Richard Nelson Bolles
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Richard Nelson Bolles (born March 19, 1927 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a former Episcopal clergyman, and the author of the best-selling job-hunting book, What Color Is Your Parachute? (ISBN 1-58008-615-2). Self-published at first (December 1, 1970), the book has been commercially published since November 1972, by Ten Speed Press, in Berkeley, California. It is revised and updated annually, sometimes substantially. Nine million copies are in print, and it has been translated into fourteen different languages worldwide. He is also the brother of journalist Don Bolles, who was killed in June 1976. His paternal grandfather, Stephen Bolles, was a U.S. member of Congress from Wisconsin (died 1941), and his father was for many years an editor with the Associated Press (died 1972).
He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and after a brief stint in the U.S. Navy, attended M.I.T., studying chemical engineering, and Harvard, where he graduated with a B.A. in Physics, cum laude. He attended General Theological Seminary (Episcopal) in New York City, from which he graduated with a Master's Degree in the New Testament. After ordination, he served as a Fellow and Tutor at the Seminary, and then served churches in New Jersey. Following this, he served as Canon Pastor of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. He also served on the National Staff of United Ministries in Higher Education for a number of years,
He has received many honors. He was the 2006 recipient of the National Samaritan award, joining such prestigious company as Karl Menninger, Peter Drucker, Norman Vincent Peale, Betty Ford, Herb Benson, Sir John Templeton, Bob Buford, and others. The Library of Congress in 1996 named his book as one of 25 that have shaped reader's lives, since the time of the Bible. His book has appeared on the New York Times best-seller list (paperback non-fiction) a total of 288 weeks.
Currently, he is still making public speaking appearances and leading workshops around the country. He is releasing new and updated editions of his book every year, as well as working on new titles. He has had various co-authors for some of his other books, including Howard Figler, Carol Christen, Dale Brown, and one of his sons, Mark Bolles. Mark is the principal author of their book Job Hunting on the Internet [ISBN 1-58008-652-7].
He lives in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is married to the former Marciana Garcia Mendoza Navarrete, who is from Cavite in the Philippines. He has four children by a previous marriage, while she has two.
