Joseph R. Garber (August 14, 1943 – May 27, 2005) was an American author, best known for his 1995 thriller '' Vertical Run'' and for the articles he wrote on technology for

Forbes magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

Biography

Garber was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, moving often as an

army brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

. He attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, but quit to join the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

himself, eventually graduating from

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

in 1968 with a philosophy degree. Garber worked for

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

as a business

long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling *Long-distance operator *Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths *Long-distance trail *European long-dista ...

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

and a writer for the

in-house magazine. He then worked as a consultant for

Booz Allen Hamilton Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American company specializing in intelligence, AI, and digital transformation. It is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washing ...

for a decade, writing fiction and non-fiction

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

in his spare time. After a prolonged

flu Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, he quit his job and moved to

Woodside, California Woodside is a incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It has a council–manager system of government. The population of the town was 5,309 at the 2020 census. The town's population ha ...

, where he wrote for

and as a consultant in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area of Northern California, approximately south of San Francisco and northwest of San Jose, California, San Jose. The city's population was 84,292 accor ...

until he was laid off. Garber had written a manuscript, ''In Search of Shabbiness'', as a response to the

Tom Peters Thomas J. Peters (born November 7, 1942), an American writer on business management , business-management practices, became best-known for his 1982 book ''In Search of Excellence'' (co-authored with Robert H. Waterman Jr.) Life and education ...

best-seller, ''

In Search of Excellence ''In Search of Excellence'' is a book written by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr. First published in 1982, it sold three million copies in its first four years, and was the most widely held monograph in the United States from 1989 to 2006. T ...

''. On the advice of literary agents, he rewrote it as the novel ''Rascal Money''. In 1995, his second novel '' Vertical Run'', a corporate thriller, became an international best-seller. The book's setting is 200

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

, the address of Booz Allen. It was bought by both

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

and

Jon Peters John H. Peters (born June 2, 1945) is an American film producer and former hairdresser. Early life Peters was born on June 2, 1945, in Van Nuys, California. Peters is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent. While growing up in a ro ...

in the 1990s only to be shelved in pre-production. His third novel, ''In a Perfect State'', was published in 1999. His fourth novel, ''Whirlwind'', with a retired

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

agent as protagonist, was published in 2004. Garber died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on May 27, 2005.

Books

*Garber, Joseph R. ''Rascal Money : a novel'' / Joseph R. Garber. Chicago : Contemporary Books, c1989. 412 p. ; 25 cm. *Garber, Joseph R. ''Vertical Run'' / Joseph R. Garber. New York : Bantam Books, 1995. 305 p. ; 24 cm. (a Book-of-the-Month Club alternate selection) *Garber, Joseph R. ''In a Perfect State'' / Joseph R. Garber. Great Britain : Pocket Books, 1999. 384 p. ; 24 cm. *Garber, Joseph R. ''Whirlwind : a novel'' / Joseph R. Garber. 1st ed. New York : HarperCollins, c2004. 313 p. ; 24 cm. (hardcover), (paperback)

Reviews

Review of "Whirlwind" in The New York Times
Free, but registration required.
Review from Booklist of "Whirlwind" at Amazon.comReview by Publishers Weekly of Vertical Run at Amazon.comReviews by Publishers Weekly and Library Journal of "Rascal Money" at Amazon.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garber, Joseph R. 1943 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Writers from Philadelphia University of Virginia alumni East Tennessee State University alumni People from Woodside, California 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from California Novelists from Pennsylvania

Biography

Books

Reviews

See also

References