我的大英百科狂想曲 (2004)

《我的大英百科狂想曲》（英语：The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World）是《时尚先生》编辑阿诺德·史蒂芬·贾各布斯于2004年出版的著作，讲述了他阅读第15版《大英百科全书》全篇的经历：该版本全部32卷，总页数超过33,000页、字数约4,400万字。他立志要借此成为“世界上最聪明的人”。著作以百科全书格式按字母顺序排列，讲述了百科全书中的有趣事实、还有作者的亲身经历。该书曾为《纽约时报》畅销书。

评论

讽刺作家P·J·欧鲁克评价称：“《我的大英百科狂想曲》是本很棒的书，比大英百科短得多，好玩得多，而且你从中记住的会更多。更何况，万一这本书从书架上掉下来砸到你头上，你还可以保留一条小命活下去。”

相比之下，Joe Queenan在《纽约时报书评》中则称雅各布斯记载诸多惊人发现，例如爱洛伊丝和阿伯拉尔的故事、马拉遭女子刺杀的故事等，早已是普通受教者的常识。雅各布斯则回称：“书本荒谬夸张的副标题是在暗示全篇的讽刺语气”。

类似举动

雅各布斯并非首位读完整本《大英百科全书》的人。最早的纪录是1797年卡扎尔王朝的波斯沙阿法特赫-阿里沙阿，他登基后获赠了第三版《大英百科全书》。阿里沙阿在读完全书18卷后，将自己的皇家头衔改为“最令人敬畏的领主和大英百科全书大师”（英语：Most Formidable Lord and Master of the Encyclopædia Britannica）。大约一世纪后，美国商人阿莫斯·厄本·希尔克花了四年读完第11版《大英百科全书》。随后又以平均每晚三个小时的速度，把第14版全部读完。

传记作家阿什利·万斯 (Ashlee Vance) 声称伊隆·马斯克读过两遍《大英百科全书》 。

比尔·盖茨年轻时读完了整本《世界图书百科全书》 。

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World is a book by Esquire editor A. J. Jacobs, published in 2004.

It recounts his experience of reading the entire Encyclopædia Britannica; all 32 volumes of the 2002 edition, extending to over 33,000 pages with some 44 million words. He set out on this endeavour to become the "smartest person in the world". The book is organized alphabetically in encyclopedia format and recounts both interesting facts from the encyclopedia and the author's experiences.

It was a New York Times Best Seller.

Reviews

The satirist P.J. O'Rourke said of it: "The Know-It-All is a terrific book. It's a lot shorter than the encyclopedia, and funnier, and you'll remember more of it. Plus, if it falls off the shelf onto your head, you'll live."

By contrast, Joe Queenan in The New York Times Book Review contended that much of which Jacobs reported as remarkable discoveries, e.g. the tale of Heloise and Abelard and the assassination of Marat by a woman, were already common knowledge among educated people. Jacobs responded that "the ridiculously hyperbolic subtitle might have been a tip-off" of the book's ironic tone.

Similar feats

A.J. Jacobs was not the first to read the entire Britannica. The earliest recorded example was Fath Ali, who upon becoming the Shah of Persia in 1797, was given a gift of the 3rd edition of the Britannica. After reading all of its 18 volumes, the Shah extended his royal title to include "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the Encyclopædia Britannica". Roughly a century later, Amos Urban Shirk, an American businessman, read the entire 23-volume 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica over a period of four years. He then went on to read the entire 14th edition, spending on average three hours per night.

Biographer Ashlee Vance claims Elon Musk read the Encyclopædia Britannica twice.

Bill Gates read the entire World Book Encyclopedia in his youth.