Michael Lewis (author)
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Michael Lewis (born October 15, 1960, New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American contemporary non-fiction author. His bestselling books include Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, and Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood.
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[edit] Early life
Lewis was born in New Orleans to corporate lawyer J. Thomas Lewis and community activist Diana Monroe Lewis. He attended the private, nondenominational, co-educational college preparatory Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. Later, he attended Princeton University where he received a BA in art history in 1982. He also received a masters degree in economics from the London School of Economics in 1985.[1][2]
[edit] Writing
Lewis went on to work with New York art dealer Wildenstein, and then became a bond salesman at Salomon Brothers in London, an experience he described in his first book, Liar's Poker (1989). While at Salomon Brothers, he continued to work nights and weekends as a journalist, an effort he continues to this day with pieces for periodicals like The New York Times Magazine.
In the The New New Thing (1999) he investigated the then-booming Silicon Valley technological scene, and discussed obsession with innovation. He considered this phenomenon both from the perspective of the computer engineers actually making the new products, and the entrepreneurs who invested in them.
Four years later, Lewis again entered the cultural mainstream with Moneyball, in which he investigated the dramatic success of Billy Beane and the Oakland A's, a baseball team which won consistently despite not being particularly well-funded by Major League Baseball standards. He noted the influence of baseball thinkers such as Bill James on the Oakland front office, which used their arguments to find underrated baseball players. In contrast to other teams which still considered potential players almost entirely on their physical abilities, such as speed and strength, Beane considered prior performance at the college and high school level. This allowed him to find players whose physical skills might have been ordinary, but were still able to play extraordinarily well on the field. James also argued that certain skills, such as the ability to get on base, were equally valuable as the ability to hit, though most baseball decision makers considered the latter to be of more importance. Beane was thus able to find players who were able to provide high value for bargain prices. Lewis determined that these strategies, among others, allowed the relatively cash-poor A's to often outperform much wealthier teams.
In August 2007 he wrote an article about catastrophe bonds that appeared in The New York Times Magazine, entitled "In Nature's Casino."[1]
Lewis is currently a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, a columnist for Bloomberg, and a visiting fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. He also writes the Dad Again column for Slate.
[edit] Personal life
Lewis married Diane de Cordova Lewis, his girlfriend prior to his Salomon days[3][4]. After several years, he was briefly married to former CNBC correspondent Kate Bohner[5], before marrying the former MTV reporter Tabitha Soren on October 4, 1997. Lewis lives with Tabitha, two daughters, and one son (Quinn, Dixie, and Walker) in Berkeley, California.
[edit] Writings by Lewis
[edit] Books
- Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.. 2009. ISBN 978-0393069013.
- Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.. 2008. ISBN 978-0393065145.
- edited and with an introduction by Michael Lewis. (2008). The Real Price of Everything: Rediscovering the Six Classics of Economics. New York: Sterling. ISBN 1-402-74790-X.
- Michael Lewis. (2006). The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-06123-X.
- Michael Lewis. (2005). Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-06091-8.
- Michael Lewis. (2003). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-05765-8.
- Michael Lewis. (2001). Next: The Future Just Happened. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-02037-1.
- Michael Lewis. (2000). The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley story. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04813-6.
- Michael Lewis. (1997). Trail Fever. New York: A.A. Knopf. ISBN 0-679-44660-5.
- Michael Lewis. (1991). The Money Culture. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-03037-7.
- Michael Lewis. (1991). Pacific Rift. Knoxville, Tenn.: Whittle Direct Books. ISBN 0-962-47456-8.
- Michael Lewis. (1989). Liar's Poker: Rising through the Wreckage on Wall Street. New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-02750-3.
[edit] Articles
- "The family guy", BookPage, 2009-06-01.
- "Wall Street on the Tundra", Vanity Fair, 2009-04-01
- "The No-Stats All-Star", The New York Times Magazine, 2009-02-13
- "Man Up! Hedge-Fund Man’s Advice for Wall Street", Bloomberg, 2009-02-13
- "The End", Condé Nast Portfolio, 2008-11-11
- "In Nature's Casino", The New York Times Magazine, 2007-08-26.
- "Coach Leach Goes Deep, Very Deep", The New York Times Magazine, 2005-12-04.
[edit] References
- ^ Michael Lewis: Greater Talent Network Speakers Bureau
- ^ Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008.
- ^ Playing for Keeps When He Quit Wall Street, Michael Lewis Hits the Jackpot with Liar's Poker
- ^ The Money Honey, Entertainment Weekly
- ^ Is married Google CEO Eric Schmidt squiring dolphin lover Kate Bohner?
[edit] External links
- The Family Guy—BookPage interview
- The Future Just Happened
- List of books and articles
- Birnbaum v. Michael Lewis, an interview
- Michael Lewis of Bloomberg vs. SuperFrenchie
- Recent articles for Vanity Fair
- Unofficial archive of Michael Lewis
