World Famous Comics: The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
By: A. J. Jacobs Publisher: Simon & Schuster Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Simon & Schuster Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 400 Publication Date: October 04, 2005
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 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 struggle between the all-consuming quest for factual knowledge and the undeniable gift of hard-won wisdom.
Generation X goes to the library This is a funny book for me. Funny because like most books I think about a lot, reading it left me feeling a mixture of annoyed, amused, depressed and uplifted. In short I think the author got it right.
For what it's worth I really didn't think I'd like him by the middle of the book but really wanted to by the end. Well, who cares? It's just my way of pretending to relate to authors. At first he came off to me as a self-absorbed "gen-x-er" but he seemed to get more thoughtful as the book progressed. Maybe I started the book self-absorbed and I got more thoughtful as the book progressed.
This guy does have a sense of humor but it seemed to take him a while to hit his stride with it. Kurt Vonnegut said a good written joke works like a well-timed bomb and some of Jacobs early efforts really fizzled on me. Somewhere around the "p" entries though I found myself laughing out loud. Either I got used to his style or his style improved as he ploughed through the encyclopedia.
I'm definitely interested in reading his other book on biblical living (I bought it) so his publisher should be happy with him.
It's very cute - read it! Laugh-out-loud funny in some parts. Maybe a little tedious toward the middle (probably sort of like, say, being in the middle of reading the encyclopaedia), but still well worthwhile. I recommend it for entertaining, humorous reading that sneaks a little knowledge in without being heavy-handed.
My FAVORITE book ever!! I emailed AJ and told him that this was my favorite book, right up there with my 2nd fav "Memoirs of a Geisha". He thanked me for comparing him to a Japanese hooker! That's funny. In fact, he's so funny and quirky that I'm always thinking of more book ideas for him. This book is so fun to read. I read it aloud to my husband while traveling on our summer vacation. I just wish I could memorize more of it! You gotta read this book.
I heart this author and this book! I currently have no idea where my copy of "The Know-It-All" is, as I have loaned it out to anyone and everyone who will listen to me talk about how much I love the book, the ideas, the wit, and especially the author. LOVE IT!
Immature writing Totally do not waste your time on this book. It is insulting to the reader it is so badly written and his political jabs (against conservatives/Republicans) are thinly veiled and completely unwarranted and misplaced.
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