Brainiac, by Ken Jennings
Rex Burns, Special to the News
Published September 14, 2006 at midnight
Brainiac
• Nonfiction. By Ken Jennings. Villard, $23.95. Grade: A
Book in a nutshell: In this highly entertaining book, the winner of 74 Jeopardy! contests talks about his lifelong passion for trivia games - Jeopardy! in particular - and his participation in the filming of an astounding 75 episodes of the game show in 2004. Jennings also traces the history of trivia collections from the 17th century to the 21st.
The book includes sketches of major players, odd and notable events in the field, the development of new styles of trivia games, and more.
The serious trivia buff will find psychological and technical tips for honing a competitive edge, while the casual reader can learn little-known facts about nothing. And there's more! In addition to the author's steady stream of facts, humorous asides and wordplay, readers can guess the answers to 10 trivia questions scattered throughout each chapter, with the answers provided at each chapter's end.
Best tidbit: Jenning's explanation of the wide appeal of "trivia": "Unlike life's messy questions and interwoven decisions, the answers in trivia are always clear-cut, as binary as an electric circuit. . . . You can't be sure that you shouldn't have accepted that job in Fresno, but you can be 100 percent sure that the Munsters lived at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. You may never know if you handled things right with that girl who really liked you back in college, but you know for a fact that the word 'Pennsylvania' is misspelled on the Liberty Bell. After all, the answer's right on the back of the card."
Pros: Jennings is thoroughly grounded in a subject he both loves and respects - yet refreshingly lighthearted about its limited importance in the world.
Cons: The weight of detail might bog some readers down, though it's all wonderfully lightened by the breezy tone .
Final word: Answer: A great, fun circus of a book. Question: What is Brainiac?
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
