Reading Pick: Bruce Feiler’s "The Council Of Dads"

Bruce Feiler is such an engaging companion (and writer) he has made a cottage industry of travelogue books in which he essentially retraces history by foot, most famously in “Walking The Bible.” In his new book, “The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and The Men Who Could Be Me,” he recounts a different kind of journey: the steps he took to insure that his young daughters would have father figures in their lives if Feiler, who had a rare form of bone cancer in his leg, had died.—

 I love this book…it has his usual narrative verve with the mature poignance you’d hope for given the subject matter. Dad or mom or non-breeder, it’ll drive you to think about the meaning of being a parent, the meaning of friendship, and meaning of a meaningful life. Feiler lives in Brooklyn. I’m wondering if he’ll be my friend. If you want to hear from Feiler youself, here’s the interview we did with him in our June issue.

— Eric Messinger (emessinger@manhattanmedia.com), Editor, New York Family