sets out to finish the encyclopedia simply because that was one of the few things that his father had failed to complete. Not a good reason to invest countless hours of your life while ignoring all others!

Very off-the-wall dry humour - sucker punches the reader. Much like British humour which is about as subtle at times as a smack on the head.

Our beaten up world really needs this - a healthy dose of feel good humour. Skip the chicken soup - pass me the book
Anne Hayden

A.J Jacobs is a GENIUS! All I can say is BUY THIS BOOK!!! You will not regret it, it's hilarious and incredibly interesting. I have so many useless facts in my head as I only seem to remember the stuff that only my wife pretends to be interested in... Anyway it was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone.