Rating: 
Summary: Perfect timing
Review: This book is one you'll carry around everywhere--from the bus to a gathering with friends--and after you've had time to reflect on the variety of folks who've started or stopped and paused or re-created their particular lives, you'll want to pass it around to all the people you know who may be in need of a nudge to make a change. Po wrote and published this book at just the right time--there's not another book like this on the market with this degree of compassion and yes, to be trite, it *is* inspirational.
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Summary: Receiving change on a penny for Po Bronson's thoughts
Review: How is it possible that Po Bronson figured out 50 ways to tell exactly the same story? Bronson's middle-aged breakdown motivated him to find 900 other people going through the same process, forming the premise of the book. Unfortunately, he doesn't stay true to either himself or the reader, as he takes unwarranted potshots at successful Hollywood screenwriter Carl Kurlander, who made exactly the same decisions Bronson couldn't bring himself to make and encounters Bronson's wrath as a result.There are people out there who truly love what they do for a living and have always loved what they do for a living. There are people who have become enormously successful and still find enjoyment and serenity from their daily lives. There are people that don't have an epiphany leading them to "give it all up" to seek meaning, and still manage to function in daily life. None of those people are found in this book. If you enjoy reading about people who trashed their successful job to seek serenity making no money, buy this book. If you enjoy reading this exact same story 50 times over, run out to buy this book. If you're like the rest of us, spend that time with your family and forget about Po Bronson's latest literary attempt.
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Summary: What they did with their lives...example book
Review: First off this is a very truthful piece of information, but hardly for the majority of persons seeking career or change or anything to do with lifes destiny. This is an example book of persons with success. How many times have we seen this approach to sell an idea, especially from persons who are in special position to sell? If you are in position financially and are able to move into various new positions then this may be a super book for you. In other words this is a book for the ready and able. A fine book that conveys options to all whether career or destiny is SB or God by Maddox
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Summary: A Different Bronson
Review: This is a different Bronson than his first couple books. Here he shows us a kinder and more personal author, one who travels the country to hear the stories of career decisions that have changed people lives. And what's best about Bronson is his ability to tell the story again and in his own words. Even if you are completely satisfied with your life, this book is worth reading. Every chapter is a different life, a different story. The reading is quick and so enjoyable it is hard to stop. You'll likely finish the book in a few days. Some of the stories are life after the dot com and some are completely unrelated to technology. But every story was worth reading. Thank you Po Bronson for another book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but too many rich white folk
Review: This is a nice treatment of many different people grappling with the question which titles the book. Po does a nice job of playing therapist and finding the story arc of his subjects' careers. Central themes include career v. family/relationships, facing your fears/biases/baggage, pragmatism v. idealism. However, the book profiles a disproportionate number of people who are traditionally successful (i.e. wealthy from business, law, etc) and traded down into lower-paying careers that offered more fulfillment. Most of the subjects are Clinton-Gore alumni, Silicon Valley vets, or driven Ivy Leaguers who burned out and then were beset with ennui. The book has value, but it may be worth waiting for your library to get a copy. It feels a bit, tho' not grossly, self-indulgent, and sincere enough. I would have preferred to hear a more diverse set of voices, economically and racially. Po refers frequently to how someone contacted him having heard word-of-mouth that he was working on this book. Perhaps the self-selection this created was to the book's detriment.
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Summary: what a load of CLAPTRAP
Review: Po Bronson used to write books about over-educated white people in Silicon Valley. Now - the ultimate question has been answered by more over-educated multi-degreed white people on what they should do with their lives. That a book like this even gets published blows my mind except the obviously self-indulged have an urge to read about the other 2 percent of people in the world just like them. The stories are so snore-inducing I could barely keep my eyes from jumping and skimming paragraphs ahead to locate something of interest. How many times did my head hit the pages? I started to wonder if the "kinder, gentler Po Bronson" with his soft-spoken voice and new age-y happy talk might have intended the book as a subliminal Deepak Chopra-esque meditation vehicle of some sort. Your eyes are getting heavy, you find yourself drifting off.... At the end I wouldn't have given you a plug nickel for anyone in the book and some of them were more repugnant than others in their whiny-ness and cluelessness. Like the one who went to medical school and decided to drop out after two months because she "didn't like sick people" like what the hell, hadn't she ever BEEN to a Doctor before? Didn't she KNOW that's what they do? The book is filled with the stories of people who live within a 300 mile radius of San Francisco. Just about everyone is from the area from LA to Seattle with only a few out of this main drag as filler (or to make the book seem more serious). I used to live in this area. Insufferable individuals, who are overly impressed with themselves like the ones in this book, are why I don't live there any longer. Most impressed with himself is the author, Po Bronson, who liberally infuses the book with cutaways into his own miraculous existence. Although he takes the blame for ruining his first marriage by cheating on his wife, he also calls her a West Coast Feminist and contrasts that with his new wife, who