All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia
- Downloads：4558
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-02-26 01:20:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Simon Garfield
- ISBN：0063292270
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Anna Delong
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Not well suited to an audio book format， but nonetheless interesting。 It covers topics from a broad range of historical encyclopedias in the English-speaking world， including distribution， what knowledge was included， shortcomings， and evolutions thereof。 The A-Z format of the chapters is a good little gimmick but doesn't quite pan out; it feels a bit disjointed and like reading a checklist。 Lucky for the author that W （Wikipedia， the most insightful chapter in the book） and Z （Zuckerberg， but n Not well suited to an audio book format， but nonetheless interesting。 It covers topics from a broad range of historical encyclopedias in the English-speaking world， including distribution， what knowledge was included， shortcomings， and evolutions thereof。 The A-Z format of the chapters is a good little gimmick but doesn't quite pan out; it feels a bit disjointed and like reading a checklist。 Lucky for the author that W （Wikipedia， the most insightful chapter in the book） and Z （Zuckerberg， but not really） are at the end of the alphabet。 。。。more
Linda
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Very interesting and definitely worth at least one more listen to try to take in all it contained。 The encyclopedia has a long history and some of that history is jaw dropping。 For instance， Samuel Taylor Coleridge though presenting the information alphabetically was the wrong way to do it。 （It should be in content related order！） The way the salesmen were "armed" to make sales （door-to-door）。 Possibly the most jarring information was the encyclopedic administrators looking down their noses at t Very interesting and definitely worth at least one more listen to try to take in all it contained。 The encyclopedia has a long history and some of that history is jaw dropping。 For instance， Samuel Taylor Coleridge though presenting the information alphabetically was the wrong way to do it。 （It should be in content related order！） The way the salesmen were "armed" to make sales （door-to-door）。 Possibly the most jarring information was the encyclopedic administrators looking down their noses at the possibility of supplying the information of multiple volumes on to CD-ROMS or computer programs。Much of the information was presented in alphabetical order and the author refused to end the book on （Mark Zuckerberg） so he gave one more reference。 。。。more
Cheri
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Loved learning more about the history of the encyclopedia， but it dragged on a bit at times。 The info about Wikipedia was super interesting。
Martin Maenza
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All the Knowledge in the World by Simon Garfield will be published on February 28， 2023。 William Morrow provided an early galley for review。Growing up in the 1970's， we had a set of encyclopedias （a set of Funk and Wagnalls in my brother's room）。 So did my aunt and uncle; theirs （an Encyclopedia Britannica set） was a few years older but much more comprehensive。 When I couldn't find what I was looking for in either of those for my school research papers， it was off to the public library to look i All the Knowledge in the World by Simon Garfield will be published on February 28， 2023。 William Morrow provided an early galley for review。Growing up in the 1970's， we had a set of encyclopedias （a set of Funk and Wagnalls in my brother's room）。 So did my aunt and uncle; theirs （an Encyclopedia Britannica set） was a few years older but much more comprehensive。 When I couldn't find what I was looking for in either of those for my school research papers， it was off to the public library to look in theirs （always a bit more current）。 I have a fond devotion to these weighty tomes of knowledge。 That's what drew me to this upcoming title。First impressions: I really smiled at the fact that each chapter of the book has an alphabetic title。 The reader literally goes from A to Z with this study; I think that's a clever touch。 Within each chapter are then sections and entries that correspond to the chapter's starting letter as well as the overall theme of the chapter。 It adds a level of design to the book that I really can get behind。Garfield tells the story of the encyclopedia， from its earliest roots through its rise to a dominant position and then to its decline due to advances in technology。 It is told in a fascinating， fact-filled manner that keeps the history lesson moving and engaging。 Bibliophiles will find this one enjoyable。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an advance copy of this book on the history， creation and love of encyclopedias， from the earliest to the Wikis of today。 I don't remember when I started， but for many years I have been using a file card as a bookmarks while reading physical books or keep one tucked inside of my tablet for e-books。 On these file cards I write down quotes from famous people， lines from the book that strike me， facts and information that I didn't know， or My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow for an advance copy of this book on the history， creation and love of encyclopedias， from the earliest to the Wikis of today。 