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The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
bookbabe222's review against another edition
4.0
I would give this 3.5 stars, but i'll round up. I liked that you got to learn interesting facts along with him but I did feel that it dragged on a little long and the ending was a bit abrupt. Overall, it was entertaining but not a favorite.
katiebtatton's review against another edition
3.0
This book is one of the many "Try something new for a year and write a (mostly) non-fiction book about your experience" genre that was so popular a few years ago. Partly out of pride and partly to make his father proud (and partly to boost his neurotic self esteem), the author sets out to read the Encylopaedia Brittanica. The book is set up with one chapter for each letter, and the story is woven with backstory and odd facts throughout entries the author finds under its given letter.
lanica's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed reading this book, and I walked away with a few favorite quotes that I wouldn't have found otherwise. For example, Jeremy Bentham's quote about animal rights, "The question is not, can they reason, nor can they talk, but can they suffer?" I'm not a vegetarian, nor an animal rights activist, so there's no surprise that I hadn't heard that quote before. Yet I walk away from this book glad that I read it and feeling that I actually learned some things from it.
A. J. Jacobs doesn't take himself too seriously and he does have a grasp on how to write in a way that todays culture will understand. He breaks the book up into letters and entries, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica itself. He tells readers about himself in entries that apply to his life or those that remind him of events in his past. It's interesting to see how the project consumed his life, leaking into everyday conversations and into his work. I have to say that I'm really impressed by his wife. She's a saint!
A. J. Jacobs doesn't take himself too seriously and he does have a grasp on how to write in a way that todays culture will understand. He breaks the book up into letters and entries, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica itself. He tells readers about himself in entries that apply to his life or those that remind him of events in his past. It's interesting to see how the project consumed his life, leaking into everyday conversations and into his work. I have to say that I'm really impressed by his wife. She's a saint!
jenmooremo's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty good read, funny on several different levels both for Mr. Jacob's adventures but equally for his stupidity and naivity about relationships with others at times. I actually purchased this book for our cheif neurosurgeon as a birthday gift, not because he thinks he's a know it all, but because we frequently discuss what we've read and it seemed up his alley for someone of his limited time and sense of humor.
kristenality's review against another edition
3.0
Having a love for reading and learning, I picked up this book. I felt like the book dragged on towards the end, which is what I imagine the author experienced while actually reading the EB. I also found a decent amount of grammar errors, which was odd. Overall, though, I enjoyed the facts and how he was able to work them into his everyday life (mostly).
methanojen's review against another edition
A disappointing read after "The Year of Living Biblically". Up until about "S" or so when AJ and Julie get pregnant and AJ goes on Millionaire, Jacob's writing is pretentious and frankly boring. The facts that he finds interesting in the encyclopedia are often simply petty and he doesn't tie the facts together very well; instead he simply cites the fact and then attempts to tell a witty story about it and fails. If you're thinking of reading AJ Jacobs: read Living Biblically first!
sparrowlight's review against another edition
4.0
It was a hard slog at first (much like the author's journey, I imagine) and then ended up a delightful book. The author vacillated between charming enthusiasm and annoying self-awareness, but at the end I liked him and was no longer jealous of his quest.
samtast1cal's review against another edition
3.0
This was a nice break from the serious books I've been reading, but it also took me a lot longer to read for some reason. Partly because A.J. Jacob's life is just oozing (yes, I do remember the entry on ooze, but still) with cavalier privilege. I can't decide if I'll look into his other books.
In the beginning I laughed a ton, but by the end I just wanted to be done. That's probably how he felt too.
In the beginning I laughed a ton, but by the end I just wanted to be done. That's probably how he felt too.
andreacolam's review against another edition
Funny and informative. AJ Jacobs keeps this highly interesting
tommyhousworth's review against another edition
4.0
Like Morgan Spurlock's "Supersize Me" experiment, I kept reading this book, bemoaning "Why didn't I think of this????"
Nicely woven concept that educates the reader while drawing you into the author's personal life during the process.
This book could've been a clunker if mishandled, but Jacobs has an alchemist's touch, blending humor and heart along the encyclopedic journey.
Nicely woven concept that educates the reader while drawing you into the author's personal life during the process.
This book could've been a clunker if mishandled, but Jacobs has an alchemist's touch, blending humor and heart along the encyclopedic journey.