Sign-In
Cart
All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia
Hardcover
Business of WritingLexicographyBritish History
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
ISBN13: 9780063292277
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Published: Feb 28 2023
Pages: 400
Weight: 1.08
Height: 1.41 Width: 5.82 Depth: 8.51
Language: English
From the deliriously clever (Boston Globe) Simon Garfield, New York Times bestselling author of Just My Type, comes the wild and fascinating story of the encyclopedia, from Ancient Greece to the present day.
New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
A brilliant book about knowledge itself. --Deirdre Mask, author of The Address Book
Garfield's witty history captures the obsessive, quixotic and sometimes error-filled quests of those--from Pliny the Elder in the first century A.D. to Wikipedians in this one--who have attempted to corral all the world's information into a single source.--New York Times
The encyclopedia once shaped our understanding of the world. Created by thousands of scholars and the most obsessive of editors, a good set conveyed a sense of absolute wisdom on its reader. Contributions from Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Orville Wright, Alfred Hitchcock, Marie Curie and Indira Gandhi helped millions of children with their homework. Adults cleared their shelves in the belief that everything that was explainable was now effortlessly accessible in their living rooms.
Now these huge books gather dust and sell for almost nothing on eBay. Instead, we get our information from our phones and computers, apparently for free. What have we lost in this transition? And how did we tell the progress of our lives in the past?
All the Knowledge in the World is a history and celebration of those who created the most ground-breaking and remarkable publishing phenomenon of any age. Simon Garfield, who has a genius for being sparked to life by esoteric enthusiasm and charming readers with his delight (The Times), guides us on an utterly delightful journey, from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, from modest single-volumes to the 11,000-volume Chinese manuscript that was too big to print. He looks at how Encyclopedia Britannica came to dominate the industry, how it spawned hundreds of competitors, and how an army of ingenious door-to-door salesmen sold their wares to guilt-ridden parents. He reveals how encyclopedias have reflected our changing attitudes towards sexuality, race, and technology, and exposes how these ultimate bastions of trust were often riddled with errors and prejudice.
With his characteristic ability to tackle the broadest of subjects in an illuminating and highly entertaining way, Simon Garfield uncovers a fascinating and important part of our shared past and wonders whether the promise of complete knowledge--that most human of ambitions--will forever be beyond our grasp.
Also from
Garfield, Simon
All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia
Garfield, Simon
Paperback
All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia
Garfield, Simon
Audio Book
Also in
Lexicography
Quack This Way: David Foster Wallace & Bryan A. Garner Talk Language and Writing
Wallace, David Foster
Garner, Bryan
Paperback
F*ck Off, I'm Coloring! Swear Word Coloring Book: 40 Cuss Words and Insults to Color & Relax: Adult Coloring Books
Adult Coloring Books
Swear Word Coloring Book
Swear Word Adult Coloring Book
Paperback
The Lexicon: A Cornucopia of Wonderful Words for the Inquisitive Word Lover
Buckley, William F., Jr.
Buckley, William F., Jr.
Paperback
Quack This Way: David Foster Wallace & Bryan A. Garner Talk Language and Writing
Garner, Bryan
Wallace, David Foster
Hardcover
Diccionario de la Lengua Española (de Bolsillo) / Spanish Language Dictionary (Pocket)
Espasa Calpe
Paperback
Hardly Harmless Drudgery: A 500-Year Pictorial History of the Lexicographic Geniuses, Sciolists, Plagiarists, and Obsessives Who Defined the English L
Garner, Bryan A.
Lynch, Jack
Hardcover
All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia
Garfield, Simon
Paperback
The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published
Skinner, David
Paperback
The Manchu Mirrors and the Knowledge of Plants and Animals in High Qing China
Bian, He
Saarela, Mårten Söderblom
Hardcover
The Smutesaurus: The Ultimate Guide to Superior and Preposterous Language for Romance Writers
Swart, Samantha
Paperback
Samskrta Bharati: Indus Script Dictionary, Epigraphia Mlecchita Vikalpa, 'Meluhha cipher'
Kalyanaraman, S.
Paperback
Arabic Lexicography - Its history, and its place in the general history of Lexicography
Haywood, John A.
