Know it All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge

Know it All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge
Susan Aldridge, Elizabeth King Humphrey, and Julie Whitaker
Reader’s Digest
ISBN: 978-0-7621-0933-3
Nonfiction, Trivia, Reference
Reviewed by Tanya Boudreau

Do you know who wrote Principia Mathematica, where a hydrothermal vent can be found, when the first horror film premiered, why the honeybee colonies are suffering, or how far down the deepest ocean trench goes? Are you curious if Sally Ride was the first woman in space, or if all the oceans are interconnected? Do you need to brush up on the basics of the solar system or the stock markets, or do you need to learn about the voyages of Marco Polo and Ferdinand Magellan? If so, Know it All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge will be invaluable to you.

Published by Reader’s Digest, Know it All consists of nine chapters that explore the world of space, life, science, religion, history and the arts. Subjects are two pages in length and accompanied by sidebars of information. For example in the chapter Understanding the Universe, page 16 and 17 contain information about the Milky Way. Along with a description of the Milky Way and information about the life of a Galaxy, there is a diagram and four pictures of galaxies, and sidebar information entitled In the Know and Conversation Starter. As explained in the comprehensive introduction to the book, In the Know is a feature that contains information related to the topic on the page, and Conversation Starters are interesting bits of information which may start a debate or a discussion. Key Player and In Fact are two other features that can be found throughout this 255 paged book.

A well designed index, table of contents, and answer key will allow readers to browse at their leisure or find that one piece of information they need to finish the quizzes that end each chapter of this book.

Susan Aldridge has been a freelance writer for over fifteen years in the fields of medicine and science. She lives in London. Elizabeth King Humphrey has worked as a writer, copy editor and co-designer for books, magazines and television documentaries. A graduate with a master’s degree in American Studies and Anthropology, Julie Whitaker’s writing can be found in many books and encyclopedias. Julie lives in British Columbia.

There is so much to know in this world, but after reading Know it All, you will be familiar with some of the key features in a variety of fields. The best part is that readers can then take one of the sixteen tests in the book to see how much information they retained. Know it All is a fun reference book for those who strive to “know it all”, or who want to learn a little bit about the key people and events in history.