Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. "Jack of all
trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a
generalist: a person that is competent with many skills but is not
outstanding in any particular one. A Jack of all trades may be a master
of integration, as such an individual knows enough from many learned
trades and skills to be able to bring their disciplines together in a
practical manner, and is not a specialist. A person who is exceptional
in many disciplines is known as a polymath or a renaissance man; a
typical example is Leonardo da Vinci. In 1612, the phrase appeared in
the book "Essays and Characters of a Prison" by English writer Geffray
Mynshul (Minshull) originally published in 1618, and probably based on
the author's experience while held at Gray's Inn, London, when
imprisoned for debt. Mynshul uses only the first half of the phrase in
the book, which indicates that the phrase was in common usage at the
time he wrote his account.
