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All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia
The encyclopaedia 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.
But now these huge books gather dust, and sell for almost nothing on eBay, and we derive 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. It tracks the story from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, from modest single-volumes to the 11,000-volume Chinese manuscript that was too big to print. It looks at how Encyclopaedia 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. It explains how encyclopaedias 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.
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.
But now these huge books gather dust, and sell for almost nothing on eBay, and we derive 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. It tracks the story from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, from modest single-volumes to the 11,000-volume Chinese manuscript that was too big to print. It looks at how Encyclopaedia 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. It explains how encyclopaedias 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.
390 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2022
About the author
Simon Garfield
38 books305 followersSimon Garfield is a British journalist and non-fiction author. He was educated at the independent University College School in Hampstead, London, and the London School of Economics, where he was the Executive Editor of The Beaver. He also regularly writes for The Observer newspaper.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
March 13, 2023
Did not finish. Really was hoping to like it. Reading an actual encyclopedia is more entertaining.
June 23, 2023
2.5 Stars!
PAPERBACK EDITION!
There is no doubting Garfield’s passion, love and enthusiasm for his chosen subjects, but unfortunately this doesn’t always translate so well to the page, and often we are left with dry or dull details that seem to go on and on, and this happened too much here.
This could have and should have been shorter and better edited, it was just so boring in so many places and too often this ended up feeling more like a slog than a pleasure to read. Garfield can be hit and miss, for every “On The Map” there is a “Mauve”, and yes this had a selection of good moments, but as a book it just didn’t hold together well for long enough to be truly, consistently enjoyable.
PAPERBACK EDITION!
There is no doubting Garfield’s passion, love and enthusiasm for his chosen subjects, but unfortunately this doesn’t always translate so well to the page, and often we are left with dry or dull details that seem to go on and on, and this happened too much here.
This could have and should have been shorter and better edited, it was just so boring in so many places and too often this ended up feeling more like a slog than a pleasure to read. Garfield can be hit and miss, for every “On The Map” there is a “Mauve”, and yes this had a selection of good moments, but as a book it just didn’t hold together well for long enough to be truly, consistently enjoyable.
March 20, 2023
All the Knowledge in the World is billed as a popular history of the encyclopedia - but it does explore more than this. Because of the nature of the encyclopedia as a record of knowledge, it lends itself to philosophical thought and reflection on the nature of knowledge itself. What counts as important enough to be knowledge, to be wisdom as opposed to mere observation? Garfield uses historical examples of encyclopedia entries for witchcraft and demonry and the contemporary absence of entries for geography to highlight that the answers to such questions are not so straightforward, and have often been recast over time.
The different chapters use different historical encyclopedias to highlight big questions including how to consider structuring knowledge (alphabetically? thematically?), and what to consider the purpose of encyclopedias (to “own” knowledge? or as a public good?). As a history and philosophy of science major in college, this seems like it should appeal to me. Unfortunately, the author seems to be more enamored by encyclopedic trivia than I am (something the introduction perhaps should have warned me of), and elaborations on these big questions are buried within what feels like a strained structure of alphabetically-titled chapters and subchapters.
If I had a print copy of this book, I do think it would be a nice skim through to find these nuggets of wisdom and trivia scattered throughout. But as a linear read, this one was a DNF.
Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for a fair review.
The different chapters use different historical encyclopedias to highlight big questions including how to consider structuring knowledge (alphabetically? thematically?), and what to consider the purpose of encyclopedias (to “own” knowledge? or as a public good?). As a history and philosophy of science major in college, this seems like it should appeal to me. Unfortunately, the author seems to be more enamored by encyclopedic trivia than I am (something the introduction perhaps should have warned me of), and elaborations on these big questions are buried within what feels like a strained structure of alphabetically-titled chapters and subchapters.
If I had a print copy of this book, I do think it would be a nice skim through to find these nuggets of wisdom and trivia scattered throughout. But as a linear read, this one was a DNF.
Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for a fair review.
August 15, 2024
Simon Garfield has a wonderful King Midas like way of making gold out of everything he touches. This book was no exception. What an absolute hidden gem of history. It may not seem like it, but this was a very enthralling dive into an area of history that most of us probably don't consider.
