AJ Jacobs- The Know-It-All
I knew I had to read this one when I looked at the cover. "The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World" I just knew I had to read it.
Excelling oneself (as well as one's genius father and super-brainy brother-in-law) is what this book is about- becoming the smartest man alive. So what did AJ Jacobs do to achieve it? He read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica, all 26 alphabets, 36 books, 33000 pages and 44 million words of it. Some quest.
What's great about the book is it concentrates equally on Jacobs' quest to become intelligent as on the hard, cold facts he has to digest along the way. It is filled with weirdo trivia to keep it entertaining and funny, but it's AJ's life as he chomps through masses of info that takes centrestage. So we have him talk about his reverence for his father and his endless diplomas and world record for the most footnotes in a legal document, his jealousy of his brother-in-law Eric who seems to him, and sometimes to me, like Rainman-cum-cocky Jerry Maguire-cum supreme overachiever; then ofcourse, there are his infertility woes and his devotion to wife Julie. You get the image of a normal man who wants to break the rut not in some pansy let's-go-for-a-weekend-away fashion, but in a phenomenal way. I was rooting for AJ throughout. And that's why the book is a fun read. It's conversational and almost logbook-like at times. It's arranged alphabetically, predictably enough, so we chart our way through 'a-ak' to 'Zywiec' right beside AJ. It's a good ride.
I'd definitely recommend it to anyone, not just trivia buffs. Read it because:
- It's a very human book. It's about going on a silly quest to break a rut, fulfil a dream and achieve. It is a book about how, in the end, it's not the 44million info-packed words that make the man intelligent, but what he discovers about himself and our mad mad world along the way that brings him a few steps closer to wisdom.
- It's filled with trivia that may come in handy someday. Like Pueblo tribeswomen divorce their husbands simply by keeping their mocassins by the doorstep (teepee-step?), which could come in handy when you're out of creative ways to break-up with someone, or like army troops survived in the wilderness by eating lichen (weird, green mossy fungus stuff) incase you're in a battle and wandering without food in a mossy area. You never know.
- It's very jewishly funny. (That's a legitimate adverb, btw) So you find your average Woody Allen-esque mother-in-law who reads phone directories for fun, hippie-feminist-animal rights activist-raw foodist relatives who say shtick and schmaltz, and classic witticisms such as, "He was a city man. Always at two with nature."
- It's a good, light read. And in the vein of modern marketing, gives you the best of two worlds. For example, you'll read about Benthams's utilitarianism v/s deontology debate even as you read about Jessica Simpson's Chicken v/s Tuna debate a few pages later. (It also features some very interesting commentary on Vin Diesel and Ivanka Trump.)
This entry was posted
on 27.3.06 at 6:29 PM.
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I noticed that you are reading The Know it All so I wanted to mention my blog, which I think you might like too. I was so inspired by Jacob's book that I have begun reading the Encyclopedia Britannica as well. I try to bring the same combination of trivia, life experiences, and humor to my blog. You can read it here: http://readingtheeb.com/blog/wordpress/
P.S. I wouldn't reccomend breaking up with that shoe thing, as your significant other might not understand it...
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