August 24, 2020
Jeopardy! host Trebek delivers an anodyne, anecdotal pass through his life. He touches on his childhood in Canada and his first jobs with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which led to game show hosting work in the U.S., and, in 1984, to the job that would make him a fixture of American pop culture. He peppers in some behind-the-scenes bits about ad-libbing during tapings, attributes his success as the show’s host to coming across as “comforting and reassuring,” and humbly, if implausibly, surmises that “you could replace me as the host of the show with anybody and it would likely be just as popular.” But much of the book addresses matters personal and political. He lavishes compliments on his “soul mate” current wife (sparing the details of his first marriage), champions family dinners, remarks upon his “deep love of horses,” and shares platitudes about his charitable work and support of the USO. His attempts to speak to pressing world events in a balanced fashion, however, come across as mushy; he gives superficial treatment to political crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic response, criticizing the federal government’s withholding of funds from blue states, and ends abruptly with fist-shaking at both political parties (“Enough!”). Trebek’s fans will no doubt appreciate this, but the lack of soul-searching will be a turn-off for those who don’t consider Jeopardy! to be appointment viewing.