Review by New York Times Review
IN A REGULARLY best-selling way, A.J. Jacobs writes stunt books. Or quest-stunt books, is more like it. Or humorous queststunt books is most like it. "The Year of Living Biblically," for example, described his efforts to abide by the over 700 rules he finds set down - by, well, Whom? - in the Old and New Testaments. In "The Know- It-All," Jacobs told of his 18-month effort to read the entire "Encyclopaedia Britannica," using its abecedarian entries as prompts for reflection and anecdotes. Etc. Jacobs's new endeavor, "It's All Relative," explores the territory of genealogy and kinship, with the professed aim of contributing to the idea of global unity. He tells us what he learns about cousin marriage, his own forebears, others' shameful and worthy ancestors, polyamory, our recently expanded definitions of the word "family," the Hatfields and McCoys, the Temperance movement (because he's trying to decide whether there should be alcohol at a family reunion he's planning), and so on. Each of the 46 short-take chapters is loosely organized around a single topic, such as the Mormons' genealogical research and the author's efforts to involve celebrity cousins, however distant, in his project. And at the end of each chapter come differently fonted progress reports on this book's humorous quest - Jacobs's efforts to organize that Guinness-worthy biggest family reunion ever. Most of "It's All Relative" is a mixture of narrative, research, reflection and ofteneffortful wit. Its factual and documentary aspects are frequently both fascinating and seemingly improvisational, almost adlibbed, in a cheerful way. Item: Henry Louis Gates Jr. says of his grandfather: "He was so white we called him Casper behind his back." Item: In 1923, a magazine called The American Hebrew ran a piece about a man whose last name was Kabotchnik. He changed it to Cabot. The magazine deplored losing "Kabotchnik," with "its rich, sneezing tonal effects." Item: The Rutgers anthropologist Robin Fox estimates that 80 percent of all marriages in human history were "between first and second cousins." Item: Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "When I talk with a genealogist, I seem to sit up with a corpse." But the bulk of "It's All Relative" is colored by Jacobs's offhand-sounding efforts to amuse and entertain the reader. From time to time they work. We're seeing more and more gay and trans parents. Open adoption. Surrogate moms. Group homes with multiple parents. Sperm donors. There's new vocabulary: "diblings" have a single sperm donor father but different mothers. And in a chapter about twins and their annual celebration, Twins Day (in Twinsburg, Ohio), Jacobs describes the theme of the Twins Parade he attends - the 1960s - in which the participating monozygotics are required to dress in identical '60s-style costumes: "The parade is a stream of double flower girls, double Barbies, and double Jimi Hendrices." "Hendrices"! How excellent is that! And it's leftalone, uncommented-on, and all the better for it. But unfortunately, for some readers, a lot of Jacobs's attempts at amusing commentary and bumptious riffs will fall recumbent or all the way to flat. "In the Bible, it's even commanded that a widow marry her late husband's brother (not that I approve of mandatory weddings)." And "My parents had to have sex - something I've known from the age of 8 but have tried to keep buried in the Siberia of my subconscious." This kind of snappy writing has worked well for Jacobs in the past, to the tune of many, many thousands of fans, and "It's All Relative" will probably enjoy similar success. Senses of humor vary so widely that it's hard to pass any kind of objective judgment on them. But "It's All Relative" works best, this subjectivist thinks, when the author's voice butts out, and the research oddities and genealogical wonderments speak for themselves. Paradoxically, too much funny self-effacement can come offas self-centeredness. Jacobs's wife, Julie, makes cameo-like appearances throughout the book, contributing forbearing, sometimes antidotal remarks about the project and the reunion. "That's just weird," she says when Jacobs tells her that the two of them are distant cousins. (We all are, by the way, which is in a way what this book is about.) And after he tells their kids about a disturbing part of the medical examination of immigrants at Ellis Island, Julie says, "You're coming on a little strong." The Global Family Reunion - which was held at the New York Hall of Science (site of the 1964 World's Fair) - took place in June of 2015. Jacobs's account of the high and low points of the event, at the end of "It's All Relative," is modest and honest. Bad weather. Grounds too big, making turnout seem small. (Sort of like the 2017 inauguration.) Author's own speech anxiety, resulting in muffed consonants. Guinness hopes dashed. Sister Sledge, meant to sing "We Are Family," litigiously missing one sister. On the other hand: Simultaneous global reunions around the . . . globe - Mauritius, New Zealand, Mexico. Money raised for Alzheimer's research. Random, congenial meet-ups, like Samantha Power and Morgan Spurlock. Over all it sounds as if the reunion may have suffered a little from the same improvisational amorphousness with which your 81st cousin who-knows-how-manytimes removed, A.J. Jacobs, has written this book. DANIEL MENAKER is the former editor in chief of Random House and the author of seven