David Owen

David Owen, author of Where the Water Goes, The Conundrum, and Green Metropolis

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Biography


Laurie Gaboardi LCTDavid Owen has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1991. Before joining The New Yorker, he was a contributing editor at The Atlantic Monthly and, prior to that, a senior writer at Harper’s. He is also a contributing editor at both Golf Digest and Popular Mechanics, and is one of The Fifty Funniest American Writers. He is the author of more than a dozen books: High School, about four months he spent pretending to be a high-school student; None of the Above, an exposé of the standardized-testing industry; The Man Who Invented Saturday Morning, a collection of his pieces from Harper’s and The Atlantic Monthly; The Walls Around Us: A Thinking Person’s Guide to How a House Works; Around the House, a collection of essays about domestic life; The First National Bank of Dad: The Best Way to Teach Kids About Money; Copies in Seconds, about the invention of the Xerox machine; and Sheetrock & Shellac, a sequel to The Walls Around Us. In addition, he has written four books about golf—My Usual Game, The Making of the Masters, The Chosen One: Tiger Woods and the Dilemma of Greatness, and Hit & Hope—and he co-edited a collection of golf stories entitled Lure of the Links. His recent book Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability grew from a widely discussed 2004 New Yorker essay called “Green Manhattan.” His next two books began as New Yorker essays, too: The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse and Where the Water Goes: Life and Death along the Colorado River. His most recent book is Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World. He lives in Washington, Connecticut, with his wife, the writer Ann Hodgman. They have two grown children, both of whom are also writers: Laura Hazard Owen (@laurahazardowen) and John Bailey Owen (@johnbaileyowen).

Go here for an online interview containing a fair amount of biographical information.

Go here for David Owen's golf-only website.

2009 Jorge Columbo NYer library

Books

  • : Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World

    Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World
    Riverhead 2019

  • : Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River

    Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River
    Riverhead 2017

  • : The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse

    The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse
    Riverhead 2012

  • : Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability

    Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability
    Riverhead 2010

  • : The Walls Around Us: The Thinking Person's Guide to How a House Works

    The Walls Around Us: The Thinking Person's Guide to How a House Works
    Vintage 1992

  • : My Usual Game: Adventures in Golf

    My Usual Game: Adventures in Golf
    Doubleday 1995

  • : Around the House: Reflections on Life Under a Roof

    Around the House: Reflections on Life Under a Roof
    Villard 1998

  • : The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament

    The Making of the Masters: Clifford Roberts, Augusta National, and Golf's Most Prestigious Tournament
    Simon & Schuster 1999

  • : The Chosen One: Tiger Woods and the Dilemma of Greatness

    The Chosen One: Tiger Woods and the Dilemma of Greatness
    Simon & Schuster 2001

  • : Hit & Hope: How the Rest of Us Play Golf

    Hit & Hope: How the Rest of Us Play Golf
    Simon & Schuster 2003

  • : The First National Bank of Dad: A Foolproof Method for Teaching Your Kids the Value of Money

    The First National Bank of Dad: A Foolproof Method for Teaching Your Kids the Value of Money
    Simon & Schuster 2003

  • : Copies in Seconds: How a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company Created the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since Gutenberg--Chester Carlson and the Birth of Xerox

    Copies in Seconds: How a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company Created the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since Gutenberg--Chester Carlson and the Birth of Xerox
    Simon & Schuster, 2004

  • : Sheetrock & Shellac: A Thinking Person's Guide to the Art and Science of Home Improvement

    Sheetrock & Shellac: A Thinking Person's Guide to the Art and Science of Home Improvement
    Simon & Schuster 2006