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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
| | a; ‘ LI BE LINES | .; On readmg the entire: Encyclopedia Britannica 1 read a very funny and sumulating book by A.J. Jacobs called The Know-it- All 12004]. He decided he would read the Encyclopedia Britannica, all of the vol- umes, both micropaedia and macropae- dia, in one year. The book describes his obsession, the effect it hadon those he krew, and what he got out of this immense injection of knowledge. Many of his anecdotes are hilarious, and I admired him for actually completing the that article resonated with me when I was in China and visited a park filled with hundreds of these trees, some of them 300 years old. 1 thought the densest article in the Britannica was the one wntten on Bubastis,theancient Egyptian catdeity for whom an entire necropolis of mum- mified cats was lard out some threemil- lenma ago. | loved the black and white illustrations which were meticulous in task. I did something 1 rarely do. I sent their rendering. him a fan letter telling him how much I The most horrifying page, however. appreciated his book and was a set of photographs of how the Britannica parasites showing the changed my life. havoc they produced in the When I was bom in organs they invaded, 1931 my father made a decision. Should he buy some much needed baby furniture and clothes, or should he buy the Encyclopedia Britannica on instaliments? He was a former merchant marnne from Stockholm and now he was raising his family including one half devoured kidney, filled with ascans worms. It actu- ally strengthened my com- posure when I saw them for real in the trachea ofa cat that 1 dissected in my hiol- ogy course at NYU. I rarely used the Britannica to do my in Brooklyn on the income of an elevator homework assignments. That struck me as a last BY ELOF CARLSON . operator. resort, but 1 did use it for He chose the When l was bom... fact checking of my Britannica and 1 slept in teachers' statements in an open suitcase on the my father made a class, much to their plea- kitchen table. I am thank- geejsion. Should he sure and the astonishment ful for my father's wise of my classmates. choice that only a book- buy some much I honored my father lover would make. when I got my first job,. During the Depression needed baby teaching at Queen's years I began browsing in furniture and University in Canada. and the Britannica. At first 1 I bought the Britannica on could only look at illus- clothes, or should installments. It is a much trations, and I loved see- pg buy the used set, and I can quickly ing the way the railroad . getthe information I need evolved from its first Encyclopedia when I do references for stove on a platform and s P my books and need those wheels to the modern O mNC2 07 pesky detailsthat only an diesel locomotive. installments? obsessed scholar like me As I learned to read 1 struggled with the dense scholarly lan- guage of its articles but in so doing I came across one thrill of discovery after anoth- er. I read the article on and won- dered whether I would still be alive in 1986 when Halley's Comet was due for a returm visit from its 1909 sensational appearance. I| read an article on Bon-sai, the Japanese art of miniature trees and fully appreciates. The salesman tried to convince me to buy the Britannica Jr. for my children. He sand no child would even try to read the version. i as and I was proof that my father was right. Elof Axel Carlson is a distinguished reaching professor emeritus in the Departmen of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook University. laser halr removal terri epstein levin RN, NP 2233 nesconset hwy » suite 107 « lake grove (631) 588-1100 Are you | troubled by unwanted hair? Safe, effective. affordable, permanent J\ for men and women oking for the Perfect Corporate or Personal Gift? a Customized Gift Certificates offering tlembxhty in services and prices. Em os & Clhonts' Where Health Meets Beauty Sao Tas bp lA di! 631-751-4693 S6¢6- QlMEDSPA www. spabellemeade com &, Now thru Dec. 25th only! * Offer will not be repeated, hurry in' Our Facility Includes: - 30'x50 Indoor Heated Pool! - State-of-the-Art Fitness Equipmenst * Fully Equipped Cardiovascular Room « Whirlpoo! - Men's & Women's Steam Rooms + Men's & Women's Saunas » Aquarobics » Certified Personal Trainers , ___ * Racquetball - Swimming AND with your membership, all of the following is INCLUDED FREE: «Child Care FREE YogaFREE : » Pilates FREE +Kickboxing FREE : -AHAa'obelassesFREE . pgforacglmFREE 'mocvn PERSONAL TRAINING :! Buy 4 Sessions, | et 1 FREE! | 1 we coupon MCC exp digs in b on on an on an se ow or an on an oe on ins on mie oo on co an d '-~fi--“h~----‘-'~hflflfl‘ .V g ¥ ; > sou mmmwmm
