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Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!
by
Bob Harris
A.: This is the story of a working-class guy from Ohio with little real knowledge of Ambidextrous Presidents, Things Made from Rubber, and hundreds of other categories, but who nonetheless plunges so far into cramming for Jeopardy! that it changes his relationships, bends his worldview, and literally leads him to the ends of the earth, trying to understand it all.
Q.: What...more
Q.: What...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
September 5th 2006
by Crown
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This is a great introduction to how Jeopardy! works, its fandom, but also the life of Bob Harris. I'm a huge Jeopardy fan (I DVR it whenever baseball isn't on), but I learned a lot about the show's history that you don't pick up on just by watching. Bob Harris does a good job explaining the show's origin, its most famous players, and its strategy. (He does his best to make Chuck Forest and Frank Spangenberg household names, just like Ken Jennings.)
I most enjoyed, as you might guess, H...more
I most enjoyed, as you might guess, H...more
Bob Harris isn't a writer, which is too bad. You'd think someone with his Jeopardy! trackrecord could pull off a book. But from what I gather here, he failed many times to qualify, and upon qualifying, he studied very, very hard to win what he did. Not that I ever thought that getting to play (much less winning,) was a cakewalk.
It's scattershot and should focus just on Jeopardy! But he rambles on, makes bad jokes and writes too much about his uninteresting lovelife. Blech. I co...more
It's scattershot and should focus just on Jeopardy! But he rambles on, makes bad jokes and writes too much about his uninteresting lovelife. Blech. I co...more
"This book is hard to get into. Harris has a tendency to ramble about irrelevant details. For example he spends way too much time on the the makeup that got stuck in his nose during show prep. He thinks anecdotes such as this are far funnier than they are ... and there are lots of these. The writing style is awkward and amaturish. Harris is constantly striving to be witty, trying too hard to be a comedian. I struggled to get through the first few chapeter, thinking Harris is like a companio...more
What did I learn from this book? I have a LOT of studying to do before I finally go on Jeopardy! I also need to practice the buzzer and start dressing in the clothes I will wear on the program, as well as arising at the same time every day and only eat foods that can be found in the green room at Sony Pictures studios. This book is insight into the mind of Bob Harris, a five-game winner who also participated in a Tournament of Champions, a Jeopardy Masters Tournament, and the Ultimate Tourname...more
At around the 2/3 mark, I would've given the book four stars, but having finished listening last night, I can't quite muster that much enthusiasm, although I do recommend the book. Here's the scoop for those who feel they might be interested in Bob's story ...
The first half consists of Bob's own background, as well as the run up to his selection for his (first) appearance on the show. That he went to prep school, on a scholarship, from a working-class family was interesting; although...more
The first half consists of Bob's own background, as well as the run up to his selection for his (first) appearance on the show. That he went to prep school, on a scholarship, from a working-class family was interesting; although...more
There are Jeopardy! nerds --those who watch the show every night and play along-- and then there are Jeopardy! nerds. Those who shout out the answers in the form of a question to be better prepared for the show, take the qualifying tests and know the names of past favorite players (Ken Jennings doesn't count).
I'm unashamedly one of the latter, and picked up Bob Harris' book partly for insight into game play should I ever be selected. It's a light, quick read, suitable for a couple of...more
I'm unashamedly one of the latter, and picked up Bob Harris' book partly for insight into game play should I ever be selected. It's a light, quick read, suitable for a couple of...more
For you Buffy fans, this book was written by Jane Espenson's partner, and he tells some cute stories about her and their relationship. This guys is also one of the top 40 Jeopardy players ever and he structures this memoir around stories of his Jeopardy experiences, with lots and lots of digressions. I found his writing style a little flowery and cheesy at times. I skimmed quite a bit, but I enjoyed it anyway.
One of my top three books last year. Bob has learned something that I've been learning as I go along as well. He just says it much better. I would've loved this book even if I weren't in it...
Kristin
rated it
Recommends it for:
Jeopardy fans, trivia geeks
Recommended to Kristin by:
Giant Food Stores, its own jacket
Bottom line, I'm a Jeopardy geek and probably saw all of Bob Harris' appearances on the show. Was definitely a familiar face on the cover when I saw it at the grocery store, so I knew I would enjoy the book.