I don't remember when I started， but for many years I have been using a file card as a bookmarks while reading physical books or keep one tucked inside of my tablet for e-books。 On these file cards I write down quotes from famous people， lines from the book that strike me， facts and information that I didn't know， or want to question even cool words， or foreign phrases I wanted to know more about。 I use the card until it is done， for multiple books， or for certain books I will number the cards especially if it is historical。 I always give the title and author， and know I regret that I never put dates on them， something I will start with this book。 I keep all these cards in a large box， not in any order， and have thought about arranging them， sort of an encyclopedia of me I guess。 I love facts， sharing facts and learning new ones。 I love books that tell about things I enjoy， the Encyclopedia of Science- Fiction is one I still look at， though it is much out of date。 I still have the Funk & Wagnalls my parents bought book by book from our Grand Union， a book I cribbed many a high school paper from。 So a book on encyclopedias， and one as well written as this one， that's my jam。 Journalist and writer Simon Garfield has in All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia has written both a history and a paean to a lost art and time when looking up facts took time and the only distractions were other entries catching the eye， rather than a cat on TikTok while checking a phone for proof of something to win a bar bet。The book begins with a hunt and sort of a quest as our author is looking through Ebay and finding complete sets of encyclopedias that have historical or even personal meanings to the author。 Garfield is surprised at the price of many， and thinks it would be crazy not to get them， thought what to do with them is still a question。 Maybe even to hold up a computer desk is one of his ideas。 From there we go on an exploration of the world of encyclopedias from the earliest ones to the most modern。 The entries are listed alphabetically， something that many creators had problems with， along with many other controversies。 We learn about educators， and printers， and people who compiled， or hoped to compile all the knowledge in the world into one form， though as usual certain subjects were given short shrift。 Readers learn about the Suda， a tenth century Byzantine and Greek encyclopedia of the classical world， that is going through a reworking， or the Yongle Dadian， a Chinese collection that sadly has been rotting away。 Plus there are discussions on vary controversies， like alphabetical presentation， stories about door to door salespeople， and the future of encyclopedias。The book is very interesting， well sourced， filled with fun facts， very humorous， and written with love for the subject。 Garfield enjoys his encyclopedias， and enjoys writing about them， again this is not an assignment but an appreciation。 Garfield writes to share， not to lecture， for people to go， gosh that is interesting I never knew that， please tell me more。 The author has a real gift in being able to communicate about classic writings， authors noses， selling encyclopedias， the guilt in not having one， and the joy of opening one up to just read randomly。 The pictures in the book are apt， and of the style， and help the reader get an idea of what Garfield is discussing。 Plus the sketches about the humans involved in this are not just informative， but touching， unless the people were jerks， which he is quick to point out。 This is a great gift for the person who loves facts， loves to learns， or reads with a file card。 Not just up that reader's alley， but a book that will really speak to them。 Recommended for people interested in English literature， librarian studies and for people who love facts， and are hard to buy for。 This book will be a treat。 。。。more
Cecil
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Everything you ever wanted to know about the Encyclopedia Brittanica， Wikipedia， and other encyclopedias。 More than you wanted to know， in fact。 If you enjoyed Index by Dennis Duncan， you will also enjoy this。
Benoit
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Very pleasant read， can tell how enthusiastic the author is about the topic。
Elizabeth
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All the Knowledge in the World by Simon Garfield is a lovely history of the （western） encyclopedia。 The chapters run from A to Z， with thematic titles for the chapter topic。 I found this book to be very comprehensive and an interesting read。 It is chock full of facts so it might be easier to skim some sections， but I greatly enjoyed learning about the journey of how people tried to compile and organize the sum of humanity's knowledge over the centuries。 All the Knowledge in the World by Simon Garfield is a lovely history of the （western） encyclopedia。 The chapters run from A to Z， with thematic titles for the chapter topic。 I found this book to be very comprehensive and an interesting read。 It is chock full of facts so it might be easier to skim some sections， but I greatly enjoyed learning about the journey of how people tried to compile and organize the sum of humanity's knowledge over the centuries。 。。。more
Rupert
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Funny， informative and moving by turns， this is a must-have for anyone who ever fell in love with encyclopaedias， wondered where they came from， why and how， and where they are today。
Antonio Gallo
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