Family Affairs

Po Bronson is, among other things, the author of five books. The first two were novels. The third, The Nudist on the Late Shift, was a rat-a-tat chronicle of Silicon Valley during its most chaotic and muscular era. His fourth book became a big best-seller; it’s called What Should I Do With My Life? and constitutes many different chapters on many different people trying to find their way in life. His latest book, Why Do I Love These People?, follows a similar format but addresses a different theme: family. One of the most extraordinary elements of this new book is an online “factbook” of family life that Bronson has compiled, and now made public. “I wanted a clear and realistic picture of the state of family today, which meant also comparing it to what family life is like in other countries and what family life was like in our past,” he writes. “Toward that end, we wrote memo after memo on various topics, synthesizing facts, statistical data and opinions. We have almost 100 of these memos online. They vary in length from a single page to over 20 pages … If you’re ever looking for some numbers on anything that relates to family, you should check this out as a great starting point. It’s very easy to drill down to the actual sources and be on your way scrutinizing data.” Although it’s a few days past Thanksgiving, it looks like Bronson’s hard work is something a lot of us should be thankful for.