The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
by A.J. Jacobs
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Read in December, 2007
I saw this dude in person talking about his newer book ("The Year of Living Bibically"): he seemed quirky, intelligent, curious, funny, and overall quite interesting. In time I saw that he used the same one-liners in every medium available and he was kind of obnoxious, but this was before that. He cast quite a spell on me and I knew I wanted to buy one of his books then. He had just talked about "The Year", it was newer, and honestly it just seemed a lot more interesting t...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who scoffs at the world book
first of all, since when is "i spent a year ________ing" a trendy model for a book? seems like they're all over the place now, but i don't remember seeing quite the plethora before. my friend beth spent a year following the advice of self-help gurus; a.j. jacobs read the entire encyclopedia brittanica. and then there's that me & julia cooking lady; karaoke nation; the dishwasher book; self-made man (the gal who posed as a dude); early bird (the guy who spent a year at a retireme...more
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Read in January, 2008
I suppose to be fair it is January 2 since it is now 2:00 in the morning, but I planned on writing this before the day was out and that is will enough for me to put down the 1st instead of the 2nd.
Starting a blog is a very daunting task. There are millions of them out there on every subject imaginable, and that makes it so much harder for me to believe that anyone would find what I have to say interesting. Instead I remind myself that I find what I have to say interesting and if no one else...more
Starting a blog is a very daunting task. There are millions of them out there on every subject imaginable, and that makes it so much harder for me to believe that anyone would find what I have to say interesting. Instead I remind myself that I find what I have to say interesting and if no one else...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Rachel by:
Eling Changrecommends it for: folks who like learning
Despite all the bad press, I like memoirs. I enjoy reading about other people's lives because sometimes it just feels less frivolous than reading fiction... not sure how that explains my love of tabloid covers in the grocery store though.
Anyway, aside from being a memoir, Know-it-All also has fun and exciting tidbits of encyclopedic information, and while some of it is frivolous, it is also pretty entertaining. Especially when random word associations lead down odd little paths in Jacobs' ev...more
Anyway, aside from being a memoir, Know-it-All also has fun and exciting tidbits of encyclopedic information, and while some of it is frivolous, it is also pretty entertaining. Especially when random word associations lead down odd little paths in Jacobs' ev...more
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Read in January, 2007
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in October, 2007
What a thoroughly enjoyable book!
When Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs sets out to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, you can guess you're going to get lots of interesting trivia tidbits from the world's leading compendium of knowledge.
But what makes the book far more rewarding is that A.J. Jacobs is flat out funny. And after suffering through all the authors who attempt to write humor and do it badly, it is so good to be able to say that. I found myself laughing out loud every couple of...more
When Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs sets out to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, you can guess you're going to get lots of interesting trivia tidbits from the world's leading compendium of knowledge.
But what makes the book far more rewarding is that A.J. Jacobs is flat out funny. And after suffering through all the authors who attempt to write humor and do it badly, it is so good to be able to say that. I found myself laughing out loud every couple of...more
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Read in April, 2006
The author, a fact-checker & occasional writer at various magazines, including Entertainment Weekly, used to think he was the smartest boy in the world. As an adult, he feels as if he's getting less intelligent as he gets older; he also copes with from comparisons to his talented father & insufferable brother-in-law. Jacobs decides to challenge himself to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.
He records what he's learning in alphabetical order, with autobiographical...more
He records what he's learning in alphabetical order, with autobiographical...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in June, 2008
This book chronicles snarky rich kid (he is actually 35) A.J. Jacob's quest to read The Encyclopedia Brittanica from A-Z, in an attempt to become "the smartest person in the world". Jacobs breaks the book into alphabetical chapters and free-associates on the entries that he finds interesting. This book was by no means dull, but it was interesting in the way that flipping through the encyclopedia or the dictionary yourself is interesting-- as you scan the pages you find weird little t...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2008
As anyone who knows me can attest, I generally spout information to anyone who will listen to me. Most conversations begin: I heard on NPR the other day . . . For example, did you know there's a marsupial species in Australia whose male population only lives 11 months, the last month of which is spent obsessed with procreating or that a cockroach can live up to ten days without a head? Just one of the many useless bits of knowledge I have tucked away. AJ Jacobs wrote "The Know-It-All"...more
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Read in January, 2008
This book's greatest strength is that of the Britannica itself: its assemblage of facts. And the facts the author selects are often remarkable -- or at least remarkably absurd. (Caravaggio killed a man over a tennis match; the kilogram is defined by the weight of an actual hunk of metal that sits in a building outside of Paris; Satchel Paige once played for a beard-wearing baseball-playing apocalyptic cult called the House of David.)
What's more, Jacobs' confessional, self-effacing tone sou...more
What's more, Jacobs' confessional, self-effacing tone sou...more
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Read in May, 2008
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Michael by:
Sarahrecommends it for: People who like trivia
I have to say I've never read a book like this and I also am not the biggest fan of non-fiction, so this was quite an experience. I read it on suggestion and while I don't regret doing so, it's not a book that's going to stick out in my mind as something to recommend so much as something to share anecdotally.
