Po Bronson

Last updated

Po Bronson
Po bronson 2009.jpg
Bronson at 2009 Texas Book Festival
Born
Philip Bronson

(1964-03-14) March 14, 1964 (age 60)
Alma mater Lakeside School
Stanford University
Occupation(s)Journalist and author

Po Bronson (born March 14, 1964) is an American journalist and author who lives in San Francisco. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Bronson was born in Seattle, Washington. After attending Lakeside School in Seattle, he graduated from Stanford University in 1986, [2] and briefly worked as an assistant bond salesman in San Francisco. [3]

Career

Bronson abandoned finance to pursue writing, publishing short stories and eventually a comedic novel based upon his bond trading experiences. This first novel, Bombardiers (1995), was an international bestseller. [4] Publishers Weekly reviewed the book saying, "Bronson writes with panache, and while his novel finally lacks the depth of feeling that can distinguish a great satire like Catch-22, it's a witty and cutting send-up that marks him as a writer with a likely big and bright future." [5]

Bronson went on to write articles for The New York Times Magazine and others, but perhaps became best known for his work in Wired magazine and other technology-related publications. [6]

Then, during the rise of the internet/high tech in the late 1990s, Bronson became a leading chronicler of Silicon Valley in its heyday, writing two more best sellers. [7] The first, The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest, was a novel sending up technology start-ups. The second, The Nudist on the Late Shift, was a nonfiction portrayal of those who had followed the modern-day gold rush to Silicon Valley. [7]

With the collapse of the internet bubble in 2000, and after creating The $treet, a short-lived television drama for Fox again drawing upon his bond trading days, Bronson began searching for a new direction for his career. Realizing he was not alone in this quest, he began to focus on others in similar quandaries. Bronson spent the next two years working on a new nonfiction book, What Should I Do with My Life? which profiles about 50 people, exploring how each had confronted the question. The hardcover release of the book was a New York Times No. 1 bestseller. It remained on the bestseller list for 22 weeks, and a dozen more in paperback. [8]

Bronson's follow-up to What Should I Do with My Life? is Why Do I Love These People? For that book, Bronson spent three years researching and interviewing over 700 families. The book tells the stories of about 20 people who have had extraordinary experiences with their families. [9]

Partly as a result of the research Bronson did for these two books, he became a columnist for TIME online. His columns frequently draw on his research data to challenge arguments that American society is on a moral decline. For example, he argues against the idea that the institution of marriage has disintegrated from an ideal past filled with stable nuclear families. He also argues that most young adults who live with their parents are not slackers, but are working, attending school, and volunteering full-time.

With co-author Ashley Merryman, he released a book in September 2009 entitled NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children. The book discusses theories and scientific aspects of parenting. [10]

in 2015, Po joined Attention Span Media, a strategy consulting firm, as Futurist / Contributing Editor, where he worked on the "Future of Sports" and "Future of Medicine" projects. [11]

In August 2018, Po joined IndieBio as Strategy Director.

Published works

Film adaptation

A film loosely based on his second novel, entitled The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest , was released in 2002. It cost almost $20 million to make but was released only in two theaters, then sent to DVD. The script was written by Jon Favreau.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alvin Toffler</span> American writer, futurist and businessman

Alvin Eugene Toffler was an American writer, futurist, and businessman known for his works discussing modern technologies, including the digital revolution and the communication revolution, with emphasis on their effects on cultures worldwide. He is regarded as one of the world's outstanding futurists.

<i>Gone with the Wind</i> (novel) 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell

Gone with the Wind is a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County and Atlanta, both in Georgia, during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to claw her way out of poverty following Sherman's destructive "March to the Sea." This historical novel features a coming-of-age story, with the title taken from the poem "Non Sum Qualis eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae", written by Ernest Dowson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Kurzweil</span> American computer scientist, author and futurist (born 1948)

Raymond Kurzweil is an American computer scientist, author, entrepreneur, futurist, and inventor. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology and electronic keyboard instruments. He has written books on health technology, artificial intelligence (AI), transhumanism, the technological singularity, and futurism. Kurzweil is a public advocate for the futurist and transhumanist movements and gives public talks to share his optimistic outlook on life extension technologies and the future of nanotechnology, robotics, and biotechnology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Grisham</span> American writer (born 1955)

John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer, and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham is one of only three anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing.

<i>Future Shock</i> Book by Alvin Toffler

Future Shock is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his wife Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies, and a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time". The book, which became an international bestseller, has sold over 6 million copies and has been widely translated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Boy Who Cried Wolf</span> Aesops fable

The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 210 in the Perry Index. From it is derived the English idiom "to cry wolf", defined as "to give a false alarm" in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and glossed by the Oxford English Dictionary as meaning to make false claims, with the result that subsequent true claims are disbelieved.