apparently stays much more in her place and defers to Po and let's him feel all big and strong and manly. In fact there are several thinly veiled insults to his former wife (who does not have a name) which are supremely tacky since she was with him for 12 years and pretty much encouraged and fostered his entire writing career. Way to go, Po! And perhaps a warning - look for the wolf in sheep's clothing wife number two. Not to mention that after somewhat accidentally ending up a father, Po goes on to slam his former ideals about not wanting children. Then he slams all people who choose NOT to breed as doing it out of FEAR. He thinks it takes courage to procreate and raise children. He says, it's not that big a deal, really. Well, NOT IF YOU ARE A MAN. What world does this guy live in? He crows about HONESTY yet I see little in this book. This is like those supposed "reality" TV shows where you go to a lush island and try to "survive" knowing there is a crew chuckwagon and medical staff standing two feet from the camera in case you stub your toe. This is a book for the RATIONALIZATION GENERATION. The same kids he wrote about in Silicon Valley who need to pat themselves on the back and tell themselves that it's ok they lost a billion dollars. This is a book for the privelaged who need validation. Or as Bronson calls them "people with more choices" than "the working class". Right. You mean the people who actually WORK and don't cry in Starbucks about what LOSERS they are. The people profiled in this book didn't take any REAL risks. In fact, most of them didn't do anything but change jobs here and there or think about changing a job or consider switching enterprises within their same field. There are only a scant few who chuck it all to weave baskets (in this case sell trees, farm catfish, become a long-haul trucker) and truthfully they are the only stories that have a modicum of impact. The rest are the kind of people you would move away from quickly at a cocktail party. And Bronson himself is the one you'd want to beat feet from the fastest. He truly needs to GET OVER HIMSELF. Maybe that should be his next book, "What should I do to GET OVER MYSELF."
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Summary: Attention: This is NOT a self-help book
Review: The title of this book is a bit misleading. I do not consider it a "self-help" book in the strict sense. Bronson does not attempt to persuade you that a certain course of action will help you; indeed, he does not try to convince you of anything other than "there is no epiphany." All Bronson does is present a moving and insightful portrait of approximately 50 people who faced the question posed in the title. He describes them, their lives, and how they arrived at the decision they ultimately made. Any wisdom you acquire is purely what you glean from their circumstances and choices. Bronson's prior books are strongest at painting intricate portraits of his characters and allowing you to step inside their decision-making process. He uses those talents to bring you closer to these (real) people. This is a fascinating book and a quick read. Whether or not it will help you is an open question, but there is no question it will entertain you.
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Summary: Great concept, good implementation
Review: Lots of interesting anecdotes. I enjoyed being repeatedly suprised by how different folks had varying approaches to finding their answers. Most fascinating to me was the total absence of people who took some high-paying job in order to fund their dream profession, e.g. starting as a lawyer so that some day you could switch to being a sculptor. My only nit is that sometimes I thought the author stuck himself too much in the stories -- it was definitely not anonymous anthropology. I also found this book useful because my wife was recently having a lot of angst about changing careers, and asked me the title question. I said, "here, take a look at the manual ..." :-)
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Summary: Should stick to novels
Review: Wow, what a disappointment. I've read and enjoyed Bronson's two novels, so I bought this book with the highest of expectations--but he seems way, way out of his depth when it comes to non-fiction. Save your money and instead buy either of his works of fiction, Bombadiers or The First Twenty Million is the Hardest.
Rating: 
Summary: Better title -- "What Did Other People Do"
Review: First of all, the biographical anecdotes that Bronson presents are great. They are pictures of interesting people who struggle with real issues. These stories are entertaining and well written. With that said, I was disappointed with the suggestions (or lack there of) found in the rest of the book. Bronson writes that, "We all have passions if we choose to see them,". This is certainly true. However, it would seem a book with this title would provide a means by which a person can differentiate their passions. What I mean is, it's impossible to follow all of our passion, and neither doest it seem that we 'should' follow all of our passions. I know it would be a major mistake for me to follow some of my passions. So, how can a person know which passions to follow? I wish Bronson had spent some time on this instead of merely pointing out that passions exist in all of us - by this he almost takes an 'it's all good' attitude. Bronson writes about 'callings', but doesn't explore where these callings come from. Additionally, he strangely writes about self-acceptance. He doesn't seem to acknowledge that there are some things about ourselves that we should accept and others that we shouldn't. This would be essential in a book like this. Furthermore, he refers to moral guilt as always being negative. He misses the fact that moral guilt is sometimes very good and inhibits us from doing what we should not do. Lastly this book comes across as promoting an essentially self-centered life. You find your dream, and then you go get it for you so that you will be happy. This approach short sells the importance of others, and doing things for other people. That is, altruism can be an incredible source of peace and satisfaction. However, Bronson feeds the "me-first" message that is so strong in our culture today. In short, this book deals with a very important and much needed subject. Unfortunately, the conclusions presented here leave much to be desired. If you want to read his 'bottom line' check out page 362 - the first full paragraph.
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