It’s no big secret that you have to be well-read to succeed on Jeopardy!. One of the show’s new categories might have some contestants wishing they had picked up a few more copies of celebrated history writer Erik Larson’s books.
Bestselling Author Erik Larson’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Category
A new video compiled of clips of the “History Comes Alive With Erik Larson” category was just uploaded to Jeopardy!’s YouTube channel. Each clue the author read out related to one of the many books he has written over the years.
The players handled the category easily, but some viewers found themselves floundering. For anyone looking for a way to fulfill that New Year’s resolution of reading more, Larson’s category is a perfect reading list to start with.
Larson has written nine books, including the mega-bestsellers The Devil in the White City, In the Garden of Beasts, and Dead Wake. For the Jeopardy! category, the author narrowed the clues down to just five of his books.
From WWII Incidents To 20th Century Murders, Larson Has Covered It All
The first clue referred to In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin. The book tells the story of the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany during WWII and her affair with the head of the Gestapo.
Next came Thunderstruck which, according to Larson, “examines how in 1910, Dr. Hawley Crippen nearly committed the perfect murder and fled across the Atlantic, only to be captured later that year.”
The third clue centered around Larson’s 2020 book, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s story is well known, but Larson’s extensively researched book will definitely give readers a detailed look at the famous politician.
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is one of Larson’s most popular historical books. It chronicles the torpedoing of a passenger ship by a German U-Boat, where over a 1,000 people died. This event is what pushed the United States into joining WWI.
The last category was about Larson’s most successful book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. This book is already a true-crime classic and tells the story of H.H. Holmes, who is considered America’s first serial killer.
Whether you’re prepping for your own stint on the game show or just looking to kickstart your reading resolution as we start 2023, this Jeopardy! category is a great place to start!