We've all seen encyclopedias on the shelf or on our computers, but who ever thought to consider how they got there and why they're so important? A study of what we know is a study of ourselves. Not only does it show us the world as it appeared to those who saw it, but it also shows us what they saw as important to their world. Highly recommend to students of art, sociology, history, anthropology, epistemology, or library science. 10/10
We've all seen encyclopedias on the shelf or on our computers, but who ever thought to consider how they got there and why they're so important? A study of what we know is a study of ourselves. Not only does it show us the world as it appeared to those who saw it, but it also shows us what they saw as important to their world. Highly recommend to students of art, sociology, history, anthropology, epistemology, or library science. 10/10
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
February 1, 2024DNF. the authorial tone of this was just insufferable to me.
January 11, 2023
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.
February 20, 2023
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.
February 15, 2023
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.
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.
January 18, 2023
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.
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.
August 4, 2023
This review is dedicated to the publishers of the World Book encyclopedia without which I would be repeating 11th grade for the 55th time.
This book is a history of encyclopedias, especially the late Encyclopedia Britannica (1768-2012). The purpose of encyclopedias has changed over the years. Early on, it was usually an effort to document all contemporary knowledge. In the early 1400s, the Chinese emperor Zhu Di gave it the old college try. The Yongle Dadian was 3.7 million characters on 917,000 pages. Unfortunately, the Salem Library doesn't have it.
Capturing all knowledge is impossible, of course, and even if you did, it would be out of date in less than a second. So editors and publishers tweaked the formula. Their encyclopedias would include all the knowledge they thought a person ought to have. Encyclopedias became a mishmash of information, misinformation, and opinion. Superstition and stereotyping were rampant. Racism, sexism, and every other hair-raising ism was everywhere.*
Early British encyclopedia publishers regarded their main purpose to be completing the edification of the intelligent man. (Yes, man.) They thought readers would pick up a volume and peruse it to become well-rounded polymaths. But this raised a serious problem: How does a book, or even multiple volumes, connect related ideas? Sure, there are cross-references, but where does it explain the actual relationship between two separate entries?**
The surprising answer was that encyclopedias were generally not arranged alphabetically. In fact, alphabetizing was seen as an arbitrary and non-sensical system. Instead, many encyclopedias grouped entries inside broad subject areas such as The Arts or Natural History. This wasn't very satisfactory either, and as the volumes were used more for reference than for general knowledge acquisition, more encyclopedias surrendered to the alphabet.
And then there is Wikipedia. If printed ala Encyclopedia Britannica, it would be 2,980 volumes as of 2021. During the pandemic, Wikipedia articles on COVID, etc. were edited 163 times an hour. Did you know that Wikipedia articles include NO original source material? Anything included must be published or publicly available somewhere else. The way Wikipedia operates is fascinating.
The writing (of All the Knowledge in the World. Not the EB!) is pleasing to read. The author enjoys all the quaint nooks and crannies without turning every paragraph into a set-up for a joke.
* In the first edition of the EB, the whole entry for Woman was "The female of man. See Homo."
** And many encyclopedias were released over periods of years. So the Amazon entry might cross-reference the South America entry, which would not be published for 12 years.
This book is a history of encyclopedias, especially the late Encyclopedia Britannica (1768-2012). The purpose of encyclopedias has changed over the years. Early on, it was usually an effort to document all contemporary knowledge. In the early 1400s, the Chinese emperor Zhu Di gave it the old college try. The Yongle Dadian was 3.7 million characters on 917,000 pages. Unfortunately, the Salem Library doesn't have it.
