Synopses & Reviews
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, and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years.
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.
Review
"[A] moving memoir... [a] friendly, often funny account marked by a reluctance so deep that it confers a curious integrity upon the celebrity tell-all... In the autumn of the media patriarchs, [Trebek] stands practically alone, untinged by scandal. His authority derives from his defense of facts, not their distortion." Parul Sehgal, The New York Times
Review
"For anyone who enjoys watching Jeopardy! — or has ever wondered about the sincere, mustachioed man at its helm — The Answer Is... is an illuminating look at the life and philosophy of Trebek." Patrick Ryan, USA Today
Review
“[H]ow did this French Canadian son of a Ukrainian immigrant become the authoritative voice of American knowledge? Trebek’s charming memoir, The Answer Is…: Reflections On My Life, offers these answers, phrased, of course, in the form of a question.” Rien Fertel, The A.V. Club
Review
"Alex Trebek has been in the spotlight for more than 30 years but has never been more candid than in his new book, The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life... [An] eye-opening memoir.” Meredith Nardino, US Weekly
About the Author
Alex Trebek hosted the syndicated quiz show Jeopardy! for thirty-seven seasons, earning him seven Daytime Emmy Awards — including a Lifetime Achievement Award — and the Guinness World Record for most episodes of a game show hosted by the same presenter. Prior to Jeopardy!, he hosted various other quiz shows including The Wizard of Odds and High Rollers. He began his career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, working there for more than a decade. He graduated from the University of Ottawa and held honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa and Fordham University. He worked with the humanitarian organization World Vision since the early 1980s, and contributed to various other philanthropic organizations, including the USO, UNCF, National Geographic Society, and the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission. Originally from Sudbury, Ontario, he resided in Los Angeles with his wife, Jean, until his death in 2020.