BobHarris.com - For those here because of the L.A. Times/UPI thingy

Books! Actual books!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Pulls you in like a good sports story"

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Endearingly frank... jubilant... lighthearted and fast-paced"

-- New York Newsday

"A surprisingly touching memoir"

-- Entertainment Weekly

"Snappy and informative"

-- Associated Press

"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."

-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"I haven't seen Jeopardy! since I was a kid, and yet I was charmed and amused by Bob Harris's fascinating and surprisingly suspenseful book. Through sheer force of personality, he takes this brainy TV show and makes it funny and easy to relate to."

-- Ira Glass, creator and host, This American Life

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, 4-time Hugo Award winner, author of Ender's Game

"Funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

-- A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew Bob was a great guy and a fantastic Jeopardy! player. Now I've found that he's also a wonderful writer. I think I'm starting to hate him."

-- Brad Rutter, top money-winner in Jeopardy! history

Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."

— New York Observer

"Only Bob could make a user’s guide to our increasingly hostile world this absorbing, this breezy, and—ultimately—this hopeful.”

— Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING. A gimlet-eyed look at the world we endure that’s also suitable for enjoying with a gimlet.”

— John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise
and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

"All three [presidential] candidates should read all three of these [recommended] books, but McCain gets first crack at Bob Harris's "Who Hates Whom“... a lighthearted overview of the insurrections and civil wars in the world today."

— Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought, in the New York Times Book Review

Main

For those here because of the L.A. Times/UPI thingy

Tag it now -

Thursday, 24 August 2006

I've long wanted to upload some of my favorite pictures, and the L.A. Times thing asking me for seven cool places I've visited seems like a good excuse, especially since all of these places appear briefly (very) in the new book:

1. The Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Outside, near a tea vendor guy

The above was taken with my back toward the Blue Mosque, near a tea vendor with a giant metal contraption strapped to his back.

Inside, below, notice the Arabic script for both Muhammed and Allah (I think), sharing stage time with the Virgin Mary looking down with Jesus from above. It's two, two, two churches in one. (Actually, it's now a museum, reflecting almost 1500 years of Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Islam, now in one cool secular building.)

Muhammed and Allah, with the Virgin Mary looking down, holding Jesus

2. The Cape of Good Hope, Western Province, South Africa

Dang, that's a cool cliff. The baboon thing was about twenty minutes later

Dang, that's a cool cliff. The baboon thing was about twenty minutes later.

Not on the cape; just a cool double rainbow thing I saw driving to Johannesburg, and I swear I haven't tinkered with the color -- it was like that from horizon to horizon

Not on the cape; just a cool double-rainbow I saw driving to Johannesburg, so, well, here. I swear I haven't tinkered with the color -- and it was like that from horizon to horizon.

3. Bruny Island, Tasmania, Australia

Fairy penguins as viewed through night-vision goggles. You must do this sometime.

Beware the Giant Demon Bunny (aka the Albino Wallaby)

Beware! It's the Giant Demon Bunny of Bruny Island! Run for your lives! (Actually, it's also known as the albino wallaby. Sounds a lot less scary, though.)

4. Besakih Temple, Bali, Indonesia

Bali. Words fail.

Bali. Words fail. A difficult place, though, because even months after the bombings everybody seemed to be palpably hurting.

I think this is actually a traffic circle.

I'm pretty sure this was actually in the middle of a traffic circle. Bali is what you might call a god-rich environment.

Bonus Indonesia pic: The Man Sarong -- a look I will not pursue further

Incidentally, the Man Sarong, while mandatory in the temple where this was taken, is not a look I intend to pursue.

5. Avana Harbour, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Supposedly a bunch of Maori guys hopped in their canoes near this spot and paddled across open ocean all the way to New Zealand.

Why they left is actually a little hard to imagine.

Hard to see why anyone would leave, though.

Although I had to leave eventually myself, sadly enough. I was glad not to need a canoe. This is waiting area at the Rarotonga airport, and those are my bags for the trip. I actually overpacked.

Although, sadly, I had to eventually myself. I was glad not to be using a canoe. This is the Rarotonga airport, or most of the terminal, anyway. And those bags were actually more than I needed for the whole trip. Pack light.

6. Sibelius Monument, Helsinki, Finland

Looking straight up Sibelius' ah-OOH-gah

The Sibelius Monument, viewed from beneath

Sibelius monument, proctology view.

The tiny blur on the left is Leslie Shannon, a former Jeopardy opponent and one of my favorite people on earth

A better angle. The teeny blob at left holding up a cell camera is my former Jeopardy opponent and now dear friend Leslie Shannon, whom I adore. The game where we met is in the book. (We actually had our first conversation onstage at Radio City Music Hall. How much fun is that?) Also she laughs like this: giggiggiggigg. Man, she's cool to hang with.