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

33,000 PAGES

44 MILLION WORDS

10 BILLION YEARS OF HISTORY

1 OBSESSED MAN

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. more

Price Range:$2.38 to $10.80 | 3 stores
Product Rating:

100 Reviews
Info:
Set Price Alert Save to Wish List
Tags:
A. J. Jacobs, Paperback, Amazon, Buy.com, Barnes & Noble

ComparePrices

title,desc	merchant	price	seeit
Smarter Choice The Know-It-All From the Publisher: Part memoir and part education (or lack thereof), The Know-It-All chronicles NPR contributor A....	23,982 reviews *smarter certified	$2.38	See it
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble... Pages: 400, Paperback, Simon & Schuster	Amazon 11,406 reviews	$10.80 Coupon 1 coupon available Code:No Code Required Detail: FREE Shipping on orders over $25 at Amazon. Expires:Dec-31-2010 Restriction:Some restrictions apply. See site for details.	See it
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble... General Biography & Autobiography - A hilarious, intelligent-trivia-packed story from a man who read the entire...	Barnes & Noble	$10.80 Coupon 3 coupons available Code:J7M3C9V Detail: 20% off single item when you use Master card at Barnes & Noble Expires:Dec-31-2009 Restriction:Unknow Code:No Code Required Detail: Free Shipping on orders of $25 at Barnes & Noble Expires:Jun-30-2010 Restriction:see site for more details Code: Detail: GET FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OF $25 OR MORE at Barnes and Noble Expires:Dec-31-2009 Restriction:Unknow	See it

*Shipping costs are based on an estimate of the lowest shipping rate available within the contiguous US, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Only merchants with this product in stock are listed (Merchants with this product back ordered have been removed from this list).

Do you see a pricing error? Please let us know by filling out a simple form: Click here

MoreStores

Write a review

ProductReviews86/100 (100 Reviews)

Recent Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Sep-29-2009; Don't worry, it's not a Cliff's Notes version of the Encyclopedia; If you like random facts, Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy!, etc., then you'll love The Know It All. If the aforementioned doesn't excite you (e.g., my wife and other carpool mates), then you'll chide The Know It All in public but secretly...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Sep-03-2009; Great fun; As the blurb on the cover says, the book is about the author deciding to read the Encyclopedia Britannica top to bottom. The mix of interesting facts and trivia and memoirs and anecdotes about his quest, and the other "characters" -...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-23-2009; oh please...!; This is the first book I have ever considered actually throwing in the trash can. The writer with his sophmoric humor is just too much to stand. He is so smug; he really thinks he is funny and oh so very clever. If I met him at a...; read full review | report as inappropriate

4/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-18-2009; Entertaining; In his memoir "The Know-it-All," A.J. Jacobs, an editor at Esquire magazine, reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in his quest to become the world's smartest man. If that sounds stupid, gimmicky, and a surefire way for a not too...; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Sep-29-2009; Don't worry, it's not a Cliff's Notes version of the Encyclopedia; If you like random facts, Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy!, etc., then you'll love The Know It All. If the aforementioned doesn't excite you (e.g., my wife and other carpool mates), then you'll chide The Know It All in public but secretly...; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jan-09-2009; One Man's Quest to read 44 Million Words; Why read the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A-Z when you can read a much more entertaining version by an author obsessed with knowledge. I loved finding out that abominable snowman's footprints are produced by running bears. Then, why...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-23-2009; oh please...!; This is the first book I have ever considered actually throwing in the trash can. The writer with his sophmoric humor is just too much to stand. He is so smug; he really thinks he is funny and oh so very clever. If I met him at a...; read full review | report as inappropriate