Ken Jennings' Next Book Is for Map and Geography Wonks

Ken Jennings, Edmonds’ most famous brainiac (Brainiac was the title of a 2005 book he wrote), will release a new book on Sept. 20: Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks (Scribner, 288 pages, $25).

Jennings, 37, holds records for the longest winning streak and all-time money winner on U.S. game shows. Both came during Jennings’ remarkable 74-game streak on Jeopardy!

Jennings’ publisher describes the book this way: “(It’s) a love letter to the maps Ken loved as a child. He travels the world in search of his fellow mapheads: antique map collectors, atlas publishers, geocachers, Geography Bee prodigies, systematic travelers, and roadgeeks. Who are these prodigies, and can they save the world from its own geographic illiteracy before it's too late?”

Jennings will make several Western Washington appearances to promote the book, including Sept. 20 at Elliott Bay Book Co. in Seattle; Oct. 4 at Village Books in Bellingham; and Nov. 10 at Olympia Timberland Library in Olympia.