This was the first book I've read by someone who was on the show, though from it, I have leads on a few others that might be interesting. Anyhow, I enjoyed Harris' first person account of what actually goes on for contestants of the show. The fact that he appeared on the 2 biggest tourn...more
This was the first book I've read by someone who was on the show, though from it, I have leads on a few others that might be interesting. Anyhow, I enjoyed Harris' first person account of what actually goes on for contestants of the show. The fact that he appeared on the 2 biggest tourn...more
RØB
rated it
Recommends it for:
Absolutely Everyone.
Recommended to RØB by:
Amazon.com's Search Function
Shelves:
in-my-permanent-collection
A simply amazing book. I met Bob Harris for about ten seconds while I was leaving the JEOPARDY! studios the other week (he was there to watch a friend of his play on the show), and I wish I'd had the book for him to sign. He seemed very nice for those ten seconds, and now that I've actually finished the book, I wish I had had more time to talk to him. I loved the combination of neurotic JEOPARDY! memoir, study guide, zen-path-revelator, tragic medical biography, life story, and humorous play-...more
Julia
rated it
Recommends it for:
pretty much anyone
Recommended to Julia by:
Erin McKean (see above)
Erin McKean recommended this book to me. I don't know Erin, but I read her blog every few days. It is ostensibly about dresses, but it helps put that information in context if you know that Erin has made dresses featuring gray Darth Vader helmets on black fabric and circle skirts in wide stripes of rainbow colors, and likes to do her fabric shopping in Japan when she can. Which she can, sometimes, because she is Chief Consulting Editor for American dictionaries at Oxford University Press, has...more
Trebekistan is a place where learning is like air, where to recognize it is like a fish realizing that they are in the water—how wonderful and amazing! It’s a place where everything connects to everything throughout time and across distance. It’s also a place where you can win fabulous prizes.
Bob Harris has created a unique memoir here, showing us by example that apparently disparate things connect in often profound ways (well, mostly humorous ways), and that the Forrest Bounce works ...more
Bob Harris has created a unique memoir here, showing us by example that apparently disparate things connect in often profound ways (well, mostly humorous ways), and that the Forrest Bounce works ...more
A surprisingly touching and human tale about personal experiences through the full jeopardy gamut, from failing entrance exams to multiple tournaments of champions. In the process he gives may interesting insights into the inner workings of Jeopardy (like how the timing of the buzzers works in to play).
Harris is a comedian and keeps the pace flowing with occasional jokes that sometimes ramble on humorlessly. Single-phrase jokes about his competitor's resemblance to Clark Kent are f...more
Harris is a comedian and keeps the pace flowing with occasional jokes that sometimes ramble on humorlessly. Single-phrase jokes about his competitor's resemblance to Clark Kent are f...more
Not quite a life-story, but enough of Bob Harris shines through this book that I've come to think of him as a friend, albeit only potentially. (It doesn't hurt that we share the same last name.) My take: this is the story of a man who becomes obsessed with minutae and trivia, for the somewhat more acceptable goal of winning on Jeopardy. He treats his studies very serious -- he includes tips and tricks for remembering arcane things -- but his view of the world as an enchanting, humorous place,...more
jeopardy parts were fun. non-jeopardy parts were meh. while his point for much of the book was mostly "pretty much anyone can succeed on jeopardy, i'm not a genius," i am now pretty sure i will never succeed on jeopardy. i do not have the patience for that kind of studying, or the innate ability to do well without it. i kinda knew that already, though.
Interesting view into behind the scenes of Jeopardy and how Bob Harris prepared for his multiple appearances on the show. His personal story in interspersed between Jeopardy appearances. I did skim some parts but overall it was an entertaining book. Very funny in most parts and moving in some others. Would recommend for Jeopardy fans.
Such a fun, entertaining, smart, surprisingly touching book. I remember Bob's winning streak (back in the day when they cut you off at 5... wow, I'm old), and I remembered him being quite funny and likeable. So when I heard he had written a book (with involvement by no less than Jane Espenson!) I had to run out and find me a copy.
I actually spent 15 minutes reading the index. Yes, the index of this book is hilarious.
Examples:
Adams, Abigail, combustibility of, 1...more
I actually spent 15 minutes reading the index. Yes, the index of this book is hilarious.