Capturing all knowledge is impossible, of course, and even if you did, it would be out of date in less than a second. So editors and publishers tweaked the formula. Their encyclopedias would include all the knowledge they thought a person ought to have. Encyclopedias became a mishmash of information, misinformation, and opinion. Superstition and stereotyping were rampant. Racism, sexism, and every other hair-raising ism was everywhere.*
Early British encyclopedia publishers regarded their main purpose to be completing the edification of the intelligent man. (Yes, man.) They thought readers would pick up a volume and peruse it to become well-rounded polymaths. But this raised a serious problem: How does a book, or even multiple volumes, connect related ideas? Sure, there are cross-references, but where does it explain the actual relationship between two separate entries?**
The surprising answer was that encyclopedias were generally not arranged alphabetically. In fact, alphabetizing was seen as an arbitrary and non-sensical system. Instead, many encyclopedias grouped entries inside broad subject areas such as The Arts or Natural History. This wasn't very satisfactory either, and as the volumes were used more for reference than for general knowledge acquisition, more encyclopedias surrendered to the alphabet.
And then there is Wikipedia. If printed ala Encyclopedia Britannica, it would be 2,980 volumes as of 2021. During the pandemic, Wikipedia articles on COVID, etc. were edited 163 times an hour. Did you know that Wikipedia articles include NO original source material? Anything included must be published or publicly available somewhere else. The way Wikipedia operates is fascinating.
The writing (of All the Knowledge in the World. Not the EB!) is pleasing to read. The author enjoys all the quaint nooks and crannies without turning every paragraph into a set-up for a joke.
* In the first edition of the EB, the whole entry for Woman was "The female of man. See Homo."
** And many encyclopedias were released over periods of years. So the Amazon entry might cross-reference the South America entry, which would not be published for 12 years.
September 14, 2022
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...
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...
May 26, 2024
"How on earth is there a book on " is a common enough phrase. But there turns out to be, and more often than not it's well worth the read. Like this one, on the history of the encyclopaedia.
And this makes sense, when you think of it. In the modern age, the idea of spending a few hundred quid on a vast tome of (beautifully-presented) books which aged so quickly they required another book to issue each year to keep them up to date all sounds a bit mad. To get, unpack, and leaf through a new encyclopaedia was an event, but now, not 30 years after they died off, you can barely give them away, as Garfield finds out.
Yet for a couple of centuries, this was the way of things. Encyclopaedias started off as a way for educated elite to document their knowledge for easy cross-reference - or even for rulers to chart all the knowledge of their empire - and the knowledge gradually filtered down to the commoner classes. As with many famous literary stories, they were often published in serial form, so you could buy "A", where you might see a reference to something under the "S"s, which you knew wouldn't be published for another year and a half (and even then, sometimes the referenced article was overlooked). They were pricey - Diderot's French encyclopaedia cost around £6,000 in today's money (and still had 4,000 subscribers). And they were biased - numerous nationalities from the Afghans to the Cypriots were lazy and feckless, while an article on Geneva in Diderot's encyclopaedia ran to four full pages of ranting (the article on England was around one-tenth as long) and the encyclopaedia was promptly banned in Geneva.
Garfield takes a chronological approach, so successive encyclopaedias see new scientific ideas arise ; the 1788 Encyclopaedia Brittanica had 30 copper plates of diagrammes showing new-fangled equipment such as microscopes and telescopes. In fact, if there's one criticism of the book, it's that a sample plate page could work well between the chapters; the few that are shown are genuine works of art, and it seems rare for Garfield (who arranges the chapters alphabetically, helped by Britannica starting things off, and leading to Wikipedia today) to miss a trick like that.
Garfield sorts the book alphabetically partly for fun, but partly because encyclopaedias are of course sorted alphabetically - though this was by no means an assured thing, and some early encyclopaedia editors sorted instead by topic, a bit like the map of the animal kingdom.
