| Bruce Feiler | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 25, 1964 Savannah, Georgia |
| Education | Yale University B.A. 1987; Cambridge University MPhil International Relations 1991 |
| Occupation | Writer, journalist, television host |
| Spouse(s) | Linda Rottenberg |
| Children | Eden, Tybee |
| Notable credit(s) | Best-selling author of nine books; writer-presenter of the PBS miniseries Walking the Bible; credited with formulating The Feiler Faster Thesis |
| Official website | |
Bruce Feiler (born October 25, 1964) 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.[1]
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.
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Feiler is credited with formulating the Feiler Faster Thesis[2]: 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,[3] where he won three James Beard Awards.[4] 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.
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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
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,[9] on The Today Show,[10] and in People magazine. Dr. Sanjay Gupta made a documentary about the story on CNN.[11] Feiler began an initiative with 23andMe to decode the genome of patients with primary bone cancers.