wrote the book on

1. Knows nearly everything about, as in Ask Dr. Lock; he wrote the book on pediatric cardiology, or I wrote the book on job-hunting; I've been looking for two years. This expression is always put in the past tense. [Colloquial; second half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

He wrote the book on GOP scandal.

From Salon

Sam Donaldson, the ABC reporter who practically wrote the book on covering presidents, feels much the same way.

From Salon

"He literally wrote the book on the art of deal making."

From BBC

And as political historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who literally wrote the book on despots and authoritarianism, has long cautioned, fanning a sense of despondence is a tool authoritarians deploy to advance their agenda: “The ceaseless lying and corruption and the cynical disregard for human life that marks strongman rule can lead to despair.”

From Slate

And while VP choices aren’t generally thought to have large effects on election outcomes, the professors who literally wrote the book on whether running mates matter—it was called Do Running Mates Matter?—once included the following caveat in a summary of their research:

From Slate