<i>Naked Came the Stranger</i> 1969 Penelope Ashe novel

Naked Came the Stranger is a 1969 novel written as a literary hoax poking fun at the American literary culture of its time. Though credited to "Penelope Ashe", it was in fact written by a group of twenty-four journalists led by Newsday columnist Mike McGrady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Klosterman</span> American author and columnist

Charles John Klosterman is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for Esquire and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for The New York Times Magazine. Klosterman is the author of twelve books, including two novels and the essay collection Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto. He was awarded the ASCAP Deems Taylor award for music criticism in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Patterson</span> American author (born 1947)

James Brendan Patterson is an American author. Among his works are the Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women's Murder Club, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, NYPD Red, Witch & Wizard, Private and Middle School series, as well as many stand-alone thrillers, non-fiction, and romance novels. Patterson's books have sold more than 425 million copies, and he was the first person to sell one million e-books. In 2016, Patterson topped Forbes's list of highest-paid authors for the third consecutive year, with an income of $95 million. His total income over a decade is estimated at $700 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Gilder</span> American writer (born 1939)

George Franklin Gilder is an American investor, author, economist, and co-founder of the Discovery Institute. His 1981 book, Wealth and Poverty, advanced a case for supply-side economics and capitalism during the early months of the Reagan administration. He is the chairman of George Gilder Fund Management, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Futures studies</span> Study of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures

Futures studies, futures research, futurism research, futurism, or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social/technological advancement, and other environmental trends; often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and work in the future. Predictive techniques, such as forecasting, can be applied, but contemporary futures studies scholars emphasize the importance of systematically exploring alternatives. In general, it can be considered as a branch of the social sciences and an extension to the field of history. Futures studies seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change. Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present, and to explore the possibility of future events and trends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolf Dobelli</span> Swiss writer

Rolf Dobelli born in Luzern, Switzerland, is a Swiss author and entrepreneur.

Dean Charles Ing was an American author, who usually wrote in the science fiction and techno-thriller genres. His novel The Ransom of Black Stealth One (1989) was a New York Times bestseller. He wrote more than 30 novels, and co-authored novels with his friends Jerry Pournelle, S. M. Stirling, and Leik Myrabo. Following the death of science fiction author Mack Reynolds in 1983, Ing was asked to finish several of Reynolds' uncompleted manuscripts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chetan Bhagat</span> Indian celebrity columnist (born 1974)

Chetan Bhagat is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter and YouTuber. He was listed in Time magazine's list of World's 100 Most Influential People in 2010. Five of his novels have been adapted into films. His novels focus on youth and urban India, making him very popular among urban audiences and garnering a strong following from Indian youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Coons</span> Computer graphics and scanning professional

David B. Coons is a computer graphics professional and CGI pioneer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Webb</span> American futurist and journalist

Amy Lynn Webb is an American futurist, author and founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute. She is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, a nonresident senior fellow at Atlantic Council, and was a 2014–15 Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.

Benjamin "Ben" Chiu is a Taiwanese-American and Canadian computer programmer and internet entrepreneur. He is the founder of killerapp.com, a popular comparison shopping site for computers and consumer electronics that was acquired by CNET Networks Inc. in 1999 for $50 million.

Steven Kotler is an American author, journalist, and entrepreneur. He is best known for his non-fiction books, including Abundance, A Small Furry Prayer, West of Jesus, Bold, The Rise of Superman and Stealing Fire.

Jim Holt is an American journalist, popular-science author, and essayist. He has contributed to The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The American Scholar, and Slate. In 1997 he was editor of The New Leader, a political magazine. His book Why Does the World Exist? was a 2013 New York Times bestseller.

Josh Lieb is an American writer and television producer.

References

  1. "babble.com". Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  2. Stanford University
  3. Hamilton, Geoff, 1972- (2013). Encyclopedia of contemporary writers and their work. Jones, Brian, 1959- (2nd ed.). New York: Facts on File. ISBN   9781438140674. OCLC   882543415.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. "LitSnap Book Review – Why Do I Love These People?: Honest and Amazing Stories of Real Families by Po Bronson". www.litsnap.com. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  5. "Fiction Book Review: Bombardiers:: A Novel of Business by Po Bronson". www.publishersweekly.com. February 1995. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  6. Schawbel, Dan. "Po Bronson: How to Become The Top Dog in Your Industry". Forbes. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Rafkin, Louise (January 5, 2003). "Questioning Po / The celebrated chronicler of Silicon Valley discusses fame, fortune and the question that led to his new book". SFGate. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  8. "What Should I Do With My Life?". NPR.org. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  9. Sansom, Ian (January 14, 2006). "Review: Why Do I Love These People? by Po Bronson". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  10. Paul, Pamela (October 1, 2009). "Book Review | 'NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children,' by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  11. "Po Bronson, Futurist / Contributing Editor". Attention Span Media - Team. May 10, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  12. Parenting Tips: Praise Can Be Bad; Lying Is Normal. Author Interviews, All Things Considered, August 27, 2009, NPR. includes book excerpt.