All the money and high education in the world can't buy you a brain. That is the impression I had after finishing this book, and what a long, hard slog it was. Anyone could have provided a better mixture of knowledge and personal introspection, but then again, must people don't have the connections possible to write and publish such a love letter to themselves (with EB selctions thrown in as background). The main point of reading the EB cover to cover took a backseat to the fertility issues (which should have stayed behind closed doors, or as the focus of an episode of The View or a Lifetime movie of the week). Weekends in the Hamptons and Italy. Bonding trips to London. Plus flip remarks funny to smug NPR listeners. If that's what you're looking for, then dig in.

The premise, on the face of it, doesn't sound very interesting. I can only imagine Jacobs saying to himself: "I think I'll read the Encyclopedia and write a book about it." Try selling THAT one to your editor. However, the book works.

The book is broken up by letter, with short essays about brittanica entries that Jacobs has encountered along his journey. Trivia buffs will pick up some interesting and arcane knowledge along the way, but that is just a sidelight to the best part of the book.

Jacobs does a great job of weaving in his life and his great storytelling abilities throughout his narrative. I really CARED about his quest to become a father, for instance. His self-deprecating humor had me in stiches at times.

This book is a must for any trivia buff, or anyone who just enjoys increasing his knowledge. You will definitely be entertained along the way.

This is a wonderful book for anyone who is curious or who enjoys reading weird, funny, gross, or just plain interesting annecdotes. The guy invested a lot of time in his quest to read the entire encyclopedia, and if this book is the only result of that investment, it was time very well spent. I loved it.

A fun book; a sort of biography mixed into encyclopedia enteries. It's hard not to like a book based on random odd facts and, by entwining the events of his life with the entires, A.J. manages to make this as much an auto-biographical novel as a book of odd facts. Regretably, Jacobs is pretty much a jackass.

This book had me laughing out loud from start to finish. Jacobs is clever. And he seems completely honest and unafraid to write candidly about the sorts of thoughts and feelings that everyone has but few admit. Well okay, maybe not everyone; maybe just me and him. Anyway, I have trouble imagining any intelligent person not liking this book.