Examples:
Adams, Abigail, combustibility of, 1...more
This is a wonderful true life love story. It describes how Harris meets and falls for "Jane" (Espenson, writer for Battlestar Galactica and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, among others.) It's also a sort of coming of middle-age story about all of the long-term friends Harris makes while playing Jeopardy. There's certainly a lot of behind the scenes information about the show, and it's very interesting, but it takes a backseat to Bob's descriptions of the people and friends he makes during th...more
Jeopardy fans, this is a must read. Bob Harris is a comedian and hails from Cleveland, OH. There were many things I, as a Clevelander, could relate to. His description of what he went through in studying and preparing for his Jeopardy appearances is both comical and revealing.
Finally finished this. I blew through 9/10ths of it and then came to a dead-bored stop when the author started talking about Jeopardy and its benefits to his real life and his relationship. Partly because, hey, that's a lot more boring than Jeopardy games, and partly because he insisted on being coyly funny and nonlinear about the descriptions. Also, after the first huge comeback tournament, there's not that much drama in the games anymore. Friendly competition, but much less at stake.
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A book about a Jeopardy champion that's buffeted with other stuff to make it into an actual memoir. Reading about the entrance process, preparation, and experience on the show is fun, but it's dragged down by everything else that makes it an actual memoir.
Sounds like another boring biography from a boring person that just happened to have something interesting happen to them once... but it's actually very well-written and interesting. It turns out I've been in Trebekistan since at least sixth grade...
I love watching Jeopardy, would some day like to get on or at least pass the test to get on Jeopardy. I enjoyed some of the memory association techniques that Bob used to prepare. 12th president - 12 in a dozen, Zachary Taylor starts with Z, etc.
This book is a little hard to categorize. It's sort of the author's amateur investigation into how his own minds works, coupled with lots of different chunks of autobiography. Regardless, what matters is that Harris has a great voice. The book is interesting, funny, educational, and surprisingly touching. Not bad for a book that's not really about anything.
Rory
rated it
Recommends it for:
Jeopardy! fans who've already read Ken Jennings' book
Shelves:
memoirs-and-bios
I skimmed a few of the more exploring Zen/meaning of life passages but really gobbled this book up. Harris is exuberant, funny, self-deprecating--and crazy about "Jeopardy." His descriptions of studying for and playing the game, examination of what it's like to be a "master" of the game, and investigations into how our brains remember stuff--all of it fascinating. The book is great for...well, people like me.
It's almost scary, the kind of dedication that goes into succeeding at game shows like these. I found the memory and learning tricks really interesting, and Harris' informal writing style made it easy and entertaining.
This one was a delightful read. A fascinating, good-humored, and touching look at the world behind everybody's favorite gameshow. Ever wondered what Alex is really like? Bob Harris has the answer.
Funny and interesting book. You should expect a book about Jeopardy! to have a brain, but it also has a lot of heart. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but definitely worthwhile.
In this book, Bob Harris talks about his experience on Jeopardy! He gives great hints on how to succeed in Jeopardy! and he wrote some really funny stuff. Was a great book for anyone who is interested in Jeopardy! or who would like to be on the show.
Much more than I expected. Yes, a great behind the scenes look at Jeopardy! but lively writing with lots of humor and heart. ALEX TREBEK: PANTSLESS? YES, PLEASE!
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Bob Harris (born October 1963) is an American radio commentator, writer, stand-up comedian, and eight-time Jeopardy! winner.
More about Bob Harris...
Bob Harris (born October 1963) is an American radio commentator, writer, stand-up comedian, and eight-time Jeopardy! winner.
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“In high school, we barely brushed against Ogden Nash, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, or any of the other so-unserious writers who delight everyone they touch. This was, after all, a very expensive and important school. Instead, I was force-fed a few of Shakespeare's Greatest Hits, although the English needed translation, the broad comedy and wrenching drama were lost, and none of the magnificently dirty jokes were ever explained. (Incidentally, Romeo and Juliet, fully appreciated, might be banned in some U.S. states.) This was the Concordance again, and little more. So we'd read all the lines aloud, resign ourselves to a ponderous struggle, and soon give up the plot completely.”
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