Bruce Feiler - Works

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. 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.