theduckthief's review
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
by A.J. Jacobs
theduckthief's review
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
theduckthief's review
rating:
** spoiler alert **
The Good: Well the title's a little long but this chronicles the journey of AJ Jacobs, a man who sets out to read the entire Encyclopaedia Brittanica. AJ felt he needed to brush up on his world knowledge, believing his education at an Ivy League school (Brown University) was out of date.
As you might not be aware, the Brittanica version contains 33,000 pages and 44 million words. I picked this book up because I have a minor obsession with trivia. The book is organized alphabetically but interspersed with interesting tidbits. For example, did you know that a "haboob" is a hot wind in the Sahara Desert, or that an "oyster" can apparently change its sex depending on water temperature or that Rene Descartes had a thing for women with crossed eyes? Maybe I should have ignored my mom when she told me my eyes would stay like that. Who knew it could be a turn on? Jacobs incorporates comedy and real life with his quest for knowledge. A decision that keeps you entertained ...more
As you might not be aware, the Brittanica version contains 33,000 pages and 44 million words. I picked this book up because I have a minor obsession with trivia. The book is organized alphabetically but interspersed with interesting tidbits. For example, did you know that a "haboob" is a hot wind in the Sahara Desert, or that an "oyster" can apparently change its sex depending on water temperature or that Rene Descartes had a thing for women with crossed eyes? Maybe I should have ignored my mom when she told me my eyes would stay like that. Who knew it could be a turn on? Jacobs incorporates comedy and real life with his quest for knowledge. A decision that keeps you entertained ...more
