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That is All (COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE #3)
by
John Hodgman
John Hodgman-bestselling author, The Daily Show's "Resident Expert", minor television celebrity, and deranged millionaire-brings us the third and final installment in his trilogy of Complete World Knowledge.
In 2005, Dutton published The Areas of My Expertise, a handy little book of Complete World Knowledge, marked by the distinction that all of the fascinating trivia a
...moreHardcover, 368 pages
Published
November 1st 2011
by Dutton Adult
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Hodgman's third and final book in his trilogy of fake trivia leaves you with a sense of amazement. At first, it seems insane that anyone would publish not just one but three books of fake trivia, and just as insane that anyone would write them. Even more surprising that all three would be really good - hilarious, poignant and the last is the best of all. The books don't just stand up to repeated reading, they demand it.
In THAT IS ALL, Hodgman pulls together the disparate, seemingly random threa...more
In THAT IS ALL, Hodgman pulls together the disparate, seemingly random threa...more
I have very recently finished "THAT IS ALL," the third and final book of COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE by Massachusetts native Mister John Hodgman. Having read the series almost in its entirety (excluding the hobo name list, because at the time I WAS JUST NOT IN THE MOOD), I am now probably like, 98% knowledgeable in COMPLETE WORLDLY FAKE TRIVIA. Well, except I forget stuff pretty easily. DO NOT QUIZ ME.
The following post is not a book review, really—I'm just jotting down a few thoughts. I believe t...more
The following post is not a book review, really—I'm just jotting down a few thoughts. I believe t...more
Most artists are trying to say something about the human condition. John Hodgman just happens to be the only one who does it by putting you through seven hundred names of the ancient and unspeakable ones and then telling a story about the Headless Body of the Nug-Shohab that is somehow terribly sad.
That's the thing that I really love about Hodgman's work. I come for the humor but I stay for the secret chocolatey center of sincerity. I saw him on stage last night (which is what reminded me I hadn...more
That's the thing that I really love about Hodgman's work. I come for the humor but I stay for the secret chocolatey center of sincerity. I saw him on stage last night (which is what reminded me I hadn...more
I don't often give books 5-star ratings - I tend to reserve that for books I consciously wish I myself had written, or have qualities I will gladly steal for myself, things that seem like extensions of pieces of me I might not have realized existed. That is All doesn't start that way, but goddammit did it have me hooked by the end.
The beauty of this book is how utterly chaotic it is - chapters are established, then fall into deviations and digressions, until you're not quite sure how you got ont...more
The beauty of this book is how utterly chaotic it is - chapters are established, then fall into deviations and digressions, until you're not quite sure how you got ont...more
I have waited patiently to write this review. After enjoying the first two audiobook volumes of John Hodgman's trilogy over the past few years, I knew only the audio version of *That Is All* could offer the full experience. Now that Ragnarok is nigh, I can tell you with confidence this was 16.5 hours well spent. It is imperative that everyone find the time to listen to this important message before the Bloodwave comes. Some spoilers are included below, but you should continue reading anyway for...more
Like his other two books, That is All is what you get when a writer takes humor seriously. You can't just throw a pie at someone, you have to know why the pie needs to be thrown, as well as what kind of pie it is and if either person involved could possibly be allergic to it. Getting all the details down and building on the world he has been establishing throughout the series, Hodgman provides the reader a way, as well as an excuse, to believe in his premises, like a modern day Mark Twain.
In...more
In...more
At the end of each announcement Radar made over the camp P.A. in M*A*S*H*, he said "That is All." So ends nearly everything John Hodgman does. At the end of each judgement on The Judge John Hodgman Podcast he says the same thing. I've recently finished reading his third installment in his COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE, That Is All. The book predicts the collapse and destruction of our world in the COMING GLOBAL SUPERPOCALYPSE, complete with a day-by-day depiction of the last year of the world. It's a...more
In his conclusion to the "Complete World Knowledge" trilogy, Hodgman creates a work of dark comedy of the highest order. Mixed in among Hodgman's whimsical made-up history is a story of the end of the world that is (surprisingly) genuinely moving, while also managing to be laugh-out-loud funny every other page or so. (And these are not large pages.)
