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Arnold JacobsAmerican journalist and writer
Date of Birth: 20.03.1968
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Arnold Jacobs
Arnold Stephen Jacobs Jr., an American journalist and writer, gained the greatest popularity through his long-term experiments, the most famous of which involved strictly adhering to all the laws specified in the Bible for an entire year. Arnold is one of the few who, after reading the Bible, decided to follow all of its commandments. Throughout the year, he grew a beard, did not lie, gave all his money to thieves, turning the other cheek in the process, did not use contraception, condemned immoral behavior, and even threw stones at a passerby once - with his permission and solely for the purpose of the experiment.
Early Life
Arnold Stephen Jacobs Jr. was born on March 20, 1968, in New York City, into a Jewish family. His father worked as a lawyer, while his mother spent most of her time at home with Arnold and his sister Beryl Jacobs. After graduating from The Dalton School, a private school, Arnold attended Brown University, specializing in journalism. At a young age, Jacobs began developing his individual style, focusing not on the daily issues that typically concern journalism students, but on more obscure yet equally captivating problems and ideas. He defines his style as "stunt journalism" and compares it to popular gonzo journalism.
Professional Career
Arnold has published seven books and written numerous articles for 'Esquire' magazine, where he currently holds the position of editor. His most attention-grabbing work was the book 'The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World', in which he described his journey towards omniscience - that is, his experience of reading the 'Encyclopædia Britannica'. Although the idea of reading the encyclopedia was not unique to Jacobs, as it has served as a modern-day "Wikipedia" for nearly a century, he dedicated his entire time to reading it, thoroughly going through each chapter, even if it had no relevance to his work. The book remained on 'The New York Times' bestseller list for eight weeks and received positive reviews from critics who were surprised to find that a tale of twelve months spent in a library could be so captivating. Arnold often spoke about his experiment and even provided references to the "best" articles from the encyclopedia.
In 2007, Arnold's new book, 'The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible', was released. It documented the culmination of his 365 days living according to the laws of the Bible. Interestingly, unlike many contemporary authors, Jacobs does not criticize religion or point out numerous contradictions. Instead, he believes that this year significantly helped him see the world from a different perspective, through the eyes of a person for whom personal gain is not as important as righteousness and living in accordance with all the commandments. However, despite his efforts, Arnold could not ignore the fact that physically adhering to all the commandments is impossible.
Other Experiments and Personal Life
Arnold's other experiments, which also formed the basis of his books, focused on the human body and stereotypes prevalent in modern society. He was particularly concerned with the issue of excess weight and the subsequent taboo surrounding it in conversations, as well as healthy eating. According to him, the latter became the most dangerous experiment of all, and he presented a lecture titled 'How Healthy Living Nearly Killed Me' at a TED conference.
Currently, Arnold Jacobs resides in New York City with his wife and three children. He continues to work for 'Esquire' magazine and various other publications.
