In "The Know-It-All," A.J. Jacobs embarks on a quest as ambitious as it is absurd: to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z. What begins as a personal challenge to fill the gaps in his Ivy League education quickly transforms into an uproarious adventure that is part memoir, part trivia treasure trove. Jacobs's journey is not just about accumulating facts; it's a deep dive into the essence of learning, the joy of knowing, and the unexpected paths knowledge can lead us down. With every page of the encyclopedia, he not only gathers useless facts and party anecdotes but also navigates the complexities of his daily life, from the quirks of his family dynamics to the anxieties of impending fatherhood. Jacobs's narrative is peppered with wit, self-deprecation, and a candidness that makes "The Know-It-All" resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an underachiever. As he wrestles with the Sisyphean task of consuming 44 million words of encyclopedic knowledge, his odyssey becomes less about the sheer volume of information and more about the humanizing moments that knowledge brings to his life. This is not just the story of a man trying to smarten up; it's a heartfelt exploration of what it means to be intelligent, the value of wisdom over mere facts, and how our quests for knowledge shape our relationships with the people around us. "The Know-It-All" is a hilarious, enlightening, and at times absurd odyssey through the alphabet, making it a must-read for trivia buffs and life-long learners alike.