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The Answer Is...
Publisher's Summary
A Recommended Summer Read by The New York Times, USA Today, and Newsweek.
Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career.
Since debuting as the host of Jeopardy! in 1984, Alex Trebek has been something like a family member to millions of television viewers, bringing entertainment and education into their homes five nights a week. Last year, he made the stunning announcement that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. What followed was an incredible outpouring of love and kindness. Social media was flooded with messages of support, and the Jeopardy! studio received boxes of cards and letters offering guidance, encouragement, and prayers. For over three decades, Trebek had resisted countless appeals to write a book about his life. Yet he was moved so much by all the goodwill, he felt compelled to finally share his story.
“I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year”, he writes in The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life. The book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by Jeopardy! fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live impersonation.
The book uses a novel structure inspired by Jeopardy!, with each chapter title in the form of a question. This wise, charming, and inspiring book is further evidence why Trebek has long been considered one of the most beloved and respected figures in entertainment.
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What listeners say about The Answer Is...
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Terry Lou Allen
- 2020-07-22
worth the listen.
Alex Trebek's life story is worth the listen if you are at all interested, even a tiny bit. Well put together.
1 person found this helpful
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- Martha Jane Hickman
- 2020-07-22
Class act
Alex Trebek is a real class act. I really enjoyed learning more about him. I wish Alex and his family the very best.
1 person found this helpful
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- Keith Roy
- 2020-08-03
Touching and interesting
Full of dry humour, some musings and a few memories. Not terribly deep or revealing, but a solid book and a very enjoyable audio book.
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- Wilber
- 2020-07-31
The Answer is
This could not have been written in any other format.
It was touching and honest.
Thank you Alex, and I pray that you will have peace with God in your last earthly days.
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-07-28
cute!
such a wholesome book - happy positive easy listen! fun to hear Alex's straightforward perspective.
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- Travelguy
- 2020-07-27
Outstanding.. a must read !!<br /><br />
Funny and humorous. the true Alex Trebek. Full life and no regrets. As I embark on the same journey I'm humbled by Alex's courage and stamina.
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- Melvyn Ackerman
- 2020-07-27
Always the entertainer
You can’t help by being impressed with his joie de vivre and attitude to life
Good for you Alex
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- Gerald Flecknell
- 2020-07-25
Lifelong Jeopardy Fan & Fellow Canadian!!!
A Truly Eye Opening, Funny & Pleasant Memoir Experience, Cheers Alex! You Passed the Final, with Flying Colours!
P.S. Cheers & Well Done to JEOPARDY G.O.A.T.:
KEN JENNINGS!!!
Gerald J. Flecknell, BScCS
Saint John, NB
Canada
Gflecknell50@gmail.com
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- margaret brown
- 2020-07-22
WELL DONE
whether you're a fan of jeopardy or not I'm sure that everyone will enjoy the book The narration was amazing and the story was so true to life yet in many ways so simple he was truly an amazing Man
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-07-21
AMAZING.
What a great book. It was great. Alex is so funny. But it gets a little sad at the end as I’m currently crying on my lunch book. Wow.
16 people found this helpful
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- Daisies
- 2020-07-22
Great book to remember Alex by
I grew up watching Jeopardy so I associate Alex's voice with intelligence and calmness under pressure. At some point in the future, Jeopardy won't be as we know it today. I'm glad I'll have this book to listen to again to remember what Alex represents.
9 people found this helpful
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- Blake
- 2020-07-22
"The Answer is": Alex Trebek's Memoir
I enjoy hearing about Alex Trebek's lifelong memories and reflections. Ken Jennings does a fantastic job narrating! Ken's narration was a bit fast for my ears, so I slowed his recording down a bit. . The speed change functionality of Audible was beneficial. Alex Trebek also narrates occasionally throughout the book.
I am impressed that in the introduction read by Alex, Mr. Trebek comes across as a humble man even though he is famous. Amazing book!
8 people found this helpful
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- Robin B
- 2020-07-23
PERFECT
Thank you, Alex Trebek! I am so glad that you wrote this. I enjoyed every minute of it. And plan on listening to it again and again. Thank you for sharing yourself with all of us.
5 people found this helpful
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- Roma Seiker
- 2020-07-23
Amazing man. Proceeds from book go to charity.
I hated for this book to end. I think the world of Alex Trebek and the unsung work he has done for so many charities. The world will really miss him. I know I will.
4 people found this helpful
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- Susan W.
- 2020-07-27
A different narrator
I enjoyed the book very much but felt the choice of Ken Jennings as narrator was not the best. He did a good job but his voice is too familiar to Jeopardy fans. For the first third of the book which is about Alex’s early life, I had to keep reminding myself that this was Alex’s story being told by Ken not Ken’s story. A professional narrator would have been easier to accept.
3 people found this helpful
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- Joy Hewitt
- 2020-07-31
A Glimpse Inside the Life of a Legend—and a truly nostalgic experience
I grew up watching Alex Trebek host Jeopardy. I watched it with my parents and brother, then just my parents, then just my mother. Now I watch it alone, but every time I turn on Jeopardy, it is a reminder of what being a child was like in my family - it is like they are still sitting right there.
I say all of this because I knew going in that I was going to love this book, no matter what. How could I not-with that sort of nostalgia? However, I did not really expect it to be SO good, so fun, so easy and relatable. I laughed, I cried, I made myself leave the book multiple times because I wanted to stretch it out a little longer. But like all good books - and all good things - eventually you have to face the ending.
And - without sharing spoilers - it was an apt ending, wrapping the book up in what I would classify as the literary equivalent to putting on a warm, slightly-too-big sweater on a brisk fall evening.
Enough of that. Go read (or better yet, listen to) the book!
2 people found this helpful
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- Cathy L
- 2020-07-24
Enjoyable and touching read
My teenage son and I have recently become Jeopardy fans. I have been so impressed by Alex Trebek that I wanted to hear his story. This book shows what a kind, humble, intelligent and brave man he is. My husband also has cancer so I can identify with that part of his story. Ken Jennings does the majority of the narration and does a great job. Highly recommend!!
2 people found this helpful
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- Dr. Bill- Northern NJ-USA
- 2020-07-24
Humility and Inspiration- A Tribute!
Very touching-A final “goodbye” to all the Jeopardy listeners. For the celebrity status that he has achieved, his life is quite “ordinary”, which is the way he prefers it! He is very philanthropic and has done many humanitarian projects. He is even donating the proceeds to this book- so please purchase it- you won’t be sorry
2 people found this helpful
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- Dennis M Danzik
- 2020-08-01
Alex Trebek is exactly what you thought, Class Act
Wonderful walk through a Jeopardy format of Alex Trebek's life from start to ……..Well not yet. Trebek is professional, thoughtful and spiritual in the best ways. The surprise ending is that in listening or reading his story, you get to contribute to others stories, and experiences.. Bravo Mr. Trebek! Bravo!
1 person found this helpful