Beth H. (suburbanalien) reviewed The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Man in the World (Audio CD) (Abridged) on + 63 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I had the audio CD version, and found that I was volunteering to run errands just so I could get back to the book. It's exactly what I wanted - personal although not too navel-gazing introspective, funny in that way things happen not the way you expect them to. For example, he takes his newfound knowledge out for a trot at a museum tour, only to find there is a different customer on the tour who keeps jumping in and answering the tour guide's questions before he can proclaim his superior knowledge.
It was great that he included a lot of the weirder, funnier, and surprising facts from each letter with his descriptions. Saved me the trouble of reading the Encyclopedia myself. I could identify with him and his quest, truth is I had always wanted to read the entire thing when I was growing up (this was before the Internet!), and I used to close my eyes and randomly pluck a volume from the shelves, then randomly turn to a page and read it. Might be an obscure French artist, might be details on a really gross disease, might be history of an odd fruit from an island in the Pacific. I can also relate to the urge to use what you've just learned since you're sure no one else knows it, and I would keep trying to find a way to work in the details of my new facts no matter how awkward it then made the conversation, and he did the same thing.
That's probably why I picked this up to begin with - I had often been called (affectionately, and not-so-affectionately) a know-it-all many times in my life. My husband has had to put up with the many times I hit "pause" while we are watching a movie or TV show so I can explain to him the obscure facts behind whatever bird, article of clothing, town, or figure in history we are seeing at the time.
He doesn't hesitate to also describe the times he embarrassed himself, suffered rejection, felt frustration, or was irritating to his friends and co-workers. I can relate.
Even if you don't want to read the whole Encyclopedia, I recommend this book, a very interesting story, lots of humor, lots of fun facts, and you'll want to know the outcome of his personal story that winds its way through his quest.
It was great that he included a lot of the weirder, funnier, and surprising facts from each letter with his descriptions. Saved me the trouble of reading the Encyclopedia myself. I could identify with him and his quest, truth is I had always wanted to read the entire thing when I was growing up (this was before the Internet!), and I used to close my eyes and randomly pluck a volume from the shelves, then randomly turn to a page and read it. Might be an obscure French artist, might be details on a really gross disease, might be history of an odd fruit from an island in the Pacific. I can also relate to the urge to use what you've just learned since you're sure no one else knows it, and I would keep trying to find a way to work in the details of my new facts no matter how awkward it then made the conversation, and he did the same thing.
That's probably why I picked this up to begin with - I had often been called (affectionately, and not-so-affectionately) a know-it-all many times in my life. My husband has had to put up with the many times I hit "pause" while we are watching a movie or TV show so I can explain to him the obscure facts behind whatever bird, article of clothing, town, or figure in history we are seeing at the time.
He doesn't hesitate to also describe the times he embarrassed himself, suffered rejection, felt frustration, or was irritating to his friends and co-workers. I can relate.
Even if you don't want to read the whole Encyclopedia, I recommend this book, a very interesting story, lots of humor, lots of fun facts, and you'll want to know the outcome of his personal story that winds its way through his quest.
