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

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' editor

A. J. Jacobs Arnold Stephen Jacobs Jr., commonly called A.J. Jacobs (born March 20, 1968) is an American journalist, author, and lecturer best known for writing about his lifestyle experiments. He is an editor at large for ''Esquire'' and has worked for the ...

, published in 2004. It recounts his experience of reading the entire ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''; all 32 volumes of the 2002 edition, extending to over 33,000 pages with some 44 million words. He set out on this endeavour to become the "smartest person in the world". The book is organized alphabetically in

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

format and recounts both interesting facts from the encyclopedia and the author's experiences. It was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller.

Reviews

The satirist

P.J. O'Rourke Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was an American author, journalist, and political satirist who wrote twenty-two books on subjects as diverse as politics, cars, etiquette, and economics. '' Parliament of Whores'' ...

said of it: "''The Know-It-All'' is a terrific book. It's a lot shorter than the encyclopedia, and funnier, and you'll remember more of it. Plus, if it falls off the shelf onto your head, you'll live." By contrast, Joe Queenan in ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' contended that much of which Jacobs reported as remarkable discoveries, e.g. the tale of

Heloise and Abelard Héloïse; c. 1100–01? – 16 May 1163–64?), variously Héloïse d'ArgenteuilCharrier, Charlotte. Heloise Dans L'histoire Et Dans la Legende. Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion Quai Malaquais, VI, Paris, 1933 or Héloïse du Paraclet, was a ...

and the assassination of Marat by a woman, were already common knowledge among educated people. Jacobs responded that "the ridiculously hyperbolic subtitle might have been a tip-off" of the book's ironic tone.

Similar feats

A.J. Jacobs was not the first to read the entire ''Britannica''. The earliest recorded example was

Fath Ali Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (; 5 August 1772 – 24 October 1834) was the second Shah of Qajar Iran. He reigned from 17 June 1797 until his death on 24 October 1834. His reign saw the irrevocable ceding of Iran's northern territories in the Caucasus, com ...

, who upon becoming the Shah of Persia in 1797, was given a gift of the 3rd edition of the ''Britannica''. After reading all of its 18 volumes, the Shah extended his royal title to include "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''". Roughly a century later, Amos Urban Shirk, an American businessman, read the entire 23-volume ''

1911 Encyclopædia Britannica Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 Mom ...

'' over a period of four years. He then went on to read the entire 14th edition, spending on average three hours per night. Biographer Ashlee Vance claims Elon Musk read the

twice.

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

read the entire

World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. ''World Book'' was first published in 1917. Since 1925, a new edition of the encyclopedia has been published annually. Although published online in digital form for a number of years, ...

in his youth.

Bibliography

* A.J. Jacobs (2004). ''The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World''. . * Joe Queenan's review of the book,
A Little Learning Is a Dangerous Thing
', and A.J. Jacobs' response,

', both in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Know-It-All 2004 non-fiction books Comedy books Encyclopædia Britannica Books by A. J. Jacobs