Bruce Feiler
Encyclopedia
Bruce Feiler is a popular American writer on faith, family, and finding meaning in everyday life. He is the best-selling author of nine books, including Walking the Bible, Abraham, and America's Prophet, and one of only a handful of writers to have four consecutive New York Times nonfiction best-sellers in the last decade. He is also the writer/presenter of the PBS
miniseries Walking the Bible.
His latest book, The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me
, describes how he responded to a diagnosis of cancer by asking six men from all passages of his life to be present through the passages of his young daughters’ lives.
: the increasing pace of society and journalists' ability to report it is matched by the public's desire for more information.
He has written for numerous publications including The New Yorker
, The New York Times Magazine
, and Gourmet magazine, where he won three James Beard Awards. He is also a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, CNN
, and Fox News.
A native of Savannah
, Georgia
, Feiler lives in New York with his wife, Linda Rottenberg
, and their twin daughters. Rottenberg, who frequently appears in his books, is co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, a nonprofit that supports High-Impact Entrepreneurs.
Feiler completed his undergraduate degree at Yale University
where he was a member of Ezra Stiles College
, before spending time teaching English in Japan as part of the JET Program. This experience led to his first book, Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan, a popular portrait of life in a small Japanese town. Upon his return he earned a masters degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge
in the United Kingdom, which he chronicled in his book Looking for Class.
His recent work made him a respected authority on religion, politics, and relevant emotional issues. Walking the Bible describes his perilous, 10,000-mile journey retracing the Five Books of Moses through the desert. The book was hailed as an “instant classic” by the Washington Post and “thoughtful, informed, and perceptive” by The New York Times
. It spent more than a year and a half on the New York Times best-seller list, has been translated into fifteen languages, and is the subject of a children’s book and a photography book.
In 2006, PBS aired the miniseries Walking the Bible that received record ratings and was viewed by 20 million people in its first month. “Beguiling,” wrote the Wall Street Journal. “Mr. Feiler is an engaging and informed guide.”
Abraham recounts his personal search for the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. “Exquisitely written,” wrote the Boston Globe, “100 percent engaging.” The book was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, became a runaway New York Times best-seller, and inspired thousands of grassroots interfaith discussions.
Where God Was Born describes his year-long trek retracing the Bible through Israel
, Iraq
, and Iran
. “Bruce Feiler is a real-life Indiana Jones,” wrote the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. America's Prophet: Moses
and the American Story discusses the significance of Moses
as a symbolic prophet
throughout four-hundred years of American history. Both books were New York Times best-sellers. He also wrote about the role of Moses
as a defining influence in American life
, including the presidency of Barack Obama
, in TIME Magazine.
Feiler's latest book, The Council of Dads, describes how, after learning he had a seven-inch osteosarcoma
in his left femur
, he asked six men from all passages of his life to be present through the passages of his young daughters’ lives. “I believe my daughters will have plenty of opportunities in their lives,” he wrote these men. “They’ll have loving families. They’ll have each other. But they may not have me. They may not have their dad. Will you help be their dad?”
The book was featured on the cover of USA Weekend
, on The Today Show
, and in People magazine. Dr. Sanjay Gupta
made a documentary about the story on CNN
. Feiler began an initiative with 23andMe
to decode the genome
of patients with primary bone cancers.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
miniseries Walking the Bible.
His latest book, The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me
The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me
The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me by Bruce Feiler was written in 2010 and published by William Morrow.-Synopsis:...
, describes how he responded to a diagnosis of cancer by asking six men from all passages of his life to be present through the passages of his young daughters’ lives.
Career
Feiler is credited with formulating the Feiler Faster ThesisFeiler Faster Thesis
The Feiler Faster Thesis is a thesis, or supported argument, in modern journalism that suggests that the increasing pace of society is matched by journalists' ability to report events and the public's desire for more information.-Origin:The idea is credited to Bruce Feiler and first defined by...
: the increasing pace of society and journalists' ability to report it is matched by the public's desire for more information.
He has written for numerous publications including The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, and Gourmet magazine, where he won three James Beard Awards. He is also a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and Fox News.