books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* From the author of The Know-It-All (2004) and The Year of Living Biblically (2007) comes this very entertaining exploration of one of the weirdest things to have come out of recent breakthroughs in genetic mapping: the idea that all of us, if you track back far enough through history, are related. We're all descended from individuals known as Y-Adam and M-Eve, whose genetic code, diluted to varying degrees, is present in everyone. The author's adventure begins in a typically fortuitous way: he receives an e-mail from a dairy farmer in Israel, claiming Jacobs is his wife's eighth cousin. Moreover, the fellow claims he has mapped out generations of his family tree and that he has a database of more than 80,000 other people who are related to Jacobs. So, after some research, Jacobs does what anyone would do when confronted with the idea that he might be related to millions of other people: he decides to hold a family reunion for 70-odd million people. Whimsical but also full of solid journalism and eye-opening revelations about the history of humanity, the book is a real treat.--Pitt, David Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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. The book follows along as Jacobs, inspired by the World Family Tree project-an effort by a group of historians, genealogists, and scientists to create a family tree of all humankind-attempts to orchestrate the largest family reunion ever, the Global Family Reunion. Along the way, he charts his efforts to contact celebrities, politicians, criminals, and his other distant relatives. He looks at unconventional notions of family, attending a polyamory family support group and "nonpaternity events" for people who learn from DNA testing that they are not directly related to their fathers. With short, lively chapters and an easygoing voice, Jacobs keeps the story flowing as the Global Family Reunion approaches. While Jacobs's event, which was held in New York City on June 6, 2015, didn't set the record for the largest family reunion ever, a total of 3,800 people showed up to the simultaneous reunions held in 44 locations around the world. He infuses humor throughout the book but relies too heavily on the same gimmick of his unexpected relations (he's 14 steps removed from Joseph Stalin, and George H.W. Bush is his second cousin's husband's eighth cousin three times removed). The result is a somewhat amusing and educational account of the science and culture of families. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The tree provides a perfect analogy for an adventure in genealogy. With its many roots, twisting branches, and enumerable leaves, a family tree offers the intrepid genealogist researching his or her ancestors inevitable challenges and surprises. This is Jacobs's (The Year of Living Biblically) account of his own attempts to discover his hereditary foundation. The story is filled with ample doses of self-deprecating humor and delightful and often comical observations about the practice of genealogy. His ruminations on the nature of family and the ways we are all connected are on occasion profound. The book is read by the author in an easygoing style. VERDICT If genealogical research can be described as an adventure, then Jacobs should be commended for conveying something of the wonder and joy that those who practice the discipline experience. ["Fans of Jacobs's previous work, as well as anyone interested in a nonacademic look into the world of genealogy and family trees, will find this account engrossing, funny, and optimistic": LJ 10/15/17 review of the S. & S. hc.]-Denis Frias, Mississauga Lib. Syst., Ont. © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The bestselling immersion journalist embarks on a world-spanning journey of family and genealogy.For years, Jacobs (Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, 2012, etc.) has built a significant following at Esquire, where he is a contributing editor, with articles that mix serious inquiry with laugh-out-loud humor, usually featuring the author as his own main character. He used the same formula for his bestselling books, in which he tried to absorb more miscellaneous knowledge than anyone else alive (The Know-It-All), live daily life according to biblical commandments (The Year of Living Biblically), or sculpt his body into its best possible shape (Drop Dead Healthy). In his latest book, Jacobs delves into his own genealogy and that of his wife, Julie, and he chronicles his plans for what he hoped would become the largest "family" reunion in history. Along the way, the author provides a cornucopia of information about genealogy and ancestry: how males often dominate family trees while females remain in the background, the impact of American slavery on family histories, his own Jewish heritage, the complications of working with the Mormon archive ("every year, more data is added to this vault than is contained in the entire Library of Congress"), how nonhuman animals fit into the equations, the reliability of DNA testing as a genealogical tool, and the reliance on the story of Adam and Eve as the beginning of humanity. Some of the short chapters are almost entirely entertainment, as when Jacobs and his wife travel with their twin sons to a large gathering of families with twins. But 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. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