Along the way, Garfield takes in such random diversions as A. Urban Shirk, who actually read encyclopaedias cover to cover like a real book, the more controversial sales methods employed by door-to-door encyclopaedia salespeople (and Monty Python and Two Ronnies sketches satirising them), the short-lived but game-changing Microsoft Encarta, some of the more eccentric and of-their-time definitions (such as the original definition of Woman - "The female of man. See Homo."), and the reaction of a new generation to encyclopaedias who don't know what they are (Jack Grealish being confused when being described as an encyclopaedia of football, for example)
The biggest chapter is on wikipedia, from its origins (copying the most recently copyright-unprotected print edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica) through its rather anal team of volunteer editors which nonetheless ensure a relative uniformity of formatting and presentation (the user Ser Amantio di Nicolao has made over 4,000,000 edits to wikipedia articles) to its fundamental speed of search and update which blew a centuries-old institution out of the water in a matter of years (the article on covid-19 grew from a few hundred words in January 2020 to a few hundred thousand words by March 2020 to 4,500 different covid-related articles in various languages in April 2020. An encyclopaedia bought in March 2020 would have no mention of covid, until the update book a year later. It's an incredible thing, an internet of human minds, although not perfect - an example is given of an incorrect fact appearing on wikipedia, being cited in the Guardian, and that citation being referenced in wikipedia, despite the best efforts of the person about whom the fact relates to change it. Despite that, it's still more accurate than book encyclopaedias, as Garfield shows in one section looking at an academic charting the number of errors in Britannica (out of, it must be said, a huge number of articles).
A fascinating read overall. Where will Garfield's endlessly curious eye turn to next?
And this makes sense, when you think of it. In the modern age, the idea of spending a few hundred quid on a vast tome of (beautifully-presented) books which aged so quickly they required another book to issue each year to keep them up to date all sounds a bit mad. To get, unpack, and leaf through a new encyclopaedia was an event, but now, not 30 years after they died off, you can barely give them away, as Garfield finds out.
Yet for a couple of centuries, this was the way of things. Encyclopaedias started off as a way for educated elite to document their knowledge for easy cross-reference - or even for rulers to chart all the knowledge of their empire - and the knowledge gradually filtered down to the commoner classes. As with many famous literary stories, they were often published in serial form, so you could buy "A", where you might see a reference to something under the "S"s, which you knew wouldn't be published for another year and a half (and even then, sometimes the referenced article was overlooked). They were pricey - Diderot's French encyclopaedia cost around £6,000 in today's money (and still had 4,000 subscribers). And they were biased - numerous nationalities from the Afghans to the Cypriots were lazy and feckless, while an article on Geneva in Diderot's encyclopaedia ran to four full pages of ranting (the article on England was around one-tenth as long) and the encyclopaedia was promptly banned in Geneva.
Garfield takes a chronological approach, so successive encyclopaedias see new scientific ideas arise ; the 1788 Encyclopaedia Brittanica had 30 copper plates of diagrammes showing new-fangled equipment such as microscopes and telescopes. In fact, if there's one criticism of the book, it's that a sample plate page could work well between the chapters; the few that are shown are genuine works of art, and it seems rare for Garfield (who arranges the chapters alphabetically, helped by Britannica starting things off, and leading to Wikipedia today) to miss a trick like that.
Garfield sorts the book alphabetically partly for fun, but partly because encyclopaedias are of course sorted alphabetically - though this was by no means an assured thing, and some early encyclopaedia editors sorted instead by topic, a bit like the map of the animal kingdom.
Along the way, Garfield takes in such random diversions as A. Urban Shirk, who actually read encyclopaedias cover to cover like a real book, the more controversial sales methods employed by door-to-door encyclopaedia salespeople (and Monty Python and Two Ronnies sketches satirising them), the short-lived but game-changing Microsoft Encarta, some of the more eccentric and of-their-time definitions (such as the original definition of Woman - "The female of man. See Homo."), and the reaction of a new generation to encyclopaedias who don't know what they are (Jack Grealish being confused when being described as an encyclopaedia of football, for example)
The biggest chapter is on wikipedia, from its origins (copying the most recently copyright-unprotected print edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica) through its rather anal team of volunteer editors which nonetheless ensure a relative uniformity of formatting and presentation (the user Ser Amantio di Nicolao has made over 4,000,000 edits to wikipedia articles) to its fundamental speed of search and update which blew a centuries-old institution out of the water in a matter of years (the article on covid-19 grew from a few hundred words in January 2020 to a few hundred thousand words by March 2020 to 4,500 different covid-related articles in various languages in April 2020. An encyclopaedia bought in March 2020 would have no mention of covid, until the update book a year later. It's an incredible thing, an internet of human minds, although not perfect - an example is given of an incorrect fact appearing on wikipedia, being cited in the Guardian, and that citation being referenced in wikipedia, despite the best efforts of the person about whom the fact relates to change it. Despite that, it's still more accurate than book encyclopaedias, as Garfield shows in one section looking at an academic charting the number of errors in Britannica (out of, it must be said, a huge number of articles).
