All the Knowledge in the World audiobook

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books that tell about things I enjoy, the Encyclopedia of Science- Fiction is one I still look at, though it is much out of date.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.

Quando penso a questa Enciclopedia mi vien voglia di fare un "bibliocidio". Non so se avete capito bene che cosa intendo con la parola "bibliocidio". E' la sensazione/tentazione che mi ha afferrato quando qualche anno fa ricevetti in omaggio un DVD della famosa Enciclopedia Britannica. E' un servizio di aggiornamento che questa enciclopedia ogni anno pubblica per le sue edizioni. Leggete bene e riflettere su cosa il DVD offre: accesso online ai 32 volumi della tradizionale enciclopedia cartacea contenente oltre centomila articoli; sedicimila voci per soggetto mirate all'utilizzo degli studiosi; dodicimila articoli riguardanti i temi della politica, lo sport, le scienze ecc. compresi tra gli anni che vanno dal 1994 al 2012; risorse di studio video audio, giochi e attività online, recensioni, indagini, analisi; centinaia di attività e giochi interattivi su varie discipline di studio come la matematica, le scienze, le arti; due dizionari linguistici completi; un dizionario inglese-spagnolo; circa tremila mappe dedicate alla economia, alla cultura ed alle statistiche mondiali di ogni nazione del mondo; mappe storiche dei paesi del mondo; accesso agli articoli di famosi collaboratori della enciclopedia come i premi Nobel; centinaia di biografie di uomini illustri e famosi criminali; carte per appunti online; migliaia e migliaia di immagini e clip video audio; collegamenti a migliaia di link mirati per approfondimenti e ricerche. Tutto questo alla portata di un semplice clic del mouse per il modico prezzo di 39 dollari e 95 centesimi (poco più di trenta euri, dico 30).Adesso leggete questa recensione della Enciclopedia Britannica che ho scritto tempo fa: "Come si fa a fare una recensione della Enciclopedia Britannica? Dovrei recensire anche i supplementi annuali di scienze e attualità che ho continuato ad acquistare fino a qualche anno fa. Eppure dovrò trovare il modo giusto per parlare di questa opera grandiosa che occupa tutta una parete del mio studio. Oggi tutto è digitale, "bits e bytes": guardare, toccare, sfogliare questi volumi sono una vera e propria goduria che soltanto chi soffre di bibliomania può capire. Ne riparleremo ... Se penso che questa opera mi è costata tanti soldi in un paio di decenni, tanti volumi di aggiornamento sia per l'attualità che per le scienze ... Se penso che oggi questa enciclopedia è in vendita per una manciata di euri, mi pare una cinquantina, ed è anche online, mi viene da spararmi o da diventare analfabeta ...".Tutto cambia, tutto scorre e si trasforma...

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.