Hodgman's debt to post-apocalyptic literature generally (and Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," which he calls out in the book and has mentioned in interv...more
Hodgman's debt to post-apocalyptic literature generally (and Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," which he calls out in the book and has mentioned in interv...more
John Hodgman's third volume of complete world knowledge takes on the imminent end of the world and runs with it. His page-a-day calendar ("Today in Ragnarök") is a multifaceted narrative in and of itself, and what he's chosen for his 700 names -- something I'd been trying to guess for months before this book's release -- is perfect; I just can't speak of them. Hodgman channels his "Deranged Millionaire" persona, touches on the previously hands-off topics of wine and sports, and fills in the edge...more
This book made me laugh out loud; I can't remember the last time any book made me do that. It's weird when it happens, too: I laugh, I put the book down for a moment, look around, and find that I am foreveralone, and then continue reading.
Fake trivia and the delusional voice of a madman is, I imagine, very difficult to make funny, but he did it. It caters to a(n almost) niche group, though, of people who can understand the references to Val Kilmer, Nick Nolte, and Edward James Olmos, as well as...more
Fake trivia and the delusional voice of a madman is, I imagine, very difficult to make funny, but he did it. It caters to a(n almost) niche group, though, of people who can understand the references to Val Kilmer, Nick Nolte, and Edward James Olmos, as well as...more
I loved this book and the two before it. I am intrigued by those who gave this less than five stars. I do not comprehend you. How can anyone get more than ten pages into this book and not realize they will either love this or hate it? This is the kind of writing that you have to know this, very early. And if you realize you are going to hate it, why do you keep reading to the end enough to give it less than five stars? I laughed and marveled at the hilarious interweaving of Hodgman's mad-cap min...more
Not only is this book hilarious, it's legitimately moving. I love the way Hodgman started really experimenting with long-form narratives throughout. I really hope he keeps writing, especially books, but maybe even...a novel! I would read that in a second.
I almost didn't like it as much with "More Information...", because my gut reaction was, "it's not as funny," but THAT IS ALL brings so much more ambition and actual emotion that I am just as impressed, if not more so. Almost shocked with how g...more
I almost didn't like it as much with "More Information...", because my gut reaction was, "it's not as funny," but THAT IS ALL brings so much more ambition and actual emotion that I am just as impressed, if not more so. Almost shocked with how g...more
There's more narrative crammed into this book of Complete World Knowledge, but it still wraps up the trilogy with everything to be expected from the first two books, and even does something impressive for a book that straight out tells you it's full of lies: legitimately and honestly capturing some of the sadness that comes with The End (of the World).
Slightly more fragmented than the first two volumes in this compendium of (fake) world knowledge...and I am not enough of an uber fan to listen to the reverse looped audio list of unmentionable ones at the end of the book, but overall the topic of the end times allows Hodgman to be at his most zany. Despite the title, I hope that is not all.
Hilarious, life affirming, inspirational. A wonderful conclusion to a wonderful series. It takes a master humorist, or maybe just a master human, to end a book about the Coming Global Superpocalypse on a note that makes you want to write a masterpiece, kiss a girl, and run in the rain. Maybe we are all doomed to perish in the DOGSTORM, but with this handy guide we might just be able to make the most of the year we have left.
this is the third and final volume of hodgman's incredible and insane COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE. WERE YOU AWARE OF IT? these books have given me out loud-laughs in ways that even monkeys, midgets, and fat men falling down have failed to elicit. book 1 named the hoboes. book 2 dealt with the mystery that is the mole men. book 3, by natural extension and because it deals with the coming global apocalypse in the form of the norse RAGNAROK, names the ANCIENT AND UNSPEAKABLE ONES. THAT IS ALL also exp...more
Hilarious, and probably the best of the Complete World Knowledge trilogy. I especially enjoyed all the incredibly geeky references, the George R.R. Martin and Dune ones in particular. The final chapter, "The Beginning", actually managed to be beautiful at times. I wish he would write an entire novel like it.
