Jeff Zaslow has given his last lecture

February 11, 2012 8:19 AM

Author and Wall Street Journal writer Jeff Zaslow died in a car accident yesterday.

Zaslow was driving in northern Michigan yesterday when he lost control of his car and hit a truck.
Early in his career he had a stint as Ann Landers.
He is probably best known for his 2008 book The Last Lecture written with Randy Pausch. In 2009 he wrote Highest Duty with Captain Chelsey Sullenberger (the pilot who landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River). Last year he worked with Mark Kelly and Gabrielle Giffords to write Gabby:A Story of Courage and Hope. His most recent book was The Magic Room, published last month.

posted by get off of my cloud (17 comments total)

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posted by drezdn at 8:33 AM on February 11

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posted by hippybear at 8:35 AM on February 11

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posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:39 AM on February 11

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posted by LMGM at 8:46 AM on February 11

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posted by Fizz at 8:47 AM on February 11

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Tragic for him and his loved ones, but also for anyone who still hoped for any morsel of quality journalism from the WSJ.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:06 AM on February 11

I was so shocked to hear of this yesterday. I'm familiar with his work. I'd read "Gabby" as soon as it was out just a few months ago. He was good at condensing, structuring and capturing the flavor of other people's stories.

But somehow it had escaped me that he lived here in Michigan and was married to local Detroit anchorwoman Sherry Margolis. That news made it doubly sad for me.

(Even farther south in Michigan we've had not-great driving weather the past 24 hours. I'm sure northern/ western Michigan was its usual lake-effect badness.)

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/author-jeff-zaslow-dies-at-age-53
posted by NorthernLite at 9:21 AM on February 11

100 years from now we will look back on the idea of putting transport trucks and passenger cars on the same roads in the same way we look back on bear baiting now. Madness.

Tell Me About It, Zazlow's account of his time as an advice columnist, is a really fun read.

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posted by bowline at 9:51 AM on February 11 [1 favorite]

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posted by lalochezia at 10:16 AM on February 11

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I read "All That Zazz" in the Sun-Times every day when I was growing up in the Chicago 'burbs. Zaslow's compassion always shone through.
posted by Ralston McTodd at 10:24 AM on February 11 [2 favorites]

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posted by dbiedny at 10:43 AM on February 11

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posted by leslies at 11:38 AM on February 11

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posted by joe lisboa at 11:54 AM on February 11

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My condolences to his family and friends.

I don't know the details of the crash, but this stood out for me:

He died after losing control of his car while driving on a snowy road and colliding with a truck

I would strongly encourage everyone who drives in winter conditions to drive with winter tires. They make a huge difference in snowy, icy or very cold conditions. (They should be mandatory on rental cars in all jurisdictions that experience winter.)

I don't know whether Zaslow was driving with them, or whether they would have made a difference. In addition to celebrating his life, I hope it's not inappropriate to take a (potential) lesson from the circumstances of his death.
posted by Dasein at 12:06 PM on February 11 [1 favorite]

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posted by lazaruslong at 4:51 PM on February 11

I always liked his writing. This is a bummer. Especially hate hearing it was a car accident. Too young.

Semi-off-topic, reading the Magic Room article, I'm amused at "girlie" being code for a nice bride and "sweetheart" being code for a pain in the ass. I always suspected people were thinking something bad when they called me "sweetie..."
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:53 PM on February 11

I was a faithful reader of his Sun-Times column. Rest in peace, Zazz.

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posted by SisterHavana at 7:13 PM on February 11