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

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When I was a kid I owned an encyclopedia that my grandpa had given us. My family owned many other reference works as well, and a little nerd that I was I had spent many hours reading and browsing those thick books that contained more knowledge than I could ever hope to absorb. There was something really appealing about the idea that all of the knowledge can be systematized and presented in a coherent, all-encompassing whole. And yet, the sheer size of those thick volumes made me wonder if I will ever be able to read it all. Apparently, there are a few brave souls out there who had stopped wondering and decided to undertake the task of reading the entire encyclopedia, and not just any old encyclopedia. Alan Jacobs, the author of this book, decided at the ripe old age of thirty five to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, the gold standard of encyclopedias. This was a monumental task by any measure. Thirty three thousand pages, spread across thirty or so big hard-bound volumes, is probably more text than most of us will absorb in our lifetimes. He chronicles his adventure in this book, interspersing mostly entertaining and curious bits of information from Britannica with personal stories and anecdotes. He recounts meeting Alex Trebek (and mistaking him for a gardener), his (mis)adventure on "Millionaire," and many very personal tales about his very accomplished family. It is precisely through these vignettes that we are able to truly relate to his adventure with Britannica. Jacobs makes it seem that almost anyone could do this, just wake up one morning and read the whole encyclopedia. His writing style is very fluid and entertaining, and he is very good at endearingly deprecating himself. He makes vivid the very human side of knowledge, even when it is at its driest.

Si l'intitule du livre ne fait pas particulierement envie (La quete d'un journaliste pour lire toute l'Encyclopedia Britannica), A.J. Jacobs, par ailleurs journaliste chez Esquire, reussit a en faire un ouvrage franchement hilarant et passionnant. Il y mele sa tentative de s'inscrire a Jeopardy (echec) puis a 'Qui veut gagner des millions' (succès) tout en détaillant les conséquences de sa quête sur sa vie de couple, son travail, etc.
C'est vraiment très drôle et instructif. Que demander de plus?