Book Bag

Curt Finch Emerald Isle Books

The Answer Is… By Alex Trebek

Since 1984 Alex Trebek has been coming into people’s homes as the host of the popular game show – “Jeopardy”. Finally, he has written a book about his life and career and his thoughts on family, education and success. The book uses the novel structure of the show with each chapter head being an answer to a question related to Trebek’s life and career.

Trebek started his life in Canada where he was born and began his public life there in radio and then hosted a TV show called – “Music Hop.” His first quiz show job was as a host on a high school competition called – Reach for the Top.” He writes he learned to be sensitive to those who missed questions from his start working with those students in Canada. He moved to California and met Merv Griffin who first produced Jeopardy.

The author writes about his first marriage, which failed, and then describes his 30 plus years with his present wife, Jeanne, which he describes as a very compatible relationship. About being a parent he says, “The most challenging thing about fatherhood is that it introduced an element of fear into my life.” By this he means worrying about their safety. His personal life has also involved his work with many charities such as World Vision.

His work on “Jeopardy” takes up much of the book. He describes working from six in the morning until five in the evening as they tape five shows a day with two different audiences each day. He tells of how the categories and questions are chosen, that announcer Johnny Gilbert is a singer who early on recorded two albums, and that his favorite categories are geography and movies. Trebek explains the show is popular because most people are competitive, like to learn, and feel comfortable with him and the format.

There are chapters on Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, the two most popular champions on “Jeopardy.” Trebek says he spent 37 hours of show time with Jennings and the two of them are very much alike in personality. Holzhauer was the one who developed a new strategy of starting with the harder questions first. Most fans of the show know that Jennings finally lost when he chose Fedex instead of H&R Block as the company with 70,000 seasonal employees.

This book is amusing and sobering. The author tells of his weathering pancreatic cancer and when he collapsed on the floor in the studio one day in pain. He writes, “Courage is a conscious decision. You are courageous in dangerous situations where you have a choice.” He doesn’t consider himself courageous in that with cancer there is no choice. This book provides readers with another reason to see why Alex Trebek is so respected. Curt Finch Emerald Isle Books

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