A native of Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Feiler lives in New York with his wife, Linda Rottenberg
Linda Rottenberg
Linda Rottenberg is CEO and Co-founder of Endeavor, an organization that pioneered the field of High-Impact Entrepreneurship. Endeavor’s mission is to “lead the global movement to catalyze long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best High-Impact Entrepreneurs around...
, and their twin daughters. Rottenberg, who frequently appears in his books, is co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, a nonprofit that supports High-Impact Entrepreneurs.
Feiler completed his undergraduate degree at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
where he was a member of Ezra Stiles College
Ezra Stiles College
Ezra Stiles College is a residential college at Yale University, built in 1961 by Eero Saarinen. Architecturally, it is known for its lack of right angles. It is adjacent to Morse College.-Origin:...
, before spending time teaching English in Japan as part of the JET Program. This experience led to his first book, Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan, a popular portrait of life in a small Japanese town. Upon his return he earned a masters degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in the United Kingdom, which he chronicled in his book Looking for Class.
Works
Bruce Feiler’s early books involve immersing himself in different cultures and bringing other worlds to life. These include Learning to Bow, an account of the year he spent teaching in rural Japan; Looking for Class, about life inside Oxford and Cambridge; and Under the Big Top, which depicts the year he spent performing as a clown in the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.His recent work made him a respected authority on religion, politics, and relevant emotional issues. Walking the Bible describes his perilous, 10,000-mile journey retracing the Five Books of Moses through the desert. The book was hailed as an “instant classic” by the Washington Post and “thoughtful, informed, and perceptive” by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. It spent more than a year and a half on the New York Times best-seller list, has been translated into fifteen languages, and is the subject of a children’s book and a photography book.
In 2006, PBS aired the miniseries Walking the Bible that received record ratings and was viewed by 20 million people in its first month. “Beguiling,” wrote the Wall Street Journal. “Mr. Feiler is an engaging and informed guide.”
Abraham recounts his personal search for the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. “Exquisitely written,” wrote the Boston Globe, “100 percent engaging.” The book was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, became a runaway New York Times best-seller, and inspired thousands of grassroots interfaith discussions.
Where God Was Born describes his year-long trek retracing the Bible through Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. “Bruce Feiler is a real-life Indiana Jones,” wrote the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. America's Prophet: Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
and the American Story discusses the significance of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
as a symbolic prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
throughout four-hundred years of American history. Both books were New York Times best-sellers. He also wrote about the role of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
as a defining influence in American life
American Life
American Life is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released on April 22, 2003 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. The album produced in its entirety by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï featured references to many parts of American culture...
, including the presidency of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, in TIME Magazine.
Feiler's latest book, The Council of Dads, describes how, after learning he had a seven-inch osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is an aggressive cancerous neoplasm arising from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin that exhibit osteoblastic differentiation and produce malignant osteoid...
in his left femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
, he asked six men from all passages of his life to be present through the passages of his young daughters’ lives. “I believe my daughters will have plenty of opportunities in their lives,” he wrote these men. “They’ll have loving families. They’ll have each other. But they may not have me. They may not have their dad. Will you help be their dad?”
The book was featured on the cover of USA Weekend
USA Weekend
USA Weekend is a national publication distributed through more than 800+ newspapers in the United States. It reaches 47 million readers in 22.6 million households every weekend. Awarded for its journalism and design, USA WEEKEND focuses on social issues, entertainment, health, food and travel....
, on The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
, and in People magazine. Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Sanjay Gupta
Sanjay Gupta is an American neurosurgeon and an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Emory University School of Medicine and associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia....
made a documentary about the story on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. Feiler began an initiative with 23andMe
23andMe
23andMe is a privately held personal genomics and biotechnology company based in Mountain View, California that is developing new methods and technologies that will enable consumers to understand their own genetic information...
to decode the genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
of patients with primary bone cancers.
External links
- Author's official website
- Council of Dads website
- Author's Harper Collins website
- Council of Dads behind-the-scenes video
- CNN's Sanjay Gupta, M.D. special edition - Council of Dads (30 min.), May 1, 2010
- Video discussions involving Feiler conducted on BloggingHeads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- Article: "How Moses Shaped America", TIME Magazine, October 12, 2009
- Interview: NBC's Today Show, April 28, 2010
- Interview: USA Weekend, April 9, 2010