The Know-it-All (Paperback) by A.J. Jacobs

ISBN : 978-0434013401
Condition: New
Price: RM30

DESCRIPTION & EXCERPT
Part memoir, part Cliff's Notes to every topic under the sun, The Know-It-All is about the year I spent reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z (or, more precisely, from a-ak to zywiec). All forty-four million words of it. The book is many things:

First, it's a compendium of the funniest, most fascinating, and most profound facts I uncovered-from the history of canned laughter to Nathaniel Hawthorne's obsessive-compulsive behavior to female spies in the Civil War.

Second, it is a search for meaning and wisdom among that ocean of facts.

Third, it's a memoir of my eccentric, knowledge-loving family. (My dad, for instance, holds the world record for the most number of footnotes in a law review article: 5,435.)

And finally, it is a series of adventures to test the limits of intelligence. I competed in a crossword-puzzle tournament, went on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and attended a Mensa convention.

And if that's not enough, it's a mere 1.4 pounds, as opposed to the Britannica's 128 pounds.

That's my summary, anyway. Though I kind of like the way The Philadelphia Inquirer put it, since I can't say the things they say without looking like a self-promoting putz. Well, more of one, anyway.

"The Know-It-All has to be one of the most entertaining and informative book reports in existence. It is charming, humorous, instructive, fascinating, even kind of inspirational. But Jacobs' book is more than that. He puts it all into the context of his life, and a text that could have been utterly dry winds up charming us with Jacobs' honesty and vulnerability. Jacobs is courageous enough to risk looking stupid by sharing his quirks and insecurities . . . and he wins the gambit. He comes across as nothing short of endearing."