About this title: Alarmed and more than a little chagrined at the massive gaps in his personal knowledge base, Jacobs sets for himself a suitably daunting, and some might say insane, task: to fill in the holes in his Ivy-league education by reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z.
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Description: Very Good. 0743250621 Copy has been read but remains in very good condition. Pages are intact. Notes and underlining to some of the pages. Spine is tight; a clean read. read more
Description: Good. 0743250621 Book could have shelf wear, or a bump, or sunfade to edges. These are new unread books from the publisher with one of these conditions. See are feedback as customers are satisfied in how we grade our books. Has remainder mark. Fast shipping and customer service is our number 1 priority! read more
Edition: First Paperback Edition; Fifth Printing
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, New York
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743250627ISBN:0743250621
Description: Very Good. 9780743250627. Clean, tight, unmarked book, not ex-lib, no remainder marks; 1.1 x 8.4 x 5.5 Inches; 400 pages. read more
Description: Good. 0786271310 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 2005-10-04
ISBN-13:9780743250627ISBN:0743250621
Description: Good. Paperback. Minor wear to page edges and corners. Cover slightly worn, marked. Text unmarked and tight. Text unmarked and tight. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this DVD supports the North Central Regional Library. Thriftbooks and NCRL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Library ID found on DVD and case. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Edition: 1st printing.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780743250627ISBN:0743250621
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. No crease in flat, tight spine. Clean and bright. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 389 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
"This book was fantastic! It made me actually want to read again, after years and years of generally avoiding paper books. I doubt I'll be duplicating his feat, but it succeeding in being so captivating that it forced me to work it into my life. All the little things that kept me from reading when I tried gradually resolved themselves as I was forced to make time and room and find a spot to sit down and read in order to keep making my way through this witty compendium of wisdom from the pop-culture-obsessed man striving to get a real education in the most interesting, if misguided, way possible.
It also made me feel pretty smart--a lot of the things he "discovers" were so familiar to me that I would have labeled them "common knowledge" among educated types. Especially ones like him that went to prestigious private high schools and graduated from Ivy League universities. Can you really get through all that and still not know that the plot of Amadeus wasn't accurate, or that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day? (and that it was July 4?)
But it goes beyond just being an amusing Davebarryesque book by stressing as its central point the importance and joy of knowledge and of learning, in such a lighthearted and entertaining way that it kept me rapt for the length of the work and managed to make a real impression on me. It has inspired me a lot more than it should have, given the probable relative insignificance of such a light read. In fact, it may be the single most important thing I've ever read.
"A.J. Jacobs sets out to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in a year & learns quite a lot along the way, which he imparts to the reader in ways sometimes personal, sometimes factual - the book follows an A to Z format with "entries" based on bits he's read that day in the EB. His comments are sometimes sincere, sometimes snarky, sometimes just really, really funny, and occasionally you want to throw the book across the room! Yeah, it's kind of annoying that he & his wife have the money to undertake this kind of self-indulgent project at all, while living in their Manhattan apartment & visiting his family in the Hamptons & undergoing all kinds of expensive fertility treatments. And that he can get the Self Indulgent Project published when supposedly the publishing world is coming to an end & no one is buying books anymore & What With the Economy & All, & The World is Slowly Grinding to A Halt! But that was kind of what I enjoyed about the book too. What better time in the world to just read something ridiculously funny & pointless?! I liked coming across random facts that I didn't know (without having to read the EB myself!) & random bits of hilarity, & I liked what Jacobs ends up learning from his project. A cynical, depressed hypochondriac - by his own admission - Jacobs ends up deciding that Homo Sapiens is a pretty good species after all, & that things really are better now than they have ever been before, & that there is hope - because we really do find cures for diseases, we sign peace treaties, & we write great books & poetry & create great art & music. He writes, "for all its terrifying problems, now is the best time to be alive," and he's excited for his son to be born into the world. This is a fun book - & sometimes that's all you need!"
"I was a little disturbed that my running partners gave this to me for Christmas and thought it was funny. However, it turned out to be a great read! A.J. Jacobs is an editor for Esquire magazine, and decides to read the Encyclopeadia Brittanica from A to Z. It takes him about a year and this book is a chronicle of what he learns about knowledge vs. intelligence and the acquisition of wisdom. The back story is that while he is reading the EB he and his wife are expecting their first child. It is tender, very funny and a quick and entertaining read. Highly recommended!"
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