The Know-It-All

SDurham writes "Americans love trivia. From the bookish facts of Jeopardy! to the daily dose of ESPN Sportscenter, trivia is as much a part of our pop culture as hot rods or baseball. Few sources contain as much fact (or trivia) as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and in The Know-It-All, A. J. Jacobs chronicles his attempt to read this collection of knowledge. At 33,000 pages, Jacobs' task is not one to be taken lightly. Jacobs manages not only to complete this challenge, but to weave an engaging account of his year-long obsession in Know-It-All." Read on for Durham's review.

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
author	A. J. Jacobs
pages	369
publisher	Simon & Schuster
rating	7
reviewer	SDurham
ISBN	0743250605
summary	An account of a single-minded approach to mind expansion.

Jacobs is certainly suited to his task. A former editor at Entertainment Weekly and now a senior editor at Esquire, Jacobs' day-to-day work brings him into contact with a variety of American obsessions. After the first few chapters, however, it becomes clear that this is more than an account of consuming such a massive amount of information. The book is divided into chapters based on each section of the Britannica, and Jacobs' tale unfolds under headings that link his reflections to related Britannica entries. These reflections begin to reveal several themes that emerge throughout the book: Jacobs' struggle to match, or at least come to terms with, his father's accomplishments, the ongoing attempts of Jacobs and his wife to become parents, and the nature of intelligence and intelligent people.

Know-It-All reads easily, and Jacobs has a knack for humorous writing. Throughout the book Jacobs encounters a wide array of interesting, if not mildly eccentric, individuals. From Mensa members to the actual editors of the Britannica, Jacobs successfully humanizes many people normally viewed as stiff or uncharismatic. He tries to glean bits of wisdom as he goes, and these encounters best transmit Jacobs' message.

One recurring character in Jacobs' life often appears as his nemesis. Jacobs' brother-in-law Eric is described as a thoroughly knowledgeable Mr. Perfect, whose career -- from an Ivy League education to the U.S. Foreign Service to Wall Street -- constantly antagonizes Jacobs in some small way. With his newly acquired Britannica knowledge, Jacobs searches for ways to finally one-up Eric.

In one early encounter, he tries to apply what he has learned about aerodynamics in a tennis match against Eric. These encounters rarely end as Jacobs hopes, but they almost always provide humorous interludes between Jacobs' more serious discussions about the Britannica and its contents. This is not an overly serious book, however; Jacobs manages to infuse his humor into almost every entry in the book.

One theme within Know-It-All that is more serious in tone follows Jacobs and his wife's attempt to become parents. Even in this area of Jacobs' life he tries to apply his rapidly growing Britannica knowledge. Jacobs notices a plethora of fertility gods and goddesses as he reads through each volume, and the couple adopts a new one each week as a sponsor. Julie, Jacobs wife, describes herself as a 'Britannica widow' during Jacobs' project because of the hours he spends reading. It is in Julie that Know-It-All becomes a successful book. While readers may scoff at Jacobs' neglect of his wife (as he portrays it) during his project, the relationship between the two raises Know-It-All above a simple intellectual pursuit.

A surprising number of typographical errors are scattered through the book. Surprising, because Jacobs is an editor, and the book is clearly meant to appeal to an inquisitive, intelligent audience. These errors do little to detract from the overall experience of Know-It-All, however, and it is a solid, worthwhile read. For anyone who finds himself answering TV trivia questions in his head, or enjoys browsing through all sections of a bookstore, this book is a fun weekend read.

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Saw him on BookTV on C-Span

[gaber1187]

This guy is pretty funny actually. I saw him on cspan bookTV talking about his book... he is pretty nerdy sounding, but also pretty smart...

I definitely don't think reading the encylopedia set makes you smart, but I think it does make you knowledgeable in history and art because those areas often are more related to memorizing facts rather than building upon one equation after another. As such most technical areas of the EB are pretty simplistic and often a little out of date...

Good guy

[MSG]

We bring authors to RealNetworks from time to time, and I had the chance to meet Mr. Jacobs a short while ago. He was running a few minutes late (he was supposed to talk at noon), and tried to excuse himself by explaining that they used to adjust hours according to the day so that an hour was shorter during shorter days of the year. That's a good anecdote, but I pointed out that noon would be at the same time anyway.

We all had a laugh. I haven't read the book yet, but I may at some point. He's an interesting guy.

Nice for a laugh, not much else

[dmccarty]

I got the book for a Christmas gift. It's a cute book from the parts that I've read, but I'll be taking it back for something a little more interesting.

The book is actually an executive overview of the EB, and each snippet is interwoven with his experiences in that point of his life. Some parts are hilarious, but it's not much deeper than a casual read.

FWIW, of course. YMMV.

Good book. . .

[jhobbs]

I read this book last fall. It is a good book with a humorous take on trivia and some dime store psychology about its possible relationship with intelligence.

The book is also a very indepth analysis of the author's own personal neuroses.

Actually, that is the reason I keep hiding the book from my partner. I also consider a eventful evening a trip from the sofa to the fridge. I certainly don't need to offer up any amunition to my partner.

All in all, it is a take on information overload, and those people who belive that simply knowing a lot means they are intelligent.

Re:As an editor...

[iocat]

Read out loud (softly -- otherwise people will think you're a moron) and say every single word. As an editor, that's what I had to do when editing my own stuff. It's very slow, but you quickly realize just how many of your own errors you'd otherwise skip over.