Rating: 
Summary: Read this book if you want to be depressed
Review: I'm sure that if you're an adult in today's world, and have an ounce of introspection, you've thought from time to time, "what do I want to be when i grow up?" And you've seen lots of happy-talk books, about people who tried to figure that out, and everything magically fell into place for them. Well, this is NOT one of those books. I had heard it was a more "realistic" book about people who tried to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives, but so far, it seems that 90% of the people in this book either never figure out what they want, or they don't get it. I am through only about 15 chapters in this book and unsure if I want to continue! makes me long for the happy talk books...upshot is, don't waste your money on this book, when you can depressed by watching the news for free!
Rating:
Summary: didnt buy
Review: to be honest, i was going to buy this book, i saw it in the bookstore, jumped through different sections, read several pages, then realized.....the title is a misleading. It should say "what other people did". And is that the type of book i was looking for....no. I found the book basically just detailed other peoples lives, and most of them that found success or happiness....seemed to fall into it by accident. There was no lesson here, or magical formula. Just luck.
Rating: 
Summary: Not your typical self-help book
Review: This is not a book that will appeal to purists within the self-help genre. It is a highly personal account of encounters with different kinds of people. It violates several principles of exposition, in that there aren't a few key messages that find support in the text - it follows more of a stream of consciousness, the author concedes that there were many ways to organize the information for readability.For the purpose of this book the form is an advantage. It's best read with an open mind, and you won't really know what you've learned until a few weeks after you've finished it. It won't inspire you, nor will it discourage you. But it'll make you feel better about the inner conflicts you are likely to have about doing something different with your life.
Rating:
Summary: A great read so far!
Review: To be honest, I haven't entirely completed reading this book, but so far I find it verrrrrrry thought provoking. I mainly have not opened it yet, but keep staring at the thoughtful title and thinking, man what should I do with my life? I can't even open the book I am so paralyzed by thought.
Rating:
Summary: deeply intriguing
Review: This book reaches deeply into the question of what to do with one's life, not from a simplistic formula, but an honest and searching quest. It uses real people and their stories to help find an answer for the reader. Po is a very good writer.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed in many ways, good in just a few
Review: there is value in this book, but, its a tough read. The stories are all short, but for some reason, this book took forever to get through. Some of the stories are good, its actually kind of instructive to see what other people have done. . . even if the people he chose are all these inaccessible over acheivers with lives that aren't realistic. It is in some ways very inspiring to see the issues that so many people went through to get to where they were. . . that they, say, went to grad school, went way in debt, and then decided to paint. . .or my favorite story, about the ink-jet lady who really, was a complete fraud. Yea, so, in some ways, its good to see other high faluttin superstars have troubles. . . makes your own troubles seem more normal. All that said, Po's contribution AFTER writing down the bio's, is not worth much. He is pretty cocky, and he inserts himself all over the place in the novel. frequently he acts god-like, "She wanted to be in the book, but I told her no, until she came around" or whatever. He doesn't tie many unifying themes together, what little he does piece together is usually in the second to last paragraph of the section, and it is not at all clear. The worst part of the book was the "final thoughts" section, which offers nothing at all, except that he was at some big party with a bunch of CEO's. and how many times do we have to hear about his life and his "grotto"?
Rating: 
Summary: I Liked It...
Review: I have to agree... there are no answers here, only questions. But it's nice knowing that some people have made the leap. Yes, the book is full of Gen-X white people, of which Po is one. And I am too. (If he wrote from an Afro-centric view would you believe him? Seriously!)
Rating: 
Summary: Breaking new ground in self-absorption
Review: The book's subject is in constant conflict with the author's need to blow his own horn. The book should be retitled "Can we talk about me again?" It's rough sledding.
Rating:
Summary: A long winded exercise in self indulgence
Review: Po Bronson has written several books and long magazine articles. I have read several of his long articles. They were always well written. "What Should I Do with My Life" follows in that trend. The book is a long series of short examinations of peoples lives from the point of view of their career. The Author points out that in the US at least, you are your job. Thus one of the first questions commonly asked when people meet is "What do you do". Everyone is defined by their career. Your career is not just a job, it is your life.
This leads to, huge amounts of angst and stress surrounding every career choice most people make. The author sets out to learn about this by interviewing people about the career change decisions they have made. The first problem with this book is that all of the people interviewed are those who "dropped out" so to speak. There is a lawyer who became a truck driver, an investment banker who became a farmer, and so on. There are also a long list of people who cannot make up their minds. Perhaps it is true that there are no lawyers who enjoy there work, and no bankers who are at least satisfied with what they do. However I find that hard to belive. I think this is one unacknowledged way that the author biases his book. The author interviews a very large number of people who have made a radical career change, or who are contemplating one. However after talking to all these people he is unable to draw any conclusions. In the end there are no lessons to be learned. Bronson lauds all of his interviewees for confronting the "Ultimate Question". He seems to ignore the fact the asking the question is not enough, you have to answer it too.
In the end "What Should I Do with My Life" is nothing more than a long winded exercise in self indulgence. Its' one redeeming point is that it is well written.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: This was a beautiful and inspiring book I would recommend to everyone.
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