One day back in 2003, Ken Jennings and his college buddy Earl did
what hundreds of thousands of people had done before: they
auditioned for Jeopardy Two years, 75 games, 2,642 correct answers,
and over $2.5 million in winnings later, Ken Jennings emerged as
trivia's undisputed king. "Brainiac" traces his rise from anonymous
computer programmer to nerd folk icon. But along the way, it also
explores his newly conquered kingdom: the world of trivia itself.
Jennings had always been minutiae-mad, poring over almanacs and TV
Guide listings at an age when most kids are still watching Elmo and
putting beans up their nose. But trivia, he has found, is centuries
older than his childhood obsession with it. Whisking us from the
coffeehouses of seventeenth-century London to the Internet age,
Jennings chronicles the ups and downs of the trivia fad: the quiz
book explosion of the Jazz Age; the rise, fall, and rise again of
TV quiz shows; the nostalgic campus trivia of the 1960s; and the
1980s, when Trivial Pursuit(R) again made it fashionable to be a
know-it-all.
Jennings also investigates the shadowy demimonde of today's trivia
subculture, guiding us on a tour of trivia hotspots across America.
He goes head-to-head with the blowhards and diehards of the college
quiz-bowl circuit, the slightly soused faithful of the Boston pub
trivia scene, and the raucous participants in the annual Q&A
marathon in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, "The World's Largest Trivia
Contest." And, of course, he takes us behind the scenes of his
improbable 75-game run on Jeopardy
But above all, "Brainiac "is a love letter to the useless fact.
What marsupial has fingerprints that are indistinguishable from
human ones?* What planet has a crater on it named after Laura
Ingalls Wilder?** What comedian had the misfortune to be born with
the name "Albert Einstein"?*** Jennings also ponders questions that
are a little more philosophical: What separates trivia from
meaningless facts? Is being good at trivia a mark of intelligence?
And is trivia just a waste of time, or does it serve some
not-so-trivial purpose after all?
Uproarious, silly, engaging, and erudite, this book is an
irresistible celebration of nostalgia, curiosity, and nerdy
obsession-in a word, trivia.
* The koala
** Venus
*** Albert Brooks
"From the Hardcover edition."
General
Imprint: |
Villard Books
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
November 2007 |
First published: |
October 2007 |
Authors: |
Ken Jennings
|
Dimensions: |
208 x 142 x 17mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
288 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8129-7499-7 |
Categories: |
Books >
Sport & Leisure >
Hobbies, quizzes & games >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8129-7499-9 |
Barcode: |
9780812974997 |
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