James Surowiecki

James Michael Surowiecki ("soo-ro-wiki") (b. 1967) is an American journalist. He is a staff writer at "The New Yorker", where he writes a regular column on business and finance called "The Financial Page".

Surowiecki's writing has appeared in a wide range of publications, including "The New York Times", the "Wall Street Journal", "The Motley Fool", "Foreign Affairs", "Artforum", "Wired", and "Slate".

Before joining "The New Yorker", he wrote “The Bottom Line” column for "New York" magazine and was a contributing editor at "Fortune".

He got his start on the Internet when he was hired from graduate school by Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner, to be the Fool's editor-in-chief of its culture site on America Online, entitled "Rogue" (1995-6). As The Motley Fool closed that site down and focused on finance, the versatile Surowiecki made the switch over to become a finance writer, which he did over the succeeding three years, including being assigned to write the Fool's column on "Slate" from 1997-2000.

In 2002, Surowiecki edited an anthology, "Best Business Crime Writing of the Year", a collection of articles from different business news sources that chronicle the fall from grace of various CEOs. In 2004, he published "The Wisdom of Crowds", in which he argued that small groups exhibit more intelligence than isolated individuals and that collective intelligence shapes business, economies, societies and nations.

He was born in Meriden, Connecticut and spent several childhood years in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico where he received a junior high school education from Southwestern Educational Society (SESO). On May 5, 1979, he won the Scripps-Howard Regional Puerto Rico Spelling Bee championship. He is a 1984 graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall and a 1988 alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead Scholar. Surowiecki pursued PhD studies in American History on a Mellon Fellowship at Yale University before becoming a financial journalist. He lives in Brooklyn, New York and is married to "Slate" culture editor Meghan O'Rourke.

References

* Contemporary Authors Online. The Gale Group, 2004. PEN (Permanent Entry Number): 0000156165.
* "The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations" Little, Brown ISBN 0-316-86173-1
* "Best Business Crime Writing of the Year" (Editor) Anchor ISBN 1-4000-3371-3

External links

* [http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701fareviewessay86410/james-surowiecki/better-and-better-the-myth-of-inevitable-progress.html Better and Better: The Myth of Inevitable Progress] James Surowiecki's review of the book "The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet" by Indur M. Goklany in the magazine Foreign Affairs
* [http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail468.html James Surowieki (sic) - Independent Individuals and Wise Crowds] Audio interview from IT Conversations
* [http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/04/07/07.php James Surowiecki - The Wisdom of Crowds] Audio interview from NPR affiliate WAMU American University - Mr. Surowiecki explains how collective wisdom shapes business, economies, societies, and nations. (60 min. Real Audio stream).
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/fashion/weddings/22orourke.html Meghan O'Rourke, James Surowiecki - New York Times Weddings/Celebrations]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/conference/2007/surowiecki Power: 2012 Conference Video]