Art of Mentoring
Encyclopedia
The Art of Mentoring series was a series of books published by Basic Books
from 2001 to 2008, beginning with Alan Dershowitz
's Letters to a Young Lawyer and Christopher Hitchens
' Letters to a Young Contrarian
. The books were all titled in the form "Letters to a Young ____", in the spirit of Rainer Maria Rilke
's book Letters to a Young Poet
. They were meant to be relatively short guides to various occupations or life paths for someone starting out in that field, from the point of view of an expert.
The series was the brainchild of John Donatich
, who was the publisher at Basic Books from 1997 to 2003.
The following books were published in the series:
Other books, like Wynton Marsalis
's To a Young Jazz Musician: Letters from the Road (2004), William Sloane Coffin
's Letters to a Young Doubter (2005), Hill Harper
's Letters to a Young Brother
(2006) and Jonathan Kozol
's Letters to a Young Teacher (2007), though they share the structure and naming style of the series, and may have been inspired by it, were not part of the Art of Mentoring series.
Basic Books
Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1952 and located in New York. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history.-History:...
from 2001 to 2008, beginning with Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
's Letters to a Young Lawyer and Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
' Letters to a Young Contrarian
Letters to a Young Contrarian
Letters to a Young Contrarian is Christopher Hitchens' contribution, released in 2001, to the Art of Mentoring series published by Basic Books....
. The books were all titled in the form "Letters to a Young ____", in the spirit of Rainer Maria Rilke
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
's book Letters to a Young Poet
Letters to a Young Poet
Letters to a Young Poet is a compilation of letters by Rainer Maria Rilke. It consists of 10 letters written to a young man trying to choose between a literary career and entering the Austro-Hungarian Army.-Background:...
. They were meant to be relatively short guides to various occupations or life paths for someone starting out in that field, from the point of view of an expert.
The series was the brainchild of John Donatich
John Donatich
-Early life:He received a BA from New York University in 1982, graduating magna cum laude. He also got a master's degree from NYU in 1984, graduating summa cum laude.-Career:...
, who was the publisher at Basic Books from 1997 to 2003.
The following books were published in the series:
- Letters to a Young ContrarianLetters to a Young ContrarianLetters to a Young Contrarian is Christopher Hitchens' contribution, released in 2001, to the Art of Mentoring series published by Basic Books....
by Christopher HitchensChristopher HitchensChristopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
(2001) - Letters to a Young Lawyer by Alan DershowitzAlan DershowitzAlan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
(2001) - Letters to a Young Golfer by Carl VigelandCarl VigelandCarl Vigeland is an American writer.He was born on May 3, 1947 in Englewood, NJ, and spent his childhood in Buffalo, NY . He graduated from Harvard University cum laude in 1969 . He earned a Masters in Education from UMass-Amherst in 1972...
and Bob DuvalBob DuvalRobert Duval is an American professional golfer and is best known for being the father of David Duval, formerly the top-ranked player in the world.-Early years:...
(2002) - Letters to a Young Conservative by Dinesh D'SouzaDinesh D'SouzaDinesh D'Souza is an author and public speaker and a former Robert and Karen Rishwain Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is currently the President of The King's College in New York City. D'Souza is a noted Christian apologist and conservative writer and speaker....
(2002) - Letters to a Young Activist by Todd GitlinTodd GitlinTodd Gitlin is an American sociologist, political writer, novelist, and cultural commentator. He has written widely on the mass media, politics, intellectual life and the arts, for both popular and scholarly publications.-New Left activist:...
(2003) - Letters to a Young Therapist by Mary PipherMary PipherMary Elizabeth Pipher, also known as Mary Bray Pipher , Ph.D., is an American clinical psychologist and author. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1969 and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in...
(2003) - Letters to a Young Chef by Daniel BouludDaniel BouludDaniel Boulud is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Montreal, Beijing, and Singapore...
(2003) - Letters to a Young Gymnast by Nadia ComăneciNadia ComaneciNadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...
(2003) - Letters to a Young Catholic by George WeigelGeorge WeigelGeorge Weigel is an American author, and political and social activist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Weigel was the Founding President of the James Madison Foundation...
(2004) - Letters to a Young Actor: A Universal Guide to Performance by Robert BrusteinRobert BrusteinRobert Sanford Brustein is an American theatrical critic, producer, playwright and educator. He founded both Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut and the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he remains a Creative Consultant, and has been the theatre critic for...
(2005) - Letters to a Young MathematicianLetters to a Young MathematicianLetters to a Young Mathematician is a 2006 book by Ian Stewart, and is part of Basic Books' Art of Mentoring series. Stewart mentions in the preface that he considers this book an update to G.H. Hardy's A Mathematician's Apology....
by Ian StewartIan Stewart (mathematician)Ian Nicholas Stewart FRS is a professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick, England, and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction writer. He is the first recipient of the , awarded jointly by the LMS and the IMA for his work on promoting mathematics.-Biography:Stewart was born...
(2006) - Letters to a Young Journalist by Samuel G. FreedmanSamuel G. FreedmanSamuel G. Freedman is an American author and journalist and currently a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has authored six nonfiction books, including most recently Who She Was, a book about his mother's life as a teenager and young woman, and Letters to a Young...
(2006) - Letters to a Young Evangelical by Tony CampoloTony CampoloDr. Anthony "Tony" Campolo is an American pastor, author, sociologist, and public speaker known for challenging evangelical Christians by illustrating how their faith can offer solutions in a world of complexity. With his liberal political and social attitudes, he has been a major proponent for...
(2006) - A Time to Every Purpose: Letters to a Young Jew by Jonathan SarnaJonathan SarnaJonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History in the department of and the director of the Hornstein Program in Jewish Professional Leadership. He is regarded as one of the most prominent historians of American Judaism...
(2008)
Other books, like Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Learson Marsalis is a trumpeter, composer, bandleader, music educator, and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Marsalis has promoted the appreciation of classical and jazz music often to young audiences...
's To a Young Jazz Musician: Letters from the Road (2004), William Sloane Coffin
William Sloane Coffin
William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was an American liberal Christian clergyman and long-time peace activist. He was ordained in the Presbyterian church and later received ministerial standing in the United Church of Christ....
's Letters to a Young Doubter (2005), Hill Harper
Hill Harper
Francis Harper , known professionally as Hill Harper, is an American film, television and stage actor, and author. An alumnus of Harvard Law School, he is best known for his portrayal of Dr...
's Letters to a Young Brother
Letters to a Young Brother
Letters to a Young Brother is a book written by actor Hill Harper, published April 2006.Harper wrote the book to help young black males get through life and not make the same mistakes he made at a certain age....
(2006) and Jonathan Kozol
Jonathan Kozol
Jonathan Kozol is a non-fiction writer, educator, and activist, best known for his books on public education in the United States. Kozol graduated from Noble and Greenough School in 1954, and Harvard University summa cum laude in 1958 with a degree in English Literature. He was awarded a Rhodes...
's Letters to a Young Teacher (2007), though they share the structure and naming style of the series, and may have been inspired by it, were not part of the Art of Mentoring series.