u003cbu003e#1 u003ciu003eNew York Times u003c/iu003ebestselling author A.J. Jacobs undergoes a hilarious, poignant quest to understand what constitutes family—where it begins and how far it goes—in u003ciu003eIt’s All Relativeu003c/iu003e, a “thought-provoking…delightful, easy-to-read, informative book” (u003ciu003eKirkus Reviewsu003c/iu003e, starred review).u003c/bu003eu003cbru003eu003cbru003eA.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.”u003cbru003e u003cbru003eThat’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 u003ciu003eIt’s All Relativeu003c/iu003e, he “muses on the nature of family and the interconnectedness of humanity in this entertaining introduction to the world of genealogy” (u003ciu003ePublishers Weeklyu003c/iu003e).u003cbru003e u003cbru003eJacobs’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.u003cbru003e u003cbru003e“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” (u003ciu003eEntertainment Weeklyu003c/iu003e). 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, u003ciu003eIt’s All Relativeu003c/iu003e is a real treat” (u003ciu003eBooklistu003c/iu003e, starred review).
