"to manage to do..."

[alan gould]

I would use the verb "parvenir" for this.  example: "Je suis finalement parvenu à lire le livre."  In studying the verb "faire" I came across "comment a-t-il fait pour...?" translated as "How did he manage to do...?"  Is this the same context as with "parvenir" or is the word "manage" different here, possibly superfluous?  (in the first sentence, even without the word "finalement" the usage of "parvenir" is used to connote that it was something I tried to achieve before but failed.) is "comment a-t-il fait pour...?"something I will hear?  If so, how would it be used when not a question -- "he managed to do..."

merci d'avance