David Brooks

Bestselling Author, "How to Know a Person," "The Second Mountain," The Road to Character," and "The Social Animal" | New York Times Opinion Columnist
Twitter iconFacebook iconInstagram iconYoutube icon
David Brooks is a bestselling author, op-ed columnist at the New York Times, and recurring commentator on PBS NewsHour. He has a gift for bringing readers and audiences alike face to face with the spirit of our times with humor, insight, and quiet passion. He is a keen observer of the American way of life and a savvy analyst of present-day politics and foreign affairs whose columns are among the most read in the nation.
The author of six books with many bestsellers among them, Brooks seeks to further explore and explain humanity and the way we live with every addition to his critically acclaimed body of work. With intellectual curiosity and emotional wisdom, he underscores the value of community and the importance of nourishing both the inner self and the social self in our journeys to live fulfilling lives.
His latest release, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen, debuted on the New York Times and Amazon bestseller lists and has maintained spots on both for many weeks. It was deemed both “a hands-on guide to making meaningful human connections” and “yet another inspirational roadmap to building strong moral character and achieving authentic self-actualization” by Kirkus. Brooks makes the case that at the center of any healthy and thriving business, organization, community, or nation is the crucial skill of being able to see and value other people. Written to speak to audiences of all kinds, How to Know a Person is his attempt to repair America’s torn social fabric by giving us the tools we need to move beyond division and polarization and connect with others on an innately human level.
In The Second Mountain, he makes the case that a life of meaning and purpose is built on four major commitments: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. He argues that to repair the societal damage done by hyper-individuality, we must embrace interdependence and put commitment at the center of our lives. The Road to Character is a soul-searching account that speaks to the necessity of cultivating our deepest inner lives rather than focusing solely on success and external achievement, distinguishing between what Brooks calls résumé virtues and eulogy virtues. Backed by multidisciplinary research from neuroscience, psychology, and sociology, the #1 bestseller The Social Animal rejects society’s overemphasis on rationalism and individuality and drives home the idea that our minds, emotions, and social context have a more profound impact on our beliefs, decisions, and actions than we’d like to accept. When we adopt this more nuanced view of human behavior, we can better understand politics and culture and ultimately lead more meaningful lives.
Brooks’s earlier books cemented his style of “comic sociology,” offering observations on how we live and "the water we swim in" that are as witty and entertaining as they are revealing and insightful. Bobos in Paradise, his first bestseller, is a comedic yet sincere reflection on the budding class of “bobos”—a generation of elites at the intersection of bourgeois capitalism and bohemian counterculture. On Paradise Drive explores what Brooks sees as a uniquely American “future-mindedness” that drives our frenzied work ethic and inability to relax.
In an effort to practice what he preaches in his writing, Brooks founded and currently chairs Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute. Weave explores what it means to build connection and weave a rich social fabric in our schools, workplaces, and every other part of life. Weave’s mission is to invite everyone to start living like a weaver and shift our culture from one that values achievement and individual success to one that finds value in deep relationships and community success.

Beyond the New York Times, Brooks has also been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and NBC’s Meet the Press, as well as in the New Yorker, Washington Post, and Forbes, to name a few. Prior to joining the Times in 2003, he held positions at Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and The Weekly Standard. He has been awarded more than 30 honorary degrees from American colleges and universities, was a Jackson Senior Fellow at Yale, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Topics

Society in Focus

Over more than 20 years at the New York Times, David Brooks’s opinion columns have ranked amongst the most read in the country. His books are guaranteed bestsellers. His insights on humanity and world events are valued across the globe. In this presentation that evolves to address the present moment, combining recurring themes from his bestselling books with the same astute observations that make his columns so popular, Brooks delves into the heart of the challenges we face as a society. With his signature intellectual curiosity, quiet passion, and humor, he outlines the path to better days. Audiences leave this thought-provoking conversation with a deeper understanding of the forces shaping both our present and future and more cognizant of the roles each of us play in creating the society we wish to inhabit.

Show more

How to Know a Person: Bringing Humanity Back from the Brink

We’re living in dire times. People don’t know their neighbors. We disregard someone’s entire personhood based on a single political view. Individualism often supplants social responsibility when it matters most. At the center of our many societal ills, David Brooks argues, is the fact that we simply don’t treat each other well. We’ve forgotten how to connect with one another on a human level. Fortunately, these skills are learnable and have far-reaching effects, from healing personal and familial relationships to making you a more effective leader and strengthening business impact. Based on his bestselling book, “How to Know a Person,” this talk is ultimately a guide to becoming a better person, living a more connected and fulfilling life, and repairing our torn social fabric.

Show more

Videos

David Brooks on "How to Know a Person" and the Skills Needed to Heal a Divided America | Fareed Zakaria GPS
David Brooks
A Conversation with David Brooks
David Brooks
David Brooks writes about the art of seeing others in new book 'How to Know a Person'
David Brooks
David Brooks on his self-help book for modern society
David Brooks
What Does It Mean To Be a Better Person ? | Aspen Ideas Festival
David Brooks
Weaving a New Social Fabric for America | Aspen Ideas Festival
David Brooks
The Social Animal | TED
David Brooks
"The Road to Character" | Politics and Prose
David Brooks
The lies our culture tells us about what matters — and a better way to live | TED
David Brooks
Should you live for your résumé … or your eulogy? | TED
David Brooks
Jobs as Vocation: Finding Meaning in Our Work | Aspen Ideas Festival
David Brooks

Articles

Newspaper icon
The G.O.P. Returns to Its Bad Old Self
New York Times
Newspaper icon
The Political Failure of Bidenomics
New York Times
Newspaper icon
How to Save a Sad, Lonely, Angry and Mean Society
New York Times
Newspaper icon
Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts
New York Times
Newspaper icon
The Essential Skills for Being Human
New York Times
Newspaper icon
The New Old Age
The Atlantic
Newspaper icon
How America Got Mean
The Atlantic
Newspaper icon
The Cold War with China Is Changing Everything
New York Times
Newspaper icon
How Do You Serve a Friend in Despair?
New York Times
Newspaper icon
The Immortal Awfulness of Open Plan Workplaces
New York Times
Newspaper icon
Is Life a Story or a Game?
New York Times
Newspaper icon
The Secrets of Lasting Friendships
New York Times
Newspaper icon
The Awesome Importance of Imagination
New York Times

Podcasts

Testimonials

Book David Brooks for your event
Request Availability
Download Bio
PDF icon
Social Commentary
Leadership
US Politics
Authors
Presidential Series
Current Events
Faith & Spirituality
Philosophy & Ethics
Foreign Affairs
Management
Twitter iconFacebook iconInstagram iconYoutube icon
By continuing to browse you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. If you do not wish to allow cookies, please see our cookie policy for instructions. Learn more