A fascinating read overall. Where will Garfield's endlessly curious eye turn to next?
April 12, 2023
Simon Garfield's All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia is as entertaining, informative and tangent filled as its subject, the encyclopedia. Arranged into 26 alphabetically themed chapters, Garfield takes us through the development of the encyclopedia from its historical precursors, such as the work of Pliny the Elder and Younger, through the birth of European printed culture to our present digital Wikipedia dominant lives.
For those interested in the creation, documentation and distribution of knowledge, it is a fascinating read that has relevance for our lives today. Garfield begins the book by discussing how he was easily and cheaply able to gather several encyclopedias through internet marketplaces, inspiring this work. A through line of the work is the pursuit of presenting the up to date knowledge of the world in a compact nature. This is presented as both a philosophical pursuit and an economic one.
Some narrative points are not surprising, the challenges of creating a work of its size, writing for different audiences and of course Wikipedia. There are also plenty of interesting diversions, such as those who have read or attempted to read the encyclopedia in its entirety (A. J. Jacobs among them), or more troubling the smarmy hard sell training for door-to-door salesman that was in direct contradiction to the goals of the encyclopedia.
Worth a read for those interested in book history, systems of knowledge creation and distribution, or those who would read the encyclopedia.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
For those interested in the creation, documentation and distribution of knowledge, it is a fascinating read that has relevance for our lives today. Garfield begins the book by discussing how he was easily and cheaply able to gather several encyclopedias through internet marketplaces, inspiring this work. A through line of the work is the pursuit of presenting the up to date knowledge of the world in a compact nature. This is presented as both a philosophical pursuit and an economic one.
Some narrative points are not surprising, the challenges of creating a work of its size, writing for different audiences and of course Wikipedia. There are also plenty of interesting diversions, such as those who have read or attempted to read the encyclopedia in its entirety (A. J. Jacobs among them), or more troubling the smarmy hard sell training for door-to-door salesman that was in direct contradiction to the goals of the encyclopedia.
Worth a read for those interested in book history, systems of knowledge creation and distribution, or those who would read the encyclopedia.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
April 12, 2023
What a fascinating book. The history of encyclopedias is not a history of some doorstop our parents and grandparents likely have sitting around somewhere untouched since the day they were bought. It is a symbol of man’s desire to understand the world, and of the simultaneous unmitigated gall and unmatched heroism of the attempt to place the sum of all knowledge in a single contained book, albeit in volumes.
It is a symbol of scholarship, of man’s unending desire to understand, organize, and classify. It is a symbol of the relationship between information, knowledge, and wisdom, and how any attempt to substitute one of the lower order for one of the higher inevitably ends in failure. Hence the famous quote “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
Although these books were written at a time when experts were simply trusted, symbols of authority unquestioned, and the certain belief that one was correct among academics was at all time highs, all ideas which today have been imploded by our information revolution, they yet move at a different pace. Instead of a constant information blizzard of information sweeping away with the wind and burying all that came before, these encyclopedias are as a glacier of wisdom, having had time to coalesce, to harden, and to meld together into something clearer and denser.
Encyclopedias days are done, but many a lesson can be learned by this glacial, alchemical transmutation of flitting facts into stolid understanding.
It is a symbol of scholarship, of man’s unending desire to understand, organize, and classify. It is a symbol of the relationship between information, knowledge, and wisdom, and how any attempt to substitute one of the lower order for one of the higher inevitably ends in failure. Hence the famous quote “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”
Although these books were written at a time when experts were simply trusted, symbols of authority unquestioned, and the certain belief that one was correct among academics was at all time highs, all ideas which today have been imploded by our information revolution, they yet move at a different pace. Instead of a constant information blizzard of information sweeping away with the wind and burying all that came before, these encyclopedias are as a glacier of wisdom, having had time to coalesce, to harden, and to meld together into something clearer and denser.
Encyclopedias days are done, but many a lesson can be learned by this glacial, alchemical transmutation of flitting facts into stolid understanding.
