Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Answer Is...  By  cover art

The Answer Is...

By: Alex Trebek
Narrated by: Ken Jennings, Alex Trebek
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.99

Buy for $14.99

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A Recommended Summer Read by The New York Times, USA Today, Time, and Newsweek

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 candidly captures 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.

©2020 Alex Trebek, OC. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"[Trebek's] performance is in high style, exuding enthusiasm, charm, and that special ability to draw in most any listener. Multiple-time Jeopardy! winner and Trebek friend Ken Jennings narrates the lion's share of the memoir....this is a touching and entertaining audiobook." (AudioFile Magazine)

What listeners say about The Answer Is...

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,092
  • 4 Stars
    410
  • 3 Stars
    105
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,734
  • 4 Stars
    355
  • 3 Stars
    99
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    13
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,736
  • 4 Stars
    357
  • 3 Stars
    79
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING.

What a great book. It was great. Alex is so funny. But it gets a little sad at the end as I’m currently crying on my lunch book. Wow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Alex Trebek narrates very little.

I have nothing against Ken Jennings, he did a fine job. Alex Trebek's voice is more soothing and relaxing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A must read for all Jeopardy fans

A beautiful memoir from a man with a beautiful spirit. RIP, Alex Trebek. My hero.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well written, narrated, and so worth the time.

I started before his passing, but it was a wonderful and interesting journey to hear.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thanks, Alex and Ken!

This book is more a conversation, presented in the "Jeopardy" format with chapters in the form of questions. The short answers are witty, charming and heart felt. This is a pleasure listen for fans of both Alex and Ken Jennings who reads most of the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Love it!

This book is too hard to review because I love the author and narrator and just enjoyed it all

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Bio

What a fun book. I couldn't put it down. Alex and Ken were just perfect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a wonderful glimpse into the mind of a great.

loved hearing the voices of Ken and Alex. This fairly quick listen brought out all the emotions. Will probably listen again soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A good man

I’ve seen a lot.
At the end of your life - if you’re lucky enough to live as long as Trebek - it all matters. When the final lines are written, it seems to me that if people can, without reservation say that “He was a good man”, you will have achieved. In the end, doing a modicum for yourself and a majority for others and the world - well, it seldom gets better. Alex is that man. No whining...just a good and decent man. Love you buddy. May I be half as good as you...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A classy bid adieu to fans.

It was like listening to a good friend or uncle, as Alex Trebek called himself. I was in tears at the end. Thank you, Alex Trebek, for enriching my life all these years.

If you read the book. You will understand all these references.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!