diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 4a8ea84d7c..a315079f4f 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ end
 
 desc "list of authors"
 task :authors, [:commit_range, :format, :sep] do |t, a|
-  a.with_defaults :format => "%s (%d)", :sep => ", "
+  a.with_defaults :format => "%s (%d)", :sep => ", ", :commit_range => '--all'
   authors = Hash.new { |h,k| h[k] = 0 }
   blake   = "Blake Mizerany"
   overall = 0