Like others, I am inspired by the recent book The Know-it-All

I have a 1993 copy of EB which I was given as a Wedding present by my Mother (who obviously felt that she should address my woeful ignorance). And I am more and more impressed by the usefulness of the structure everytime I open a volume.

There are quicker ways of finding information (Google Suggest et al) and there are some excellent Encyclopedia’s on-line (Wikipedia and others).

But, as a framework for knowledge acquisition, EB looks hard to beat.