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

Product Details

Author : A. J. Jacobs
Binding : Paperback
EAN : 9780743250627
Edition : Reprint
Number of Pages : 400
Product Group : Book
Publication Date : 2005-10-04
Publisher : Simon & Schuster

ASIN : 0743250621

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Customer Reviews

Genius! (2008-08-23)

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.

Certainly more entertaining than the real encyclopedia (2007-07-17)

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.

The ultimate quest (2006-07-09)

What is it with guys and their quests? I have recently read about Dave Gorman with his quest for namesakes and Googlewhacks, about John Donoghue with his funny place names and marsupial Elvis (who admits up front that he's lived a life of pointless quests) but now I have found the ultimate...the quest to become the smartest person in the world! Whatever it is, don't let them stop! I love to get carried away with their madcap obsessions What differentiates this from the likes of 'Are you Dave Gorman' or 'Shakespeare My B**t!' is that this is a useful quest... but not any the less funny for that!! This guy has the knack of making everything sound interesting.It is the type of book I could read over and over....hey it might even set me off on my own quest. Very good book...excellent read

Very funny (2006-05-29)

Lots of fun to read. And you may learn something while you're at it

Light-hearted yet thought-provoking (2005-12-19)

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.

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