The Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World

Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Guinea Pig Diaries began this series of quirky books about his obsessions with The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World.  His quest? to read the entire Encyclopaedia Britannica from beginning to end.  Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, always interesting, he takes us from a-ak to Zywiec with his self-effacing, humorous look at knowledge.  His search leads him to meeting Alex Trebek, an appearance on Crossfire, taking on a debate team, and finally to being a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?  Interwoven in his reading adventures is the more personal quest of achieving parenthood,and other stories of his family and friends.  I highly recommend any of his books.