Paperback
Dictionary of Digital Pictograms and Glossary for Internet Use and Portable Telephones
Martin, Marcienne
Hardcover
Vollständiges Wörterbuch Deutsch-Esperanto in drei Bänden. Band 2 (H-R): Plena Vortaro Germana-Esperanto en tri volumoj. Volumo 2 (H-R)
Krause, Erich-Dieter
Hardcover
Vollständiges Wörterbuch Deutsch-Esperanto in drei Bänden. Band 3 (S-Z): Plena Vortaro Germana-Esperanto en tri volumoj. Volumo 3 (S-Z)
Krause, Erich-Dieter
Hardcover
Vedic Concordance of Mantras as Per Rishi and Devata
Arya, Sh Ram Narain
Arya, Dr Ravi Prakash
Paperback
Abc Tracing Workbook for Pre-K (Ages 4 to 5): Alphabet tracing for preschoolers with fundamental prewriting practice exercises - 120 Tracing letters w
Education, Alphabet Tracing
Paperback
Ein Fachsprachliches Elektronisches Lernwörterbuch: Konzeption, Prototyperstellung Und Evaluation Am Beispiel Der Mathematik
Kruse, Theresa
Hardcover
Eros Und Emanzipation in Der Französischsprachigen Sexuallexikographie: Diachrone Betrachtungen Zu Gender Und Tabu
Heidepeter, Philipp
Hardcover
The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge. Edited by George Ripley and Charles A. Dana: 16
Dana, Charles a. 1819-1897
Dana, Charles Anderson
Ripley, George
Paperback
Cognitive Lexicography: A New Approach to Lexicography Making Use of Cognitive Semantics
Ostermann, Carolin
Hardcover
Chambers's Encyclopædia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge for the People; Volume 4
Chambers, Ephraim
Paperback
Lexicon Cum Annotationibus Interpretum Lectionibusque Libri Ms. Vratislaviensis
Harpocration, Valerius
Paperback
Dizionario Delle Arti E De Mestieri, Compilato Da Francesco Griselini
Fassadoni, Marco
Griselini, Francesco
Paperback
Dictionnaire Historique Et Bibliographique AbrÃ(c)gÃ(c) Des Personnages Illustres, CÃ(c)lèbres Ou Fameux
Peignot, Gabriel
Paperback
Bhagavad Gītā Concordance: A Comprehensive Word Reference with English and Sanskrit Indexes
Schweig, Graham M.
Hardcover
Writing a War of Words: Andrew Clark and the Search for Meaning in World War One
Mugglestone, Lynda
Hardcover
The Language of Colour in the Bible: Embodied Colour Terms Related to Green
García Ureña, Lourdes
Valeriani, Emanuela
Angelini, Anna
Hardcover
A New Law Dictionary, Intended For General Use As Well As For Gentlemen Of The Profession
Burn, Richard
Paperback
Neuman and Baretti's Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages ...: English and Spanish
Neuman, Henry
Paperback
Diccionario De Antigüedades Del Reino De Navarra Con Adiciones; Volume 3
Miranda, José Yanguas Y.
Paperback
Vocabolario dantesco: o. Dizionario critico e ragionato della Divina commedia di Dante Alighieri, ora per la prima volta recato in italiano da G. Carb
Blanc, Ludwig Gottfried
Carbone, Giuno
Paperback
Dizionario Delle Arti E De Mestieri, Compilato Da Francesco Griselini
Fassadoni, Marco
Griselini, Francesco
Hardcover
Novum Lexicon Manuale Graeco-latinum Et Latino-graecum, Volume 1...
Hederich, Benjamin
Patrick, Samuel
Pinzger, Gustav
Paperback
Novum Lexicon Manuale Graeco-latinum Et Latino-graecum, Volume 1...
Hederich, Benjamin
Patrick, Samuel
Pinzger, Gustav
Hardcover
Acquiring a Scientific Vocabulary: A Short Course for Building Lexical Literacy for Advancing AP and College Students
Belmont, Anthony M.
Paperback
My Traceable Alphabet Book: Traceable alphabet letters for preschool, colourable pictures, and more... For Ages 3+
William, Mason
Paperback
Wikinger Malbuch: Entspannende Wikinger- und Walhalla-Designs für Erwachsene
Färbungen Editions, Merijn
Paperback