Absolutely hilarious. It took me a while to get into More Information Than You Require, maybe because it was sort of ahead of its time humour-wise. But this time I knew exactly what to expect from Hodgman's twisted mind and I enjoyed it start to finish. The list of 700 Ancient and Unspeakables was pure genius and one of the best examples of his unlimited creativity. Terrific.
Hodgman has great fun with the third and perhaps most satisfying in his series of fake almanacs. He perfectly captures the tone, approach, and layout of The Book of Lists, the Guinness Book of World Records, and all the other nerdy nonfiction I used to get from the Scholastic book club at school in the late 1970, but he replaces all the facts with absurdities. Packed with a wide range of pop culture, literature, and historical references, and painstakingly cross-referenced across all three books...more
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Hodgman is endlessly funny in all 3 of his books. That Is All completes the series with a witty, nonsensical bang. If you need a good laugh in between your fiction and nonfiction, reach for Hodgman.
The deranged billionaire John Hodgman has written a book that you should read NOW. For it is 2012, the year of our reckoning, and here is the definitive guide through everything EVIL AND UNNATURAL that shall descend on our poor planet in a span of months. There is advice, hysteria, and engaging minutiae on every page. Do you like baseball, wine, magic, and/or mayonnaise? Do you wish to know meanings of your dreams or the finer points of British zoo etiquette? YES, YOU DO. Seriously, this is the...more
Very amusing - listened to it as an audiobook (I imagine the text version is different). Excellent conclusion to his three part compendium of world knowledge.
The list of Ancient and Unspeakable Ones made me laugh almost as much as the list of Hobos in the first book. That's really all you should need to know.
FACT: John Hodgman is a treasure, and I will read everything he writes. I admit he might not be everyone's taste, but his sense of humor dovetails with mine almost perfectly.
I actually made it to the list of "ancient and unspeakable ones." This is a triumph for me. Also, this book is hilarious.
How does John Hodgman know about all the stuff I like? Evey volume includes a Colin Baker joke (my favorite Doctor Who), literary in-jokes, and Dungeons and Dragons references. The short answer, I guess, is because we both like nerdy things.
I read this book a while ago. I can't believe I didn't review it. I'm so lazy sometimes... this book gets maximum stars. I just don't read bad books, people.
Although, what was that book? Eckhart Tolle, The New Earth? That book was bad. Full of new age bulls...more
I read this book a while ago. I can't believe I didn't review it. I'm so lazy sometimes... this book gets maximum stars. I just don't read bad books, people.
Although, what was that book? Eckhart Tolle, The New Earth? That book was bad. Full of new age bulls...more
This is the funniest thing I've read in a long time. I am so thankful I read it before the impending SUPERPOCALYPSE that is RAGNAROK!
My favorite of the three book compendium of all human knowledge.
Brilliantly hilarious and seriously deranged. The end of the world has never been this funny.
A fitting end to a series of books. And to all human civilization who will perish in Ragnarok. Start from The Areas of My Expertise and make your way here.
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Before he went on television, JOHN HODGMAN was a humble writer, expert, and Former Professional Literary Agent living in New York City. In this capacity, he has served as the Humor Editor for the New York Times Magazine, Occasional Flight vs. Invisibility Consultant on “This American Life,” Advice Columnist for McSweeney’s, Comic Book Reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, and a Freelance Jo...more
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“Houdini, the magician who debunked magic, could not bear to see the great rationalist [Arthur Conan] Doyle enchanted by ghosts and frauds. And so he did what any friend would: He set out to prove spiritualism false and rob his friend Doyle of the only comforting fiction that was keeping him sane. It was the least he could do.”
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“If you have not seen it, FOOTBALL is a game in which men shove one another back and forth for no reason. They do not choose how, when, or whom they shove. All that has been decided for them in advance. All they need to do is follow the orders given to them before the game, showing them where to run and how to violently deploy the meat of their bodies against the meat that is running at them. They are doing this in order to please one angry old man on the sidelines. This old man is called the "coach" or "yelling surrogate dad who will never be happy.”
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