Jacobs, A. J.

one man's humble quest to become the smartest person in the world

The know-it-all

One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

Timeo Williams

I enjoyed this. Takeaways- I will be purchasing a Encyclopedia Britannica very soon and look forward to reading parts of it. As AJ points out, there is a Max of 6 degrees of separation between everything in this world and the Britannica supports this interdisciplinary mindset. 

Funny book, and I enjoy A.J 's writing style and openess.

Tracie McMurray

Very interesting, informative and a clever blend of facts and memoir. I would recommend this book to others.

Kourtney

Not as great as his other two books I've read (although it did reference material that was also in The Guinea Pig diaries which leads me to believe that he has run out of things to write about) but still worth a read-through if you have the time.

A. D. Knapp

Megan Gardner

Pierke Bosschieter

Cindi Coan

Wynter

Caitlin Hooker

Keven Wang

Sang Park

Belle

Rikki Doppler

A J Jacobs

On leaving school or university, you feel pretty pleased with yourself. You've learnt a lot, your'e well-read and you know a whole bunch of obscure facts guaranteed at some point to appear in the questions on Mastermind or University Challenge. Then you get a job, and ten years later youre more eloquent and eager to argue about Britney and Big Brother than Beckett and the Brontes. Sound familiar? Well it happened to AJ Jacobs too. As an editor at Esquire, Jacobs had built up a rather impressive knowledge of celebrity trivia - and the cure was going to take a long time. While others might take to reading a broadsheet at the weekend, Jacobs chose to read the Encyclopaedia Britannica. All 33,000 pages of it. Bill Bryson meets Schott's Original Miscellany meets Woody Allen. Part assemblage of fascinating trivia, part journey through adulthood, all laugh-out-loud funny.

The know-it-all one man's humble quest to become the smartest person in the world

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