David Shenk is an award-winning, national-bestselling author of five books, and a contributor to National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, Gourmet, Harper's, The American Scholar, NPR and PBS. He has written about pandemics, music, technology, chess, politics, bioethics, the brain, corporate malfeasance and kids' toys. He frequently lectures on health, education and technology, and is currently writing a blog-and-book about the source of talent and "giftedness."

His most recent book, The Immortal Game: A History of Chess (Doubleday, 2006), was hailed as "superb," by The Wall Street Journal, "fresh and fascinating" by The Chicago Sun-Times, "engaging" by The Washington Post, and "a thrilling tour" by Entertainment Weekly. Author Jonathan Cott called it "one of the most remarkable books I've read over the past many years -- its 'brilliancy' illuminates so much of life in all its aspects." (More reviews here).

The Forgetting: Alzheimer's, Portrait of an Epidemic (Doubleday, 2001) won First Prize in the British Medical Association’s Popular Medical Book Awards, and was welcomed by John Bayley as “the definitive work on Alzheimer's.” The Los Angeles Times Book Review called it, “A remarkable addition to the literature of the science of the mind.” (More reviews here). In January, 2004, PBS broadcast “The Forgetting,” a prime-time documentary inspired by the book. Shenk speaks frequently on the history, biology and social urgency of Alzheimer's disease. He has also advised the President’s Council on Bioethics on dementia-related issues.

Prior to that, Shenk published two books and dozens of essays on the emotional, social and political ramifications of the information revolution.

Data Smog: Surviving the Information Glut (HarperCollins, 1997) was hailed by The New York Times as an “indispensable guide to the big picture of technology’s cultural impact.” The book, profiled on 60 Minutes, was supported by a fellowship from the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University, and was later named a finalist for the McGannon Award for Social and Ethical Relevance in Communication Policy. Following Data Smog, Shenk wrote a column for Hotwired, contributed commentaries to NPR's “All Thing’s Considered,” and co-founded “Technorealism,” a movement encouraging balanced consideration of technology’s effects on humanity.

The End of Patience: More Notes of Caution on the Information Revolution (Indiana University Press, 1999) is a Data Smog-followup collection of  essays and commentaries which Sven Birkerts called, “Exhilarating to read . . . a startling glimpse of where we are.” Dan Rather commented: “Shenk may understand the Information Age better than anyone else: he sees benefits and perils that everybody else seems too rushed to notice, and I predict that the ‘notes of caution’ he sounds in The End of Patience will be remembered by future generations for their prophetic accuracy.”

Shenk's first book, Skeleton Key: A Dictionary For Deadheads (Doubleday, 1994), was co-written with the great Steve Silberman. Wired lauded Skeleton Key  as “a modern-day Joycean epiphany.” The Village Voice called it "an elegantly written, one-size-fits-all passport to Deadhead culture's weird, rich pageantry." Rolling Stone praised it as being "Replete with a healthy sense of humor and an obvious love for its subject...the mix of concrete and the absurd reminds you of the Dead’s music itself.”

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Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Shenk's journalism career got off to an early start when he was appointed editor of the Hilltop Frolic Gazzette in the third grade. (See prescient editorial about multitasking litterbugs, above). In fifth grade, A Wrinkle in Time blew his mind, and that was that: it was all about writing. After a less-impressive stint as editor of the high school newspaper, he was somehow admitted into Brown University. Four years there were not nearly enough. After graduating in 1988, he landed in Washington, D.C, where he spent some quality time with Dan Quayle, wrote for Spy, the Washington Post and the Washington Monthly, developed a passion for Ethiopian food, published something really dumb about the first Gulf War, met his future wife Alexandra Beers, made a cheeky  documentary about the local mayor's race, and worked as a producer for NPR.

In 1993, Shenk and Beers moved to Manhattan; in 1996, they moved to the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. They married somewhere in the middle there, and have two great kids. In the Fall of 1998, the Beers Shenks spent two months in Japan on a United States — Japan Foundation fellowship, exploring the ramifications of extreme technology- saturation, collecting soba-choku,  and drinking lots of green tea.

Shenk has also written about the emerging age of surveillance for National Geographic, penned cover stories for The New Republic and The Nation, and created the popular "Survivalist" series for Slate. His writing appears in several collections, including the Encyclopedia of International Media and Communications, and has been translated into twenty additional languages. In 2004, his original term "data smog" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Other Shenks are also on the loose: David's two amazing brothers, Jon Shenk, a documentary filmmaker, and Joshua Wolf Shenk, a writer and performer. Three creative types? All have been deeply inspired by their photographer father, Richard L. Shenk.

Interviews and profiles
RADIO
Doug Fabrizio interviews David on KUER's "RadioWest"
January 30, 2004

Noah Adams interviews David on NPR's "All Thing's Considered"
September 5, 2001

The Diane Rehm Show
September 25, 2001

PRINT
Karen Christensen interviews David Shenk for The Berkshire Savant
Winter, 2006

Elizabeth Sams interviews David Shenk for BeliefNet
June, 2004

Megan Santosus interviews David Shenk for CIO

The Amazon.com Interview

The Barnes and Noble Interview


More bio material for media and appearances

Hi-res head-shot

Lo-res head-shot

Full-length C.V.