Description

About the Author

Dave Eggers is the author of three previous books, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, You Shall Know Our Velocity!, and How We Are Hungry. He is the editor of McSweeney’s, a quarterly magazine and book-publishing company, and is cofounder of 826 Valencia, a network of nonprofit writing and tutoring centers for young people. His interest in oral history led to his 2004 cofounding of Voice of Witness, a nonprofit series of books that use oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world. As a journalist, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, and The Believer. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and daughter.

Praise for What Is the What…

“[An] Astonishing story … of immerse power, emotion and even, in the midst of horror, beauty.” —Salman Rushdie 

“Told with humor, humanity, and bottomless compassion for his subject. . . . It is impossible to read this book and not be humbled, enlightened, transformed.” —Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner

“Lit by lightning flashes of humor, wisdom and charm. . . . An extraordinary work of witness, and of art.” —Francine Prose, The New York Times Book Review

“A moving, frightening, improbably beautiful book.” —Lev Grossman, Time

“A testament to the triumph of hope over experience, human resilience over tragedy and disaster.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"An absolute classic. . . . Compelling, important, and vital to the understanding of the politics and emotional consequences of oppression." —Jonathan Durbin, People

“A sweet and sometimes very funny story of one boy’s coming of age. . . . Strange, beautiful and unforgettable.” —John Freeman, San Francisco Chronicle