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It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree
Critic Reviews
Good
Based on 9 reviews on
#1 New York Times bestselling author A.J. Jacobs undergoes a hilarious, poignant quest to understand what constitutes family--where it begins and how far it goes--in It's All Relative, a "thought-provoking...delightful, easy-to-read, informative book" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).A.J. Jacobs has received some strange emails over the years, but this note was perhaps the strangest: "You don't know me, but I'm your eighth cousin. And we have over 80,000 relatives of yours in our database." That's enough family members to fill Madison Square Garden four times over. Who are these people, A.J. wondered, and how do I find them? So began Jacobs's three-year adventure to help build the biggest family tree in history. In It's All Relative, he "muses on the nature of family and the interconnectedness of humanity in this entertaining introduction to the world of genealogy" (Publishers Weekly). Jacobs's journey would take him to all seven continents. He drank beer with a US president, sung with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and unearthed genetic links to Hollywood actresses and real-life scoundrels. After all, we can choose our friends, but not our family. "Whether he's posing as a celebrity, outsourcing his chores, or adhering strictly to the Bible, we love reading about the wacky lifestyle experiments of author A.J. Jacobs" (Entertainment Weekly). Now Jacobs upends, in ways both meaningful and hilarious, our understanding of genetics and genealogy, tradition and tribalism, identity and connection. "Whimsical but also full of solid journalism and eye-opening revelations about the history of humanity, It's All Relative is a real treat" (Booklist, starred review).
Book Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Publish Date: Oct 2nd, 2018
- Pages: 352
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 8.30in - 5.40in - 0.90in - 0.65lb
- EAN: 9781476734507
- Categories: • Extended Family• Memoirs• Topic - Marriage & Family
About the Author
Jacobs, A. J.: - A.J. Jacobs is the author of Thanks a Thousand, It's All Relative, Drop Dead Healthy, and the New York Times bestsellers The Know-It-All, The Year of Living Biblically, and My Life as an Experiment. He is a contributor to NPR, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Entertainment Weekly. He lives in New York City with his wife and kids. Visit him at AJJacobs.com and follow him on Twitter @ajjacobs.
More books by A. J. Jacobs
Critics’ reviews
Praise for this book
"Whether the author is being ruminative or rollicking, he is consistently thought-provoking in his "adventure in helping to build the World Family Tree," and his natural gift for humor lightens the mood of even the most serious discussion. A delightful, easy-to-read, informative book."--Kirkus, Starred Review
"In his latest adventure book, author and experimentalist A.J. Jacobs enthusiastically shares in the human quest for self-knowledge that drives so many of us around the world to search for - and find - our roots. The astonishing discoveries he makes not only reveal the compelling possibilities of genealogical and genetic research; they remind us of the common bonds that unite us as a single global family. As Jacobs's (however distant) cousin, I admit I may be biased in singing his praises, but as It's All Relative proves, who isn't?"--Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
"A.J. Jacobs is descended from pretzel vendors, dwarf pony breeders, and purveyors of bogus hemorrhoid salves, which may or may not explain why I love his books so much. Mostly it's because, like life itself, A.J. is deep and goofy at the same time. It's All Relative is the funniest, most thoughtful, most original and entertaining book about family that you will ever read and wish you'd written."--Mary Roach
"Whimsical but also full of solid journalism and eye-opening revelations about the history of humanity, the book is a real treat."--Booklist, Starred Review
"A.J. Jacobs has done it again! Having once lived the Ten Commandments for a year (even going so far as to "stone" an adulterer with pebbles), his new book, It's All Relative, Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree, takes us on another unique adventure that pits idealism vs. practicality: Bringing about world peace and harmony by finding "cousin" connections among people throughout the globe and then hosting a "Global Family Reunion." Jacobs again opens up to us his insightful (and hysterically bizarre) thought processes as he plots the end of hate and conflict through one massive first-of- its-kind event."--Scott Fisher, host of Extreme Genes
"The Sower," the Simon & Schuster logo, is perfect opening icon for this story about human seed sown by our common ancestors out of Africa and how you and I are related to the Jacobs clan. Like AJ's previous hilarious books, this one involves way-over-the-top performance art -- this time the mother of all family reunions, at which I sang "We are family" (and the rest of you 7.5 billion were expected to sing along). Genealogy is now, deservedly, tied for the top hobby, along with other ancient biotechnologies, gardening and sex. You could have no better guide than ace jovialist and awesome jester, AJ. Now, more than ever, we celebrate our connections, we read, we smile.--George Church, author of Regenesis
"A hilarious read from beginning to end."--Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg.
"A terrific read and A.J. is a terrific writer...funny and super-interesting."--Michael Ian Black
"Esquire contributing editor Jacobs (The Year of Living Biblically) muses on the nature of family and the interconnectedness of humanity in this entertaining introduction to the world of genealogy...With short, lively chapters and an easygoing voice, Jacobs keeps the story flowing."--Publishers Weekly
"A.J. Jacobs' latest book embraces an entertaining and heartwarming search to discover "Family." His adventure is the natural curiosity in all of us to know where we are from. This book takes you along for the ride as A.J. discovers his family, and works to connect with all of us. His efforts culminate at the world's largest Global family reunion. The reader if not already a family historian, will become one after reading this fascinating and amazing tale."--David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist, New England Historic Genealogical Society