I judged this book by it’s cover. I figured it would be a great laugh. And I laughed as Jacobs stoned adulterers and is brutally honest at the most inopportune times (thou shall not lie). However, this was no comedy. It was loaded with information from different versions of the Bible and different interpretations from different religions. If I had done the slightest bit of research before impulsively grabbing this off the shelf, I would have known that Jacobs’ style is very informative. In 2004, he published Know-it-All: One man’s humble quest to become the smartest person in the world.

I read this book to the very end, which I don’t do if I really don’t like a book. But I can’t say that I loved it. It may be because it didn’t meet my expectations. (It’s not like I had any right to have expectations, but I did.) Or maybe it was my very Christian upbringing that made me judge his approach. It may have also been that he didn’t really follow the Bible as literally as possible. Despite the interesting relationship that I’ve developed with this book over the past 3 months, I would probably still recommend it, but only to a very specific crowd.

If you’re looking for a good laugh, it’s probably not worth reading this entire book for the occasional laughs spread throughout. However, if a very unique perspective on religion based on impeccable research strikes your fancy, this is right up your alley.

Happy Reading!