January 27, 2023
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.
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.
September 11, 2023
Oh how I wanted to love this book…
And honestly, the concept of it was fascinating and a lot of the story was well told. However my main gripe with it was that it felt like the author missed the entire lesson of the book. To me, the main point was to look at all these different points in history and see how, even though they thought they knew all there was to know then, they were obviously woefully ignorant in so many areas. That should result in a humble view of our own time and a realization that in 2023, we are no different. 100 years from now people will look back on us and be astonished at some of the things we believed.
But it felt like the exact opposite happened. Instead of coming at it from a place humility, the underlying tone felt very prideful and haughty, looking back at all the “lesser” people from our lofty perch of human perfection and erroneously assuming that for the first time in all of human history, WE have finally attained the correct view of everything. Not a great position to hold if history is any indicator…
Despite that though, I do have to admit that I found the story fascinating and now will probably go out and buy myself a set of old encyclopedias… :)
Favorite Quote: “That we don’t have the space in our homes (and increasingly our libraries) for a big set of books suggests a new set of priorities; depth yielding to the shallows.”
And honestly, the concept of it was fascinating and a lot of the story was well told. However my main gripe with it was that it felt like the author missed the entire lesson of the book. To me, the main point was to look at all these different points in history and see how, even though they thought they knew all there was to know then, they were obviously woefully ignorant in so many areas. That should result in a humble view of our own time and a realization that in 2023, we are no different. 100 years from now people will look back on us and be astonished at some of the things we believed.
But it felt like the exact opposite happened. Instead of coming at it from a place humility, the underlying tone felt very prideful and haughty, looking back at all the “lesser” people from our lofty perch of human perfection and erroneously assuming that for the first time in all of human history, WE have finally attained the correct view of everything. Not a great position to hold if history is any indicator…
Despite that though, I do have to admit that I found the story fascinating and now will probably go out and buy myself a set of old encyclopedias… :)
Favorite Quote: “That we don’t have the space in our homes (and increasingly our libraries) for a big set of books suggests a new set of priorities; depth yielding to the shallows.”
June 23, 2023
This book is a very interesting history of the development of the Encyclopedia. When you think that originally the encyclopedia was developed to encompass all the knowledge available to mankind. What an ambitious project. But think of the problems: who writes the articles, how do you check for accuracy, what happens when more is discovered, is it even possible to gather all the knowledge together in one place? I grew up with encyclopedias. I loved having a question and being able to answer it with the use of the World Book that was in our home. There was one problem though, we had more year books than original volumes of the encyclopedia. I also began to want more information than was published in one book. A major shift happened in the 1980's with the development of the personal computer. Suddenly, information was much easier to access than having to look up something in a book. The internet made it possible to find things out quicker. Today young people rely on Wikipedia rather than going to the library to search out information. Wikipedia is not always correct, but articles written by leaders in the field are not readily available at the touch of a button. Is this leading to the dumbing down of society? One has to decide.
April 24, 2023
(Audiobook) A interesting and detailed look into the history of the encyclopedia. That ubiquitous reference book that for many growing up before the dawn of the internet was the source of quick look up for knowledge, the encyclopedia, particularly the Encyclopedia Britannica had quite the extensive and long history. All the way back to the 1700s, books written to define subjects for readers evolved into the modern encyclopedia. Along the way, the changes in society and social norms also impacted how such volumes were written/published. Of course, the encyclopedia evolved once the internet arrived on the scene. The published volumes were replaced by Wikipedia and other internet-based programs, with positives and negatives for reference works.
The work is broken up into chapters (A-Z), as you would see with the volumes in libraries (public and home). The work mostly follows a chronological order, but can jump between subjects. Worth a listen/read, but probably not much beyond one session.
The work is broken up into chapters (A-Z), as you would see with the volumes in libraries (public and home). The work mostly follows a chronological order, but can jump between subjects. Worth a listen/read, but probably not much beyond one session.
January 26, 2024
This is a great account of the encyclopedia - primarily the Encyclopaedia Brittanica, but about the idea as a whole.
The first were unwieldly collections of articles, and they never really shook that, especially when the stated goal is to gather all knowledge.
