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.
Rating: 
Summary: rhetorical question
Review: In a perfect world, a person dreams of a "good" future, makes decisions and lives happily ever after. In the real world, careers are lost or unfulfilled, relationships broken, and many are left wondering with Po Bronson's question: What should I do with my life? The question appears to be a rhetorical one -- Bronson's book was descriptive rather than prescriptive, somewhat like MBA case studies with no solutions. There is however a common denominator among the 50; they are profiles in courage in their own right, the courage to change (or not to change) and the courage to act and deal with the consequences of their decisions i.e. the rich Harvard kid who became a policeman, the teacher who became a lawyer at 70, the lawyer who became a truck driver, the trader who became a doctor, and the urban yuppies who literally watched trees grow. Bronson, of course, did not attempt to dissect life and its meanings; it is instead a modern-day reflection of the perennial paradox confronting people at the crossroads (though it can be argued that some people in the world don't even have the luxury of asking themselves the question). The book's substance and the presentation, the prose and the respondents sampling, and the author's editorializing are debatable. Nevertheless, the book is thought- provoking and introspective and although we may never find answers, it forces us to look at ourselves from a detached, critical point of view, perhaps in a manner similar to Shakespeare's thoughts: "To thine own self be true."
Rating:
Summary: Thanks so much
Review: I loved this book. When you don't know what to be when you grow up and most of the world thinks you're already grown up, it's painful to answer the what do you do question. This book confirms that those of us who are still searching are not alone, that the search is worthwhile and that the answer may be out there. Thanks so much to Po Bronson for taking and sharing this journey.
Rating:
Summary: Boring romp
Review: If you read the Fast Company article profiling this book, then don't read any further. That article summed it up. It felt like Po went on a quest to find something truly meaningful in all his encounters with these people, but found little. I think his goal was simply "write another book no matter what" and so he did. Yawn.
Rating:
Summary: Read SB or God
Review: I cannot place enough emphasis as to how simple minded this book is. This book is based on a very unstable and short term premise. I was very impressed with the fact that a book like this got past the screening process. However advertising has made the difference here. Truthfully, very few persons in my opinion can benefit from this extremely over rated title.
Rating: 
Summary: Po Bronson - What Should I Do with My Life
Review: The notion of searching for purpose has intrigued me and as a consequence I purchase and read a broad variety of books on the subject. This book is one best left in warehouses left gathering dust. It is superficial hype and damages the broader reputation of the industry and writers interested in providing perspective and programs dealing with the subject of calling and purpose.
Rating:
Summary: A real let-down
Review: This book is over-hyped and overrated. It did nothing for me. It should have been titled, "Boring stories."
Rating:
Summary: Very poorly written, but unique and extrodinarily compelling
Review: This is a very strange book. The farther you get into the book the more you realize why people dislike it. It is very poorly written. Having not read his other nonfiction work I can't speak to his skills, but this book is truely awful from any sort of literary perspective, so I very much understand the hate reviews. That said, the stories themselves are incredibly compelling and make the book feel worthwhile. From a pure readability standpoint I would have given this book 1, maybe 2 stars. But simply because this book is so unique, and it's stories so compelling I have to recomend it. The book's strenght is that it is a self help book, without the 'Joe-Ra-Ra' Tony Robbins sensibilities, that is, in fact, not a self-help book at all, but rather a series of oral histories and case studies. It won't give you many concrete answers or analysis. In fact, the biggest thing I would fault in the book is that it what little analysis it does give is too much. Rather it tells stories that have immediate currency with people asking the very same question, especially since most of the people in the book haven't quite answered it yet. The stories are so provacative and unique that it both reassures you and inspires you to think, without giving you cut and dry advice. For that reason I had to give it a 4, and I have to recomend it. I can honestly say, I've never read a book that was so painfully bad reading in places, and yet still so incredibly compelling and thought provoking. So, in spite of all that, it is a book that, if you ever ask the question in the title, has to be read.
Rating:
Summary: excellent motivational guide
Review: Po Bronson has had to live in the shadow of his more famous brother, Pierce Bronsan, ever since Pierce landed the role of Remington Steele on American TV. But with his new book, Po definitely comes into his own. "What should I do With My Life" is a reminder to everyone who has suffered the humiliation of less-than-flattering comparisons to a superior sibling that, hey, I can do something meaningful myself. I don't really know for a fact that Po Bronson is Pierce Bronson's brother, but I have never heard of another Bronson, except Charles Bronson. But Charles Bronson is pretty old, and I would think if he had any brothers, they would be too old to be writing books. So I am assuming this Po Bronson is Pierce Bronson's brother, and I applaud him for breaking out on his own and making his mark in this world. My wife tells me that Remington Sttele was played by Pierce Brosnan, not Bronson, but I think that is incorrect. But if that is the case and Po is not Pierce's brother, than I don't think I can really recommend this book because I haven't read it.
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