Sunday, March 12, 2006

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

by A.J. Jacobs

The author, an editor at Esquire, reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, A-Z.  He breaks the books down into alphabetical entries, relating each heading to some event in his life or reading.  Along the way, he and his wife succeed in their quest to become pregnant, he goes on “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire,” they travel, and he meets people such as Mensa members, Alex Trebek, and the editors of the EB.  This is truly a hilarious book, absolutely laugh-out-loud funny, and not without a few poignant moments on the nature of learning and life itself.  Excellent.

four stars

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