There were many efforts at all-encompassing encyclopedias, but the legendary Brittanica first published in 1768, and was updated from there. The most revered edition was the 11th, published in 1911.
Garfield traces the history up to that edition and beyond, with looks at oddball founders, competitors (including my dear World Book), troublesome definitions, the problems of printing, and sales.
The book follows the ups and downs, and eventually the death stroke for printed editions: the computer and internet. Microsoft's Encarta staggers the Brittanica, and Wikipedia finishes it off.
I love Simon Garfield's writing. Informative and funny, authoritative and, as the British say, cheeky. He rewards you for surviving some necessarily dry recitations of places and dates by making you laugh immediately after.
The first were unwieldly collections of articles, and they never really shook that, especially when the stated goal is to gather all knowledge.
There were many efforts at all-encompassing encyclopedias, but the legendary Brittanica first published in 1768, and was updated from there. The most revered edition was the 11th, published in 1911.
Garfield traces the history up to that edition and beyond, with looks at oddball founders, competitors (including my dear World Book), troublesome definitions, the problems of printing, and sales.
The book follows the ups and downs, and eventually the death stroke for printed editions: the computer and internet. Microsoft's Encarta staggers the Brittanica, and Wikipedia finishes it off.
I love Simon Garfield's writing. Informative and funny, authoritative and, as the British say, cheeky. He rewards you for surviving some necessarily dry recitations of places and dates by making you laugh immediately after.
April 30, 2023
This is an extraordinary book just for the amount of information contained in it. The book is laid out like a set of encyclopedia starting A->Z. What it doesn't do is only concentrate on the "letter" that is the file tab, but does dance around enough to cover any encyclopedia fact that is relevant.
Though he mostly follows as if a biography of the "Encyclopedia Britannica", he covers other books and 'sets' but until he gets to "W" and discusses Wikipedia, does he admit that the paper versions are more of a collectors item, than of much use today. What the older editions do is show how definitions of certain subjects are so less bigoted and falsely authoritatively.
For people who like stories about obscure history, like that of the "Oxford Dictionary", it a great read, but others will probably find it too dull.
Though he mostly follows as if a biography of the "Encyclopedia Britannica", he covers other books and 'sets' but until he gets to "W" and discusses Wikipedia, does he admit that the paper versions are more of a collectors item, than of much use today. What the older editions do is show how definitions of certain subjects are so less bigoted and falsely authoritatively.
For people who like stories about obscure history, like that of the "Oxford Dictionary", it a great read, but others will probably find it too dull.
August 11, 2024
A great book, providing a history of encyclopedias and the process of collecting human knowledge. The author, British journalist and author Simon Garfield, combines his personal affections for encyclopedias with a history of their evolution and eventual transition to the online behemoth of collected knowledge that is Wikipedia. Garfield covers the full history of collected knowledge, but begins in earnest beginning with the Enlightenment encyclopedias. Of course, the centerpiece of the story is the Encyclopedia Britannica, though its competitors and the many specialized encyclopedias are also discussed. In addition to explaining the evolution of encyclopedias as both a fount of knowledge and commercial venture, Garfield assesses their increasing scope and accuracy through the advancing additions. The book ends by explaining Wikipedia’s rise, with a comparison of its editing method compared to what went before. Garfield’s light and witty writing style makes the book very readable. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of collecting and disseminating knowledge.
April 27, 2023
Some of us were ahead of our time, growing up with the internet back in the 1960s. No, I don't mean time travelers or DARPA mavericks: I'm referring to those of us lucky enough to have had an encyclopedia in the house. What is taken for granted now: the ability to know just about anything about anything, at any time, was never before a widespread faculty; at least, not in one's own home. The encyclopedia changed that.
Dry at times, subversively witty at others, Garfield gives us a book about books and manages to keep it interesting. Other than as a Zoom background, a set of encyclopedia may well be an extinct specie; here is a reminder of a not-so-distant time when it was a symbol of vast, portable information.
Dry at times, subversively witty at others, Garfield gives us a book about books and manages to keep it interesting. Other than as a Zoom background, a set of encyclopedia may well be an extinct specie; here is a reminder of a not-so-distant time when it was a symbol of vast, portable information.
