Books by Frank Rose

 

In a series of nonfiction books on a wide range of topics, Frank Rose shows how the way we humans view ourselves as individuals is changing in response to the shifting rules, expectations and power structures that govern our behavior. While his early books focus on specific subcultures and rivalries — in academia, in Silicon Valley, in Hollywood — in his later work he broadens the picture to demonstrate how these forces of disruption, whether cultural or technological, are fundamentally rewiring our sense of self and our perception of reality.

The Sea We Swim In

How Stories Work in a Data-Driven World
The Sea We Swim In

“As we’ve witnessed in the rise of conspiracy theories . . . science and rationality can be trumped by powerfully told, emotionally appealing, and endlessly repeated narratives that are contrary to verifiable facts. We can say that such narratives are divorced from reality, but as Frank Rose writes in ‘The Sea We Swim In,’ ‘reality is a construct, and narrative is the chief means of construction.’”

— Porchlight Books (staff pick)

WE SWIM IN A SEA OF STORIES — stories that determine how we comprehend the world, that define our personal lives, our professional lives, our goals and ambitions and ideals. They can control us, or we can control them — if we know how they work. LEARN MORE…

The Art of Immersion

How the Digital Generation Is Changing Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories
The Art of Immersion

“A highly readable, deeply engaging account of shifts in the entertainment industry which have paved the way for more expansive, immersive, interactive forms of fun . . . accessible and urgent.”

— Henry Jenkins, author of “Convergence Culture”

NOT LONG AGO WE WERE passive consumers of mass media. Now we approach television, movies, even advertising as invitations to participate. We are witnessing the emergence of a new form of narrative that is native to the In­ternet. LEARN MORE…

The Agency

William Morris and The Hidden History of Show Business
The Agency

“A cram course on the modern entertainment business as seen not from the cus­tomary perspective of the talent, but from the point of view of the humble appa­ratchiks who doggedly tried to prevent the lunatics from wrecking their asylum.”

— Peter Bart, The New York Times Book Review

FOR DECADES, the Morris agency made deals that determined the fate of stars, studios, and television networks alike. But everything changed after the agency’s president dismissed his own best friend, the man who’d brought Barry Diller and Michael Ovitz out of the mailroom. A multi-generational saga of loyalty and betrayal in Hollywood. LEARN MORE…

West of Eden

The End of Innocence at Apple Computer
West of Eden

“Zesty, highly readable . . . ‘West of Eden’ delivers a bracing keyhole view of a swarm of rich, talented people frequently at each others’ throats. The author . . . has a sharp eye for the painful contradictions in people’s lives that make you glad he’s profiling somebody else.”

— San Francisco Chronicle

IT SEEMS UNTHINKABLE TODAY—but forty years ago, when personal com­puters were still new and the World Wide Web had yet to be invented, Steve Jobs was cast out of Apple. And it wasn’t just Wall Street that applauded—it was most of Silicon Valley. LEARN MORE…

Into the Heart of the Mind

An American Quest For Artificial Intelligence
Into the Heart of the Mind

“Lucid and authoritative . . . it demystifies a disturbing subject. . . . No one knows how the cognitive areas [of the brain] work: how vision is interpreted, memory is stored, or thought is processed. No one even knows what thought is. Consequently, computer simulations of the brain are attempts to imitate the unknown.”

— The Washington Post

IN A CRAMPED LABORATORY at Berkeley, scientists are trying to teach a computer to think — to reason, remember and exhibit common sense. To make it work, they need to codify the entirety of human thought. But first they have to get their machine to put on a raincoat before going out in the rain. LEARN MORE…

Real Men

Sex and Style In An Uncertain Age
Real Men

“A thoroughly fascinating book. Accompanied by George Bennett’s stunning photographs, each profile is explicit, candid and deeply personal.”

— Publishers Weekly

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT BEING MALE. About power and discipline, sex and violence, and the roles they play in the lives of American men. Think of it as a personal and idiosyncratic survey designed to produce not statistical data but individual answers to the question of what it means to be a man. LEARN MORE…