Description
All the Knowledge in the World traces the remarkable journey of encyclopedias across centuries, from Pliny the Elder’s Natural History to modern Wikipedia. Simon Garfield reveals how these ambitious works emerged as responses to humanity’s desire to understand and preserve knowledge.
The book examines pivotal figures and moments that shaped encyclopedic tradition, including the groundbreaking Encyclopédie of the French Enlightenment and the Victorian era’s comprehensive reference works. Garfield explores how each generation reinvented the encyclopedia to reflect contemporary values, technologies, and information needs.
With wit and scholarly insight, he demonstrates how encyclopedias served not merely as collections of facts, but as mirrors of their times. From their role in spreading knowledge to their decline in the internet age, this history illuminates how humans have perpetually sought to capture and share the world’s wisdom.
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