October 19, 2023
All the Knowledge in the World is a history of the encyclopedia that suffers from being too much of a history of the encyclopedia. Garfield offers a faithful accounting of the long and often boring history of universal knowledge-collection, but the opportunities his subject offers to take interesting side roads on the path from A to Z are too often ignored. Too many inconsequential dictionaries are given too many pages. Thouroughness is given precedence over liveliness.
There are some interesting parts to be sure, and I learned some things. Just not as many as I'd hoped.
You have a right to say, "You picked up a history of the encyclopedia. What do you expect?" But for this book to have been worth writing I think it would have needed to be more interesting and 100 pages shorter.
There are some interesting parts to be sure, and I learned some things. Just not as many as I'd hoped.
You have a right to say, "You picked up a history of the encyclopedia. What do you expect?" But for this book to have been worth writing I think it would have needed to be more interesting and 100 pages shorter.
January 6, 2024
I so appreciate the effort, and it is a well-developed topic -in a way that is anything but obvious.
It talks a lot, a lot about "Britannica," but what was the alternative? An encyclopedia about the encyclopedia? No!
It was inevitable that it would focus on one particular aspect, since Britannica is considered the first modern encyclopedia. But there is no shortage of room for 'competition' from other countries, for the market, and for the evolution of the whole system, from notionalism to Wikipedia, from the glory of a few researchers working slowly, to the encyclopedia for all and by all, instantaneous -every chapter, a letter of the alphabet.
It talks a lot, a lot about "Britannica," but what was the alternative? An encyclopedia about the encyclopedia? No!
It was inevitable that it would focus on one particular aspect, since Britannica is considered the first modern encyclopedia. But there is no shortage of room for 'competition' from other countries, for the market, and for the evolution of the whole system, from notionalism to Wikipedia, from the glory of a few researchers working slowly, to the encyclopedia for all and by all, instantaneous -every chapter, a letter of the alphabet.
January 25, 2024
The history of humanity's attempt to document all knowledge in one place. Seems like it might be an interesting topic, and I hoped it would be. Didn't turn out to be the case for this reader. Alas, it was a bit dry and didn't contain nearly the number of "hidden and fascinating historical gems" that I hoped for. And it ends on a bit of a down note as the great encyclopedia companies of the last 100 years inevitably succumbed to irrelevancy as free internet sources which could be instantly updated with the latest news, and at a near infinite depth of detail, depending on your desire to know, crushed them.
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December 1, 2022All 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.
April 9, 2023
I've really enjoyed a lot of Simon Garfield's books in the past, and I was excited about learning more about this topic. I'm very interested in the history of books, and I really love encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works. This book was obviously exhaustively researched, but it ended up being a slog. The chronology of events was sometimes difficult to keep straight, and I think it just got too bogged down in the details.
October 15, 2023
I know more about encyclopedia’s now. It was a slow listen, I did increase the speed as this was a 12hr book.
Simon Garfield is very passionate about this topic. Learning about the progress of gathering information and the characters involved in the first encyclopaedias was quite interesting.
Don’t think I could have read this book tho listening made a lot of the dull information easier to consume.
Simon Garfield is very passionate about this topic. Learning about the progress of gathering information and the characters involved in the first encyclopaedias was quite interesting.
Don’t think I could have read this book tho listening made a lot of the dull information easier to consume.
May 3, 2024
This should have been more interesting/ entertaining. Too many extract entries -a few for examples of style or earlier attitudes or understanding would have been fine, but this often became just cut&paste to fill space. Certainly Wikipedia shoild be covered, but an umbalanced amount of pages taken up and a lot of it repetitive boring detail on stats of edits etc.
Missed opportunity; not one I'll be looking into again.
Missed opportunity; not one I'll be looking into again.
March 20, 2023
The history of the encyclopedia, cleverly organized by alphabet. What an interesting journey from the early days of trying to accumulate the world's knowledge on paper to the now ubiquitous Wikipedia. I especially enjoyed the list of all the people who have read (or attempted to read) an entire collection of volumes from a Britannica set.
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