I think there were two aspects of the writing style that turned me off over time. First is the constant interjection of the random Britannica fact... while it fits in with the concept ...more
I think there were two aspects of the writing style that turned me off over time. First is the constant interjection of the random Britannica fact... while it fits in with the concept ...more
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Read in May, 2008
Lately I've been a very bad reader. Not a poor reader, just a bad one: not finishing books I start, checking out more than I could possibly read, and jumping around from topic to topic with no possibility of retaining a single thought.
The Know-it-All proved to be pretty soothing to my affliction. I was able to get a dabbling of so many little things while at the same time get a better feel for where my mind is these days so I can better feed it. I especially loved reading about the struggle...more
The Know-it-All proved to be pretty soothing to my affliction. I was able to get a dabbling of so many little things while at the same time get a better feel for where my mind is these days so I can better feed it. I especially loved reading about the struggle...more
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Jacobs' quest to read the entire Encylopedia Britanica might seem dry for adventurous reading, but the author combines his personal experiences with tidbits gleaned from his reading, which makes a highly entertaining read.
His self-effacing humor and his interpretations of those who react to his reading journey are funny; there's an interesting balance here.. Jacobs wants to become the "smartest man" in the world, yet he admits to being dumber than his brother-in-law. Jacobs joins a...more
His self-effacing humor and his interpretations of those who react to his reading journey are funny; there's an interesting balance here.. Jacobs wants to become the "smartest man" in the world, yet he admits to being dumber than his brother-in-law. Jacobs joins a...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
inquiring minds!
This book is a whole lot of fun. The basic premise is that its author, A. J. Jacobs, has decided to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. Every entry, A-Z, in its entirety. This is a huge undertaking. The book is structured around his yearlong progression through the alphabetical entries in the encyclopedia, but don't make the mistake of assuming it is a laundry list of random facts and trivia. There is plenty of interesting information in there, but Jacobs weaves his knowledge-gathering ques...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is the first book by the author who wrote The Year of Living Biblically, which I read last month. In this one, Jacobs decides to become the smartest person in the world by reading the Encyclopedia Brittanica from beginning to end. Jacobs has a separate chapter for every letter, and within the chapter he divides the sections out by subjects within that letter - highlighting important facts for us, and throwing in stories about how this quest is affecting his personal life - mostly making him...more
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Read in September, 2007
This is a great book about a man's mid-life crisis. Whereas some men run out and buy sportcars or motorcycles, cheat on their spouses or quit their jobs and move to the beach; some guys (nerdy guys like me) take on absurd intellectual endeavors to prove to themselves that they aren't "losing it." Here is an example of that. I'm a lot like A.J. because I have an insatiable need to learn everything there is to know about whatever I'm confronted with at a given moment and I'm willing to...more
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Read in August, 2006
recommends it for:
People who like to spout out obscure facts no one else gives a crap about.
I give this book a high rating just for being so entertaining and unexpectedly informative. A.J. Jacobs attempts to become the world's smartest man by reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover in a year, the whole time being fully aware about how truly stupid that actually makes him. Along the way, he struggles with the definitions of knowledge and wisdom, with his desire to define himself in his father's shadow, with his and his wife's attempt to have a baby, with his failed attem...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Nic by:
Glen and Amy "Mental Floss" Hamiltonrecommends it for: anyone who forgot everything they learned in college (everybody!)
I'm only on the B's and so far this is laugh-out-loud hilarious. I haven't had a book tickle me this much in a long time.
After reading:
You actually feel smarter for reading this book. It is written in bite-sized entries for eazy picking up and putting down, but honestly, it's hard to put down.
AJ is an editor at Esquire and a former staffer at Entertainment Weekly and much humor is derived from his contasting high and low cultural references. He also joins Mensa, interviews Alex Trebec ...more
After reading:
You actually feel smarter for reading this book. It is written in bite-sized entries for eazy picking up and putting down, but honestly, it's hard to put down.
AJ is an editor at Esquire and a former staffer at Entertainment Weekly and much humor is derived from his contasting high and low cultural references. He also joins Mensa, interviews Alex Trebec ...more
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Read in December, 2004
Since I just added Jacobs' second book, and I actually remember when I read this one, I figured I'd add it.
I loved the book before I read it, simply because as a child I would actually read our family set of World Book encyclodedias for fun. (yes, i am a total nerd. i know. i don't need any reminders, thank you.) i remember sitting on our cool black tile floor in the hallway and paging through the volumes. i liked the big chunky articles on countries best. maybe that's where my curiosity ...more
I loved the book before I read it, simply because as a child I would actually read our family set of World Book encyclodedias for fun. (yes, i am a total nerd. i know. i don't need any reminders, thank you.) i remember sitting on our cool black tile floor in the hallway and paging through the volumes. i liked the big chunky articles on countries best. maybe that's where my curiosity ...more
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