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Peter Gelfan

Goodreads Author

Born

New York, The United States

Website

http://PeterGelfan.com

Twitter

GelfanP

Genre

Contemporary, Nonfiction

Member Since

August 2012

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Peter Gelfan is a novelist, screenwriter, book editor, and writing teacher. He was born in New York City, grew up in New Haven and the New York suburbs, and has lived in Spain, England, Florida, and Vermont.

He wrote the screenplay for Cargo, Les Hommes Perdus, which was produced and released in France in 2010. Found Objects, his debut novel, came out in 2013. His second novel, Monkey Temple, was published in February 2019. The first edition of his nonfiction book Hurling Words into Darkness: A Book Doctor's Dose of Brain Science for Writers was published in 2021; a revised second edition will be released in fall of 2022. He volunteers as a writing tutor in a New York City public high school.

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Peter Gelfan’s books

Average rating: 3.85 · 88 ratings · 35 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	Found Objects 3.75 avg rating — 72 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hurling Words into Darkness: A Book Doctor's Dose of Brain Science for Writers 4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2021 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Monkey Temple: A novel 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hurling Words Into Darkness: A Book Doctor's Dose of Brain Science for Writers 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2021	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Monkey Temple 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Peter Gelfan's Blog

College Application Essays

Notes on Writing College Essays

A college essay isn’t just another writing assignment. A homework essay is practice. A college essay is the real thing: a piece of writing which will have an impact on the rest of your life. Think of it more as an audition or a job interview.
The college will judge your scholastic abilities on your test scores and grades. The main purpose of the essay is give the admi Read more of this blog post »

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Published on September 16, 2019 06:26

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Peter Gelfan rated a book it was amazing The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is the most important and, if I may risk using this term, potentially the most paradigm-shifting book I’ve read in years. Anyone at all interested in a sociological view of history and the current state of the world should read it. A caveat: it i ...more
Jan 28, 2023 02:05PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book really liked it The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us by Stephen Brusatte (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A very interesting and informative history of the evolution of mammals from their early forerunners, which predated dinosaurs, up to our present time. What a journey that was, and still is. The author, a fossil hunter and professor, manages to intert ...more
Oct 11, 2022 01:53PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Rise and Reign of the Mammals by Stephen Brusatte. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Rise and Reign of the Mammals by Stephen Brusatte <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book really liked it How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion by David McRaney	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Especially in these times of extreme dogmatism to the right and left, and of angry political disagreements hyper-amplified by social media, this book is both important and useful. It isn’t about how to win a debate, convince someone that your ideas a ...more
Sep 10, 2022 10:33AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How Minds Change by David McRaney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How Minds Change by David McRaney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book really liked it Life's Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive by Carl Zimmer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book consists of a series of standalone nontechnical scientific essays that explore the borderlines between what’s clearly alive, what might be, and what isn’t. The maybe-life substances and creatures (or non-creatures) are weird and fascinating ...more
Jul 29, 2022 01:52PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Life's Edge by Carl Zimmer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Life's Edge by Carl Zimmer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book it was amazing Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank Wilczek	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book sums up the current state of physics as regards the makeup and workings of the universe we appear to be living in. The final and perhaps apparently unnecessary clause of my first sentence is what makes this book different from other books o ...more
Jul 10, 2022 08:04AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fundamentals by Frank Wilczek. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fundamentals by Frank Wilczek <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book really liked it Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book provides what it promises: a well-researched analysis of grit, and guidance as to how to get it and/or instill it in others. It’s well written in conversational English: easy reading yet precise in meaning. A weakness of the book, which she ...more
Jun 10, 2022 08:26AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Grit by Angela Duckworth. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Grit by Angela Duckworth <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book really liked it Critical Thinking: The Basics by Stuart Hanscomb	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book looks like and often reads like a textbook, complete with exercises at the end of chapters. But like its subject matter, it has some twists and paradoxes. To begin with, the topic itself has a paradoxical definition: critical thinking is th ...more
May 11, 2022 02:14PM · 1 like · like · see review
Peter Gelfan rated a book really liked it Immune: a Journey into the Mysterious System that Keeps You Alive by Philipp Dettmer	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A very informative and useful book. The author makes the almost inscrutable immune system hazily understandable to those who haven’t been to med school—and that’s a huge step forward. The book takes in the whole system, not just one or two trendy com ...more
Mar 03, 2022 12:22PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Immune by Philipp Dettmer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Immune by Philipp Dettmer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book it was amazing The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The last line of the book well sums up its gist: “We know, now, that we are in the presence of myths.” This exhilarating, iconoclastic work doesn’t so much proclaim a new version of humanity’s prehistoric development but rather shows that what we hav ...more
Feb 03, 2022 12:29PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Peter Gelfan rated a book it was amazing The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The last line of the book well sums up its gist: “We know, now, that we are in the presence of myths.” This exhilarating, iconoclastic work doesn’t so much proclaim a new version of humanity’s prehistoric development but rather shows that what we hav ...more
Feb 03, 2022 12:28PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">