David Brooks

David Brooks

"New York Times columnist and author of The Road to Character"

David Brooks is a New York Times columnist, PBS NewsHour commentator, and the author of several bestselling books on culture, character, and the moral life, including The Road to Character and The Second Mountain. Before turning to social and cultural criticism, he worked as a reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, and The Weekly Standard. Brooks teaches at Yale University and is a member of the Aspen Institute. How to Know a Person (2023) grew out of his own experience of feeling unseen during a painful period of his life, and out of years spent studying what separates people who make others feel understood from those who leave them feeling invisible.

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David Brooks

Books by David Brooks

Our in-depth summaries and reviews of his work

Key Ideas & Recurring Themes

Illuminators vs. diminishers

Some people make you feel bigger and more yourself when you talk to them; others make you feel smaller. The difference is a learnable set of habits.

Accompaniment over advice

The deepest way to help someone is often to walk beside them through a hard season, not to fix their problem for them.

Notable Quotes

"The biggest gift you can give another person is your attention."
— How to Know a Person

Book Author David Brooks