Author Biography

Wes ("Scoop") Nisker, born in 1942, is an author, award-winning broadcast journalist, renowned Buddhist meditation teacher, and performer. The son of Polish Jewish immigrants, Nisker grew up in the only Jewish family in his Midwestern hometown. His three-decades-long broadcasting career began in the late 1960s at San Francisco's original free-form radio station KSAN, where his popular, unconventional radio features included this traffic report: "People are driving to work to earn the money to pay for the cars they're driving to work in." In the 1970s he worked at KFOG, where he coined the catchphrase, "If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own," and was nicknamed "Scoop" by Abbie Hoffman while covering the Chicago Seven Trial. Nisker has published five highly acclaimed books, including the enduring classic The Essential Crazy Wisdom, and he is the founding co-editor of the international Theravada Buddhist journal Inquiring Mind. A resident of Oakland, California, he teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County.

Review

"Nisker is the consummate student/teacher, soaking up the world…and trying to make it a better place. Long may he chant." — Ben Fong-Torres"Wry, hip, fast, breezy….a tender triumph" — Publishers Weekly"Mixes engaging autobiography with philosophical musings…Nisker really shines, as he provides wonderful details." — Kirkus"A joyful, thoughtful romp of remarkable breadth: science, politics, psychology, pop culture and Buddhist dharma woven into a wise, funny, and truly wonderful journey." — Jack Kornfield"A joy to read, Nisker maintains a tightrope walker's balance between entertainment and information, between irreverence and spirituality, between sit-down meditator and stand-up comic, between personal experience and countercultural history." — Paul Krassner"Both entertaining and edifying, Nisker carries us along to bigger and better lives of noble-hearted wisdom and compassion." — Lama Surya Das"Vintage Nisker—at times deeply philosophical, often very funny, always personal and yet broadly relevant because, as we used to say, the personal is political." — Fritjof Capra"Nisker joins the grand tradition of social historians casting a knowing eye at the absurdities of history, … witty, insightful, soulful." — Daniel Goleman"[Nisker] delivers zen zingers with Borscht Belt timing."— The New York Times"Here is a worthy companion: a Mark Twain for our times, whose appetite for reality takes him into ashrams, political actions, and evolutionary science. As Wes shares his adventures, he enlarges our own, laces them with laughter, lets wisdom shine through." — Joanna Macy"Nisker's book takes us on a wonderfully engaging journey. It is the best chronicle yet written about the spiritual adventures of our generation." — Joseph Goldstein"This is Wes at his best: smart, irreverent, endearing, laugh-out-loud funny, and—in these times when we so badly need it—hopeful." — Sylvia Boorstein"The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom is an entertaining memoir that might just illuminate a path to a more enlightened future." — Foreword Reviews

Promotional

• In-person and virtual tour including radio, TV, podcasts, interviews
• Galleys
• Social media campaign
• advertising in SF venues and UTNE magazine

Review Quote

"Nisker is the consummate student/teacher, soaking up the world...and trying to make it a better place. Long may he chant." -- Ben Fong-Torres "Wry, hip, fast, breezy....a tender triumph" -- Publishers Weekly "Mixes engaging autobiography with philosophical musings...Nisker really shines, as he provides wonderful details." -- Kirkus "A joyful, thoughtful romp of remarkable breadth: science, politics, psychology, pop culture and Buddhist dharma woven into a wise, funny, and truly wonderful journey." -- Jack Kornfield "A joy to read, Nisker maintains a tightrope walker's balance between entertainment and information, between irreverence and spirituality, between sit-down meditator and stand-up comic, between personal experience and countercultural history." -- Paul Krassner "Both entertaining and edifying, Nisker carries us along to bigger and better lives of noble-hearted wisdom and compassion." -- Lama Surya Das "Vintage Nisker--at times deeply philosophical, often very funny, always personal and yet broadly relevant because, as we used to say, the personal is political." -- Fritjof Capra "Nisker joins the grand tradition of social historians casting a knowing eye at the absurdities of history, ... witty, insightful, soulful." -- Daniel Goleman "[Nisker] delivers zen zingers with Borscht Belt timing."-- The New York Times "Here is a worthy companion: a Mark Twain for our times, whose appetite for reality takes him into ashrams, political actions, and evolutionary science. As Wes shares his adventures, he enlarges our own, laces them with laughter, lets wisdom shine through." -- Joanna Macy "Nisker's book takes us on a wonderfully engaging journey. It is the best chronicle yet written about the spiritual adventures of our generation." -- Joseph Goldstein "This is Wes at his best: smart, irreverent, endearing, laugh-out-loud funny, and--in these times when we so badly need it--hopeful." -- Sylvia Boorstein

Description for Sales People

Nisker has been a radio icon in the Bay Area for more than three decades, giving the news on KFOG and other stations, with the sign-off, "If you don't like the news, go out and make some of your own." For the past 25 years, he has been a highly respected Dharma teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center north of San Francisco. Spirit Rock has a mailing list of 90,000 readers and meditators. Wes will tour (virtual and in-person), do radio, TV, podcasts, and interviews, and fully support the book.

Details