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62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth a read but not the definitive Jeopardy book, December 17, 1999
I just appeared on Jeopardy earlier this week - actually, I taped this week and will appear the week of March 13-17, 2000. I read the book before I went onto the show (but after I had been to the tryout, passed the test, and received 'the call' to appear on the show).I definitely recommend that you read the first half of the book about tryouts, betting strategy etc. His betting strategy is excellent (although another reviewer pointed out some math errors), and he seems to be ahead of the curve. After I read his advice on betting and before I went on the show, I watched several weeks worth of games and noticed many - MANY - times where the person who placed second or third would have actually won the game using Dupee's strategy. However, the second half of the book (trivia) is useless for at least two reasons. First, if you memorized every piece of trivia in this book it would not help you on an actual game very much if at all and it probably would not help you on a tryout. He also skips over a major category - religion - which surprised me, and he spends far too much time on food. Second, the book is typeset in such a way that the answer to each question appears immediately after the question but NOT on a separate line. Therefore if you are trying to read the question and formulate an answer before you see the actual answer, it is almost impossible to do so, rendering this section of the book almost useless for solo studying (although you could have someone read you the questions and then respond aloud). And, as other reviewers have noted, there are numerous factual errors in the book. For example, the first President born in the 20th century - in 1917 - was not Jimmy Carter, it was JFK. I did study a lot for Jeopardy and there was only one question in my game that my studying prepared me for, and I couldn't recall the information fast enough to ring in and get credit. Several former Jeopardy contestants whom I've met, includng a 5 time champion, advised me not to study. I ignored their advice, but I think it turned out that they were right. In this book there is one mis-statement so huge I must comment about it, and pardon me for shouting - YOU DO NOT HAVE A FEW EXTRA SECONDS IN THE ACTUAL GAME TO ANSWER EACH QUESTION AS HE STATES - the actual game is as fast-paced in the studio as it seems at home, in fact it seems faster. It is taped in real time so you also have very short commercial breaks. Finally, if I can give any advice to those of you who are trying out for Jeopardy! (and why would you read this book if you weren't?), I would say that in order to get a tryout, you can take your chances with getting a slot at a regional tryout - which is very iffy - or you can make an appointment and travel to LA where you will be CERTAIN to get a tryout. In order to stand out at the tryout, first you have to pass the test (35 out of 50 right on a written test at the $800 question level), then have a funny story ready for the interview portion, be relaxed, look like you're having fun, and keep the pace moving when you play a mock game. The contestant coordinators like that (BTW, they are VERY nice). Don't appear too intense, either! My impression is that they would love to move away from the professional white male contestant from Southern California - although they don't ever say that - so I'm guessing it would help to be blue-collar, ethnic, female, and not from California! Not that you can change any of those characteristics, so this is just an observation, not advice! And finally, when you get on the show the single most important factor that will determine whether you win or not (aside from your knowledge of trivia and your ability to recall it instantly) is your signalling button technique. This is huge - HUGE - H-U-G-E! I have met a five time winner who practiced at home with a highlighter pen by pressing the end of it, and this person was killer on the signalling button and not only won 5 games but won them all as runaway games - had them all locked up by final jeopardy. Because instant recall and signalling button technique are so important, I'd almost recommend that you not cram for Jeopardy - unless you're going to do so now, before you even get a tryout. It's one thing to know something, it's another thing to be able to recall it in a nanosecond, as you must on Jeopardy. If you can't cram trivia to where you can recall it instantly, don't bother to study! (Dupee seems to credit his victory on his studying techniques but I think - as he says people remarked in the book - he was just killer on the signalling button). And one final thing - on the signalling button it's not speed, it's TIMING! Like Goldilocks and the porridge, you can't be too early, or too late, you have to ring in just right. Which I'm here to tell you, is harder than it seems! Hope this helps!
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by Ken Jennings
by Chuck Forrest
by Bob Harris
