The Joy of Knowledge Encyclopedia June 19, 2008
Posted by Nathan Hobby in books, life.Tags: wikipedia
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I had a strange impulse to browse the Hamlyn Illustrated Encyclopedia tonight. A one volume three column encyclopedia with black and white pictures at the top of the page. This edition was published in 1986, with the previous title being the Joy of Knowledge Encyclopedia (what a wonderful and comforting title). It’s my wife’s, not mine, but I know if I’d grown up with it I would have a strong attachment to it, offering as it does the whole world in one book.
I love Wikipedia, because it has lengthy articles on Spiderman 2099 and daily updates on recent deaths. But I remembered one thing it doesn’t have – the pleasure of browsing. On the way to check the entry on ‘Anabaptists’, my eye was caught by a photo of ‘Agnew, Spiro’ and I learnt some brief facts about this man I only really knew about from Mad Magazine. (So much of what I know about American politics and popular culture has come from Mad Magazine!). The ‘Anabaptists’ article was laughable – according to this, they were a Middle Age movement (about two hundred years out!) preoccupied only with believers’ baptism by immersion, and contributing nothing beyond being the ancestors of modern day Baptists, a very contestable suggestion indeed.
Then on the way to ‘Wycliffe, John’ I saw, for the first time in living memory, a picture of a ‘Wolverine’ and I was dragged pleasurably into a field outside theology / literature / history.
Long live the browsable encyclopedia!
This blog is about the literary life of a writer in Perth. Expect reflections on reading and writing and feature posts on whatever's caught my attention, from historical curiousities to autobiographical reflections. I have a separate blog for theology - 
im trying to find a back issue of joy of knowledge says it was published by oriole publishingltd london is this the same book
I’ve got the complete set all bound . this is the magazine format if you’re interested?
i am also trying to find joy of knowledge for a long time
A recurring point in my life in the last couple of weeks has been the notion of the second naivety, ie. you gain enough knowledge to realise that you know nothing, and then you have to start all over again.
Great concept, and it may well explain the Anabaptist article (exept they hadn’t yet realised they knew nothing). Won’t help find a copy for the rest of you, sorry.
W
Wes, great comment. Sounds like there are a lot of fans out there. Perhaps we have the only copy in the world.