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The Know-It-All:

One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
Front Cover
1725 Reviews
Simon & Schuster, Sep 21, 2004 - Biography & Autobiography - 386 pages
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, shall we say, 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 soul-searching, ultimately touching struggle between the all-consuming quest for factual knowledge and the undeniable gift of hard-won wisdom.

What people are saying - Write a review

User ratings

5 stars
367
4 stars
710
3 stars
404
2 stars
134
1 star
44

Interesting premise and fun writer. - Goodreads
No true plot, perfect "bathroom reader" - Goodreads
Funny, quirky, intelligent, and educational. - Goodreads
Pretty fun and lots of random factoids - Goodreads
Bad premise, plus I don't like know-it-alls. - Goodreads
Awesome set-up, easy to read. - Goodreads

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

User Review  - Karen - Goodreads

This book is an interesting concept, however, I only made it to page 114 and I realized I really didn't care about what AJ Jacobs was writing about. I enjoyed his writing style, it made me laugh at ... Read full review

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

User Review  - Kim - Goodreads

Enjoyable and format makes it perfect for interrupted reading - no major plot lines or crazy character relationships to recall. Lots of random interesting fun facts and a rare book that I expect both ... Read full review

All 1725 reviews »

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References to this book

From other books

Seeing Seneca whole: perspectives on philosophy, poetry, and politics
Seeing Seneca whole: perspectives on philosophy, poetry, and politics
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Snippet view - 2006

From Google Scholar

Gerontology And Finance: Encyclopedias In The Google Era
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References from web pages

aj Jacobs - The Know-It-All
Home · About aj Jacobs; The Books: The Year of Living Biblically; The Know-It-All. Description & Excerpt · Conversation Guide · Buy the Book ...
www.ajjacobs.com/ books/ kia.asp

aj Jacobs: The Know-It-All: My Library
... but only made it to the mid-Bs. The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World is the story of his year long quest. ...
library.tom-hanna.org/ 2007/ aj-jacobs-the-know-it-all/

Bookish Bent: The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become ...
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. The next book on my list is The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's ...
bookishbent.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 03/ know-it-all-one-mans-humble-quest-to.html

Interview with aj Jacobs, Author of The Know-It-All (Part One)
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World ...
blogcritics.org/ archives/ 2007/ 01/ 29/ 055507.php

EW challenges ''Know-It-All'' writer to trivia game | The Know-It ...
You Might Also Like. Book Review The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World | Laura Miller ...
www.ew.com/ ew/ article/ 0,,732945,00.html

The Know-It-All by aj Jacobs
The Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs is One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
www.randomhouse.co.uk/ minisites/ know-it-all/

mediabistro.com: Articles: Excerpt: <I>The Know-It-All</I>
Jobs and recruiting for media professionals in journalism, on-line content, book publishing, TV, radio, PR, graphic design, photography, and advertising
www.mediabistro.com/ articles/ cache/ a2927.asp

The New York Times > Books > Books of the Times | 'The Know-It-All ...
In its own joking way, AJ Jacobs's book about his reading of the Britannica encyclopedia seeks a working definition of what it means to be smart
www.nytimes.com/ 2004/ 09/ 20/ books/ 20masl.html

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest ...
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the ... The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in ...
en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ The_Know-It-All:_One_Man's_Humble_Quest_to_Become_the_Smartest_Person_in_the_World

Gaki n Me - The Know-It-All
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to become the Smartest Person in the world by aj Jacobs. Yep, these are the type of non-fiction books I like. ...
www.wretch.cc/ blog/ gakinme& article_id=3078336

About the author (2004)

A.J. Jacobs is the author of The New York Times bestsellers The Year of Living Biblically, My Life as an Experiment and The Know-It-All. He has been called "inspired and inspiring" (Vanity Fair), "entertaining" (New York Times) and "hilarious" (Time). He is the editor at large of Esquire magazine, a contributor to NPR, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Entertainment Weekly. He lives in New York City with his wife Julie and their children. Visit him at AJJacobs.com and follow him on Twitter @ajjacobs. 

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Know-It-All
TitleThe Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World
AuthorA. J. Jacobs
Editionillustrated
PublisherSimon & Schuster, 2004
ISBN0743250605, 9780743250603
Length386 pages
Subjects › 

Biography & Autobiography / General
Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs
  
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