That Is All [Hardcover]

John Hodgman (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 2011

John Hodgman-bestselling author, The Daily Show's "Resident Expert", minor television celebrity, and deranged millionaire-brings us the third and final installment in his trilogy of Complete World Knowledge.

In 2005, Dutton published The Areas of My Expertise, a handy little book of Complete World Knowledge, marked by the distinction that all of the fascinating trivia and amazing true facts were completely made up by its author, John Hodgman. At the time, Hodgman was merely a former literary agent and occasional scribbler of fake trivia. In short: a nobody.

But during an interview on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an incredible transformation occurred. He became a famous minor television personality. You may ask: During his whirlwind tornado ride through the high ether of minor fame and outrageous fortune, did John Hodgman forget how to write books of fake trivia? The answer is: Yes. Briefly. But soon, he remembered!

And so he returned, crashing his Kansas farmhouse down upon the wicked witch of ignorance with More Information Than You Require, a New York Times bestseller containing even more mesmerizing and essential fake trivia, including seven hundred mole-man names (and their occupations).

And now, John Hodgman completes his vision with That Is All, the last book in a trilogy of Complete World Knowledge. Like its predecessors, That Is All compiles incredibly handy made-up facts into brief articles, overlong lists, and beguiling narratives on new and familiar themes. It picks up exactly where More Information left off-specifically, at page 596-and finally completes COMPLETE WORLD KNOWLEDGE, just in time for the return of Quetzalcoatl and the end of human history in 2012.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Hodgman lives in New York City, where he curates and hosts “The Little Gray Book Lectures,” a monthly colloquium of readings, songs, and dubious scholarship. He is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine and a frequent voice on public radio’s This American Life. Further fiction, nonfiction, and genres in between have appeared in The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, One-Story, and The Believer. He has performed at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, as well as on the great stages of Chicago, Philadelphia, and London’s Barbican.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525952446
• ISBN-13: 978-0525952442
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.2 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A new classic of comedy January 24, 2012

By Trichy

Format:Hardcover

Comedy is one of the hardest genres to get right. If the author stumbles in the least, the book becomes a painful experience. Fortunately, John Hodgman not only succeeds, he puts on a clinic on how to create a world.

"That Is All" is the third and final book in a trilogy by John Hodgman which details a bizarre and insanely detailed world, one where the Mall of America hides a secret underground compound, the Elder Gods are joined by a pantheon of hundreds of bizarre gods, and the Washington Monument launches into orbit leaving a raging inferno behind. After the first two books established this vivid and realized world, "That Is All" looks at the collapse and apocalyptic end of the world. It's hilarious, detailed and rich.

What I didn't expect was how moving the conclusion of this book would be. At the end of all this silly anarchy, Hodgman forges a fairly profound reflection that genuinely surprised me. We knew Hodgman was a brilliant comedian. "That Is All" shows us something more: he's a remarkably talented author who can write some shockingly effecting prose. This is one of the best works of comedy I've ever read, and one of the best books of 2011.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy the book, then buy the audiobook when it comes out, after which you should probably buy the book again November 15, 2011

By oatmealpie

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you haven't read his previous works "Areas of My Expertise" and "More Information Than You Require", be prepared to be driven down into a dark, bottomless pool of non-fact: the final inclusions on his work of complete world knowledge and a day-by-day break down of the end times. Do not be frightened by sporadic subject matter and frequent callbacks to his previous books, you can pick up the series here as a new reader and follow the excellent story of a deranged millionaire staring into the spectacular, terrifying void.

If you're already familiar with John Hodgman's series then you may be like me: I was going to hold out until Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton got back into a studio to record the audiobook, but I couldn't hold out. Neither should you. There's too much good stuff here, and after multiple listens of hobo names and molemen it's easy to hear the author's voice and the troubadour's guitar as you read.

In addition, the predictions he makes start by December 2011. You won't be able to hear an audiobook version before Ragnarok does or doesn't begin, and reading Hodgman's advice for an apocalypse yet-to-be has a unique value that you'll only be able to cash in on for the next month or so. Additionally, trying to speed read to the end before the blood-red sea devours your home and family may also prove cumbersome.

Worth your money and time, as if you'll have either when the supercollapse begins and the Ancient and Unspeakable Ones return.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish there were more.......... November 2, 2011

By Marla Schwartz

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Sit in public laugh out loud smile to yourself funny literature. Still so insightful and meditative. The pleasure of reading this book is almost of the same quality as getting a cast off after months and finally being able to really scratch your wrist. I certainly can't recommend it to anyone because that is just too big of a gamble at this stage of the game, but John Hodgman is my kind of prophet. If the World doesn't end on 21, Dec.2012 I will give him another